15202 réponses à ce sujet

[Alesia_BH]

I can't wait to see your karate kid trying to dodge a horde of oncoming dragons while hopping on one leg .

 

Don't worry. If things get too rough, Mr. Miyagi will save the day. 

 

There will be two monks: Daniel Larusso, human, strength 12 and Mr. Miyagi, gnome, min maxed. Mr. Miyagi will spend most of the adventure hidden, wearing the Cloak of Non-Detection, but if Daniel-san gets in over his head, Mr. Miyagi will rescue him.

 

As a lover of all things 80s, I think I may enjoy it.

 

Your monk runs were an inspiration, of course.

 

 

Best,

 

A.

[Grond0]

Sounds like fun - I can imagine Yaga-Shura being a good candidate to use "Wax on, wax off" against.

 

Will you be using Oversight monk HLAs?

[Blackraven]

Bartholomew, 4th BG2 update

So Mazzy joined Bart and Aerie. This was a rather spontaneous decision, one which meant that Gaelan Bayle wasn't going to receive his 30,000 GP yet. Instead some shopping was done to give Mazzy some equipment befitting a proper knight. She got Balduran's Plate from Deidre, and her Sword of Arvoreen was upgraded by Cromwell (thanks to the Item Upgrade mod):

Spoiler

Mazzy has a special kit in my install btw, Truesword of Arvoreen:

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As you can see the kit's properties are largely an implementation of the abilities she already has in her vanilla form. Note the disadvantage though: no specialization in weapons other than Shortbows, Short Swords or Slings.

During a visit to the Copper Coronet the newly formed trio promised to help out a young noblewoman, Nalia d'Arnise, whose lands had been invaded by what turned out to be Trolls. The quest really allowed new recruit Mazzy to shine. With her mastery of short swords and her Sword of Arvoreen she was quite efficient in melee, especially when self-buffed, and with her grandmastery in short bows, she was a ranged powerhouse. She practically soloed the Arnise Keep's first two floors. Bartholomew limited himself to a supportive role with Holy Smites and backstabs; Aerie remained invisible as usual, ready to intervene in case of emergencies. 
On the ground floor there were no incidents, but upstairs a Yuan-Ti Mage gave the companions a scare by rudely Dimension Dooring right into their faces instead of fighting two Mountain Bears with some of its Troll friends as it was supposed to.

Spoiler

The companions managed to shake it off so that they could first focus on the many Trolls. 

A dominated Guard, Glaicus, was brought back to his senses by Aerie as with the Ring of Human Influence's Charm ability. He thanked her with a Flail part that Bart would forge with other parts into the Flail of Ages, a nice weapon for the Gnome who had recently become proficient in the use of Flails.
Bart destroyed Flesh, Stone and Clay Golems with sneak attacks, and Mazzy relied on Tansheron's Bow and boosted saves vs death (Cloak of Deflection, Ring of Protection) to finish off an Iron Golem.

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A second meeting with the Yuan-Ti Mage went more to the taste of the companions. Its spell protections had expired, except the inevitable Stoneskin. A salvo of spell-interrupting ice arrows from Mazzy did the snake in.

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In the courtyard Bart dispatched an Otyugh, and he reluctantly slew four dogs to make a dog stew for a number of Umber Hulks the trio had been warned of.

The Umber Hulks and other powerful creatures resided in the cellars (dungeon). Bart led the Umber Hulks to their feeding place, and Mazzy surprised them and killed them off.

Spoiler

In a large room, the leader of the Trolls, TorGal and a number of minions (Yuan-Ti Mages, Elder Umber Hulk, Giant Trolls) were assembled. Bart placed a number of snares near the door, and Bart and Aerie summoned some help in the form of an Aerial Servant, Kitthix, and two Mountain Bears.

Spoiler

Thus the enemy was easily bottlenecked in the doorway.

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Mazzy killed TorGal,

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But most of the summons got confused by the Elder Umber Hulk, and the party decided to retreat. Two Giant Trolls were brought down by Mazzy, but Aerie whom I had foolishly forgotten to protect with Chaotic Commands, got Confused, probably due to being within the AoE of a Yuan-Ti Mage's Chaos. She proceeded to attack the Elder Umber Hulk. (And she wasn't even Stoneskinned... see how much I suck at buffing? But that wasn't the real problem: even though she had been invisible, she should have been at a safe distance).

Spoiler

Anyway, Mazzy saved the day. She finished one of two Yuan-Ti Mages with her ice arrows just when Aerie got confused, then brought down the Elder Umber Hulk who had been at near death status, and finally eliminated the second Yuan-Ti Mage without allowing it to cast another spell.

Spoiler

Back in Athkatla, the trio had a couple of run-ins with Vampires, as if to remind them that it might be a good idea to accept the help of Bart's Shadow Thief friends. They also tried to deceive a sculptor with a fake alloy of his favorite material, for the Temple of Helm, and for the Temple of Lathander they procured a ring that had been stolen by Talassans. Mazzy taught an oaf, Gorf the Squisher, not to mess with her. And Neb the child killer from Baldur's Gate finally paid for his evil deeds with his life. A Drow priestess was saved from the stake but her request to be accepted into the party was declined.

In the Sewers, on a mission for the Temple of Helm to investigate a Cult of the Unseeing Eye, Aerie and Bart buffed up Kitthix and witnessed the Spider web a Rakshasa and kill several Kobolds. The Rakshasa dropped a cloak that ended up covering Mazzy's back and shoulders. More fascinating was Kitty's duel with a Beholder. The Beholder banished the Spider from the prime material plane, but fell soon after to Kitty's poison. (Buffs used included: PfE, Death Ward, PfP, Chaotic Commands, Invisibility). An Aerial Servant finished two Gauths that had accompanied the Beholder.

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Jan Jansen, Gnomish peddler ****** inventor ****** adventurer joined the party soon after. One invention may be of special interest to the reader:

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I believe this is a mod addition.

Back in the Sewers, more hostilities awaited the party.

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Bart retreated, quaffed an oil of speed, and fully exploited the corridors for a backstab fest.

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Only one foe proved to be dangerous: Gaius the wizard. First of all he cheatingly cast a Sphere of Chaos at Bart from without the Gnome's line of sight. The rogue narrowly escaped possible disaster.

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Equally annoying, three castings of ADHW couldn't be interrupted by Mazzy's ice arrows. The following screenshot for example shows five consecutive damage-dealing hits that failed to interrupt Gaius.

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(Not really cool imo: "let's tweak the most powerful class.") At any rate, the valiant Halfling received Bart's Belt of Inertial Barrier and with her sound shorty saves, shrugged off the damage as she continued pelting Gaius with ice arrows until he fell.

Spoiler

The party left the sewers to rest in an inn, and had difficulty shaking off an Aerial Servant that had been summoned by a priest,

Spoiler

before they managed to leave the area.

[Blackraven]

Good to see you again Dyara, have fun and safe travels!

[Alesia_BH]

Sounds like fun - I can imagine Yaga-Shura being a good candidate to use "Wax on, wax off" against.

 

Agreed.

 

 

 

Will you be using Oversight monk HLAs?

 

I haven't decided. And, honestly, I'm not sure it will happen. I still intend to run Arkona in EE v30. The Karate Kid idea may lose its appeal between now and them.

 

As a discussion of an upcoming run I guess we should continue this in the Lounge.

 

I'll post an Arkona update soon.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Alesia_BH]

Arkona, Halfling Barbarian: The Improved Fire Giant Temple

 

Not long ago I said we have a lot of catching up to do. I wasn't kidding. We have the Improved Fire Giant Temple, Tougher Yaga-Shura, the Improved Abazigal Enclave, Tougher Abazigal, the Improved Sendai Enclave, Improved Sendai and, finally, an epic pile of monky-monks in a dusty little village. It's a lot to cover.

 

I'm going to do this quickly, or at least semi-quickly. The Ravager is down. Arkona is ready for the Throne. And yet I can't move her along until her posts are up to date. I intend to dart through this. Ask if you have any questions.

 

The opening battles against the nearly vanilla fire giants were trivial, as always. We used Roranach's + the Defender + Hardiness to attain 127% crushing resistance. Potions of Fire Resistance, the Helm of Defense, and Ice Star helped us reach 100% resistance to fire. The giants were helpless, save the slashing elites. They were priority targets. Burning men were neutralized with the Wave. I hate Banefire.

 

In the heart of the Temple, ATweaks adjustments put Arkona in jeopardy. I was surprised to see Arkona take massive damage from a volley of fire spells.

 

A quick check of the character record revealed why.

 

Arkona's fire resistance had been instantly lowered from 95 to -55. No save was offered. The cause was unclear. This worried me. We ran and, as soon as possible, rebuilt our fire resistance using a Protection from Fire scroll, a Ring of Fire Resistance, the Helm of Brilliance, Ice Star, and the Dragon Shield. With our fire resistance back near one hundred, we resumed fighting. The Wave finished the ATweaks salamander nobles. Conventional weapons handled the rest.

 

As an FYI, David's fell cats had been replaced by ATweaks hell cats. I'm not fond of this change. The fell cats, who have a fire resistance lowering on hit effect, are more interesting creatures.

 

I was also disappointed with the ATweaks bone fiends: they paled in comparison to their SCS counterparts. The erinyes was largely irrelevant.

 

Footnotes aside, the key detail from that battle was the reduction in fire resistance. Arkona had suffered a 150% loss. How? I wasn't sure. What I did notice was that it occurred the instant Arkona raided the central chest. A trap, perhaps? That was the working hypothesis.

 

Heading into the fire lich battle, the fire resistance loss worried me. Fortunately, no loss occurred. The fire lich was killed with Azurede. The efreetis and elementals were Waved. With Arkona's fire resistance intact, she prevailed with ease.

 

As we approached the central hall (and its resident red dragon) the fire resistance issue worried me. What if it occurred again in the presence of a red dragon? Surely that could be fatal. Playing it safe, I instructed Arkona to door Berenn and the Brimstone. I hate doing this. It's a waste of a good fight. Sadly I saw little alternative.

 

 

The giants, at least, were killed in the open.

 

Roranach's wins again.

 

 

Nappy-time at fire giant nursery school. Break out the foam mats. Prepare the juice boxes and cookies.

 

As we approached Imix, the mysterious loss of fire resistance was finally revealed. It was a spell cast by the salamander nobles. It casts instantly, offers no save, and lowers resistance by 50%. Multiple castings stack. The losses coincided with the triggering of traps previously because the fire salamanders spawned in at the exact time that traps had been triggered.

 

Here the salamander nobles could do no harm: Arkona had prepared for the possibility of a 150% loss of fire resistance by building her resistance to 250%.

 

The wave nixed Imix and his allies. Quest complete

 

Onto the Siege Camp.

 

Best,

 

A.

 

PS: An aside for those considering ATweaks. I prefer the fire giant temple sans ATWeaks. I like the fell cats better than the hell cats/salamander nobles. Delivering fire resistance reduction via a on hit effect is more interesting than using an unavoidable insta-cast spell. The former introduces a new tactical hurdle to the battle field, the latter encourages over buffing. At the same time, I did appreciate the extra creatures near Imix: it was nice to see elder fire elementals accompanying the prince.

[Alesia_BH]

Arkona, Halfling Barbarian: Siege Camp

 

Ok: Siege Camp time.

 

Most of my characters take a considered approach to Yaga's army. Arkona considered taking a considered approach, but in the end she decided to just kill them.

 

Hardiness won't help you against an unyielding axe, fire giant.

 

The rest of these poor fools didn't have +2s. Vorpal party with Belm in the off.

 

Ok. Playtime is over Axe of the Unyielding. Time to build an HP cushion with Foebane (not that we'd need it here).

 

And there he is: Mr Congeniality.

 

The plan was to take down Yaga's lieutenants and then challenge the giant to an absurdly unfair melee duel. That plan worked.

 

The Lieutenant Fighter fell first. We used the sling to reduce the risk of getting boxed in. Not that there was anything to fear here, really. I'm just over-cautious and hate having my movement impaired. Freedom of movement is a way of life.

 

The LIeutentant Cleric, who was running Physical Mirror, couldn't be nixed with the sling. He would have fallen in melee...

 

had the Lieutenant Mage not rescued him with a "praeses." The Time Stop was evaded.

 

Back to the action. When time resumed, the Lieutenant Cleric's Physical Mirror had run out. Here we see Arkona finishing the cleric, pestered by an ATweaks aerial servant. They (the aerial servants) are annoying, but harmless.

 

Time to kill the Lieutenant Mage...

 

Noted. We'll check back in four rounds. I wonder what the Lieutenant Thief is up to?

 

(She didn't last long under True Seeing, natch)

 

Back to the mage. Gessen dispel.

 

Seeking Power Attack for the finish.

 

Showdown time: mano a mano: giant versus halfling.

 

The biggest challenge here was herding Yaga to a suitably epic location. 

 

No.

 

Yes.

 

Let the games begin. But first: let's rig the outcome.

 

Being a crusher is a drag: first you get Potions of Absorption, then Roranach's. Raw deals all around.

 

Arkona was completely immune to everything Yaga could do. This was less a duel and more an execution.

 

How does that taste Yaga?

 

Who thinks Arkona ended this battle with more hit points than she started with? Raise your hand.

 

Gold star for the man in hot-pants!

 

Abazigal's lair is next.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Epsil0]

I generally hate that temple even when I played it in vanilla, taking it down in SCS and aTweaks looks almost nightmarish.

 

Benoni, introduction to Amn: (Or departure from the Swordcoast)

 

7 of Kythorn

He is dead. It is over. Sarevok will no more threaten to ascend to our father's place in the realms. I think I ought to feel satisfied, but I only feel tired. Gorion is avenged, and I have overcome possibly the most dire conspiracy in this country. But I cannot feel satisfied. He said something to me, about how not too different we were. My blade, the blade from dead ol' Greywolf, is covered in so much blood, even if it is not innocent blood. He reminded me... Oh, that this decision did not have to be made! But I fear it does.

 

Alaundo's prophecies must still come true. I have read too many books to the contrary to believe that prophecies can be so easily subverted. And if I stay in this country, in my beloved Candlekeep, it will come to ruin and ash, whether I intend it to or not. I will not be the Bhaalspawn that will bring destruction to this coast. Maybe it's only for selfish reasons, but I will travel south, to Amn. Perhaps there, I can find some purpose, some use for myself and my skills. Who do I have to say farewell to? Tethoril, of course, and Imoen, certainly. Scar is dead, too; perhaps I was too friendly with him. Maybe death will come just at my presence, whether I mean it to or not.

 

Ah. My greatest victory, and I'm still so tired. I do not even know what I want, not something I can put into words, but something inside of me yearns... I wonder if I will ever learn what it is?

 

//

 

2nd of Mirtul, 1369

 

I do not know what to write, but I feel like I must. The first time I have had the luxury of a splashing ink over parchment instead of fearing this psychopathic wizard's experiments in months, and I don't know what to write.

 

A drop of ink dripped from the quill pen as it hovered over the next line. Benoni sighed, surveying his surroundings with a wince before scribbling down more words.

 

It is too loud, far too loud. I haven't been thrown out yet for the color of my skin, but even the riffraff in this Copper Coronet are uneasy with my presence. Quayle was right, though, that this place would at least offer sanctuary for a short while. I have this short while to figure out my next plan. Should I chase down Jon Irenicus, and avenge my suffering? Part of me flares up in anger, and part of me dies in pointlessness. It was almost a year to the day that I swore vengeance on Sarevok, and the fulfillment of that was empty and futile. Should I-

 

"You see that man in the corner?" a sudden voice commented in his ear. Ink splashed across his coarse parchment as he started. Benoni swung his head around, but saw nobody. His hand flew to his sword.

"No sudden movements!" the voice continued. "Talk to that man, the balding human in the corner, and ask for the entertainment at the pits."

"Why should I trust someone I know nothing about or see?" Benoni replied quietly, hoping he could be heard without being overheard.

"Why should an Avariel trust a Drow?" the voice countered. Her nerve seemed to break then, her voice quivering out her next sentences. "Please. Do what I ask, for now. Prove Quayle right. Prove you're better that my fears."

 

A few long seconds passed. Then Benoni nodded, and silently gathered his papers and rose from his seat, and headed to the corner of the Coronet. What was in the back, he wondered, that the timid elf who was so scared of his appearance in the enchanted tent he had fled into earlier would seek him out? It was better than having nothing to do but worry, at least.

 

 

 

Story notes: For the storyline I'm going to be attempting to play out, Imoen, Jaheira, and Minsc are not going to be involved whatsoever. They were not in the dungeon, Imoen was not sent to Spellhold with Irenicus. I've always hated trying to role-play a good character with Imoen looming over my head: there's simply no good explanation on why the majority of side quests should be done! It seems like the most likely thing to do would be collect the 15k and head over immediately in chapter 2/3. In 6, the situation is even more urgent since you're missing your bloody soul. The Fallen Paladins can wait, in view of that, right? So in my head right now, only Irenicus has been taken to Spellhold after a long battle with the Cowled. I'll probably detail what happened at the circus tent elsewhere in the story, but for now...

 

Gameplay notes: I haven't soloed Chateau Irenicus before, and I didn't execute as flawlessly as I would've liked. First, though, opening stats:

Second, the lack of strength is really starting to bother me, since none of the Mephits were 1-shot Backstabbed like I had hoped, even with a 4x multiplier now. 4 x 3 is still only 12. I'm getting a Belt or using Potions ASAP. There was this luckier 1-shot-kill here though...

Third, I have absolutely no idea what's going on here, or why he's not back on his plane. But not having to cross the Mephit Minefield is OK by me.

 

I risked life and limb and made a possibly game-ending mistake and got hit by a Chromatic Orb from the Duergar mage I had hoped would be interrupted. No such luck. I had previously used a potion of Speed to get the movement advantage I needed to utilize sneak attacks. If the prison weren't so deadly, I'd go find a reason to get those boots, but as it is...

 

Teamed with Yoshimo for the portals; how do you get them into the room and lock the door without getting in range of the Color Spray? Yoshimo saved vs both, and Benoni wasn't even nearby, but I'm still curious. A backstab on the Radiant Mephit Portal guaranteed success. The clone had to be ignored after I tried facing it, and got Blinded for my troubles. Stealth and run away and rest!

 

Tent was restored with Aerie's help; she has a casting of Sanctuary she can use when you get her, and so we just ignored all the monsters and took out Kalah in a backstab + spell setup. I'll be doing a mostly-dual run with Aerie, though others may join momentarily for their dungeons. (Mazzy for Umar, Valygar for the Sphere, so on and so forth.) We're currently on the steps of the animal pit, her actually invisible as per the write-up, so Slaver Quests will be our starting point. Even the trolls I have no way of hurting outside of like, the potion of explosion.

[Alesia_BH]

Glad to see Benoni in Amn, Epsil0!

 

I generally hate that temple even when I played it in vanilla, taking it down in SCS and aTweaks looks almost nightmarish.

 

I like what the SCS tactical component does for the Fire Giant Temple. The changes mesh seamlessly with the game's original content. They are subtle and yet significant. They add interesting tactical dimensions to some of the minor fights and turn the Berenn encounter into one of the better fights of the Trilogy. As for ATweaks, it does not make a constructive contribution to the temple, in my opinion- not with the options I selected, at least.

 

FYI, my thoughts on the Sendai enclave are similar. They mesh seamlessly while enhancing the area. Importantly, they also make the Sendai encounter more difficult which, to me, is a welcome change. I did not find ATweaks helpful here.

 

As for the Abazigal Improved Enclave, that's tougher to recommend. The changes are heavy handed. New items are introduced.  There is new dialogue and a new narrative element- both of which detract from the aesthetics  and flow of the area. All of this is out of character for SCS. The quadruple dragon battle is fun, but I feel the area is injured more than it is enhanced. Those who enjoy the classic Tactics mod may like SCS's Improved Abazigal Enclave component. Those who found the attempts at narrative in Tactics contrived and distracting may want to take a pass. 

 

Teamed with Yoshimo for the portals; how do you get them into the room and lock the door without getting in range of the Color Spray? Yoshimo saved vs both, and Benoni wasn't even nearby, but I'm still curious. A backstab on the Radiant Mephit Portal guaranteed success. 

 

I take different approaches to the portals depending on my character. 

 

Sometimes I'll backstab the Radiant Mephit Portal first, to eliminate the Color Spray threat immediately. The only problem is that the other mephits can trap you in the corner.

 

Another approach is to buff up and kill the portals one by one in linear order. Note that the radiant mephits are only really dangerous with the other mephits on the field. If you can eliminate the first two portals before the radiant mephit gets in range, you'll be reasonably safe.

 

I tend to avoid locking mephits behind doors these days (mephits are smart and they have hands). When I did use the door, I didn't concern myself with luring in the radiant mephit. I just entrapped the two closest damage dealing mephits, reasoning that the radiant mephits would be nearly harmless with their damage dealing allies out of play.

 

Anyhoo, I'm glad Benoni made it. Being an elf helps.

 

Good hunting!

 

Best,

 

A. 

[Alesia_BH]

@Serg. Arkona just completed demon battle 1. ATweaks had no apparent effect, other than to change the color of the balors. This is presumably because the Mod Added Fiends Are Also Affected component extends only to SCS, not Ascension.

 

The battle ended up being more interesting than I might have liked, since I was expecting nerfy ATweaks demons and instead got proper SCS/Ascension ones. Don't make the same mistake: have anti-Implosion defenses in place when you trigger balor battles; watch out for the Ascension glabrezu immobilization on hit ability; expect ProMW and Stoneskins from the mariliths; etc.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Alesia_BH]

'll be doing a mostly-dual run with Aerie, though others may join momentarily for their dungeons. (Mazzy for Umar, Valygar for the Sphere, so on and so forth.) 

 

I like this approach: duo, trio or quad with a rotating slot for specific quests. One of my most enjoyable runs was played this way. 

 

I hope it works out for you!

 

Best,

 

A.

[Serg BlackStrider]

@Serg. Arkona just completed demon battle 1. ATweaks had no apparent effect, other than to change the color of the balors. This is presumably because the Mod Added Fiends Are Also Affected component extends only to SCS, not Ascension.

 

The battle ended up being more interesting than I might have liked, since I was expecting nerfy ATweaks demons and instead got proper SCS/Ascension ones. Don't make the same mistake: have anti-Implosion defenses in place when you trigger balor battles; watch out for the Ascension glabrezu immobilization on hit ability; expect ProMW and Stoneskins from the mariliths; etc.

Noted, thanks! I think, this is fine move from aTweaks' author, the one I agree with.

Stay tuned with the rest of Ascension!

[Blackraven]

Will catch up with Alesia and Epsil0 later today. First I'll post my own progress and, then I'll going mountain climbing.

 

Bartholomew, quick 5th BG2 update

Bart, Mazzy, Jan, and Aerie had a rendezvous in the Graveyard District with Bodhi, the mistress of the guild that had been rivaling the Shadow Thieves. She offered the party a cheaper alternative to get to Imoen and Irenicus, but Mazzy and Aerie advised strongly against siding with the mistress. Bart heeded his friends' words and declined the offer. Before they left the graveyard, Bart dispatched a number of undead creatures in the lower tombs.

Spoiler

They paid Gaelan Bayle a visit and ended up paying him the same amount as Bodhi had asked (30k GP), for his and the Shadow Thieves' help in finding Imoen.

They met the Shadow Master Aran Linvail, received two nice trinkets (AoP for Bart, RoP +2 for Mazzy), and the news that all was not well. There were still a number of hurdles to be overcome, before the companions could actually leave for Imoen.

Apart from that, the friends had a number of commitments in Athkatla still. One of these commitments was to investigate a Cult of the Eyeless. On their way to the cult's abode, they were in for a nasty surprise when an Ooze Mephit knocked out several of the companions, including Bart, with toxic vapors. Fortunately three Hell Hounds that were attacking, proved vulnerable to the gas as well.

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All survived. They finished the monsters and received a key from Gaal to the lower reaches, where they were supposed to secure part of a rift device. 

Down there, they faced a group of Yuan-Ti, including a Mage. Mazzy and Bart took care of them.

Spoiler

And they also dealt with Mummies and Ghasts a bit further.

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Across a bridge three Beholders and two Gauths awaited the party. None of the companions was powerful enough in terms of saving throws or spell protections to deal with such a mob, but buffed up Kitthix brought one Beholder to Near Death before she fell.

Two Gauths then went after the companions. Bart slew one of them with Holy Smites while it was focusing on two Mountain Bears, and Mazzy, buffed by Bart and Aerie, dealt with the other one

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and with the severely injured Beholder.

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(In the screenshot Mazzy's buffs had been removed. The incoming rays were harmless though, thanks to the Helm of Charm Protection and Sword of Arvoreen.) After a rest, three Aerial Servants plus Kitthix, all PfE and Hasted (Kitthix was also protected with PfP, Death Ward, and Chaotic Commands) performed very well against the two remaining Beholders.

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(There was also a Skull Trap from Aerie, but I can't remember whom and when it hit.)The companions got the first part of the rift device from a weak avatar of Amanautor. Together with the other part of the rod, which was in the possession of the Unseeing Eye Beholder, the leader of the cult, the companions would be able to slay said Beholder, according to an ex-cultist.

They descended down a long ladder, to the Beholder lair. On their way they came through an undead town. Mazzy (hasted, free actioned, and protected from fear) soloed its Mummies, Ghouls, and Ghasts. Interestingly there was no Lich, so Mazzy could pick up the Gauntlets of Dex without difficulty.

Spoiler

The Beholder lair was even further down.

Bart finished a lone Gauth with sneak attacks (and repeated invisibility),

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before he scouted three Beholders and three Gauths. Three Aerial Servants and Kitthix, buffed like before, did their job quite competently once more.

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The companions then found an exit. Jan and Bart placed six traps near it. In a node Bart found the second part of the rift device, and without doing anything he witnessed how the two parts magically fused together. 
The Unseeing Eye, probably aware of what had just happened, suddenly appeared in front of him.
Much to Bart's fright and frustrtation the device took a long time in activating as he tried to use it against the Beholder. Meanwhile the Unseeing Eye sent its first rays at Bart. He rushed toward his fellows, and was relieved when he heard Mazzy utter a triumphant shout behind him.

Spoiler

Two Death Tyrants that had come to the Unseeing Eye's aid, couldn't handle the combination of Bart's and Jan's traps, Aerie's and Bart's Holy Smites, and Mazzy's trusty blade.

Spoiler

After a rest, the party proceeded to properly cleanse the wicked place (with the summons that had proven themselves before).

An unexpected encounter with another group of Yuan-Ti warriors plus mage (didn't know they respawned), saw the companions in dire straits when the mage cast True Sight right after they had gone invisible. The warriors were hasted and injured some of the companions who ended up entering and leaving the lower reaches a couple of times, until they shook off the Yuan-Ti Mage. The warriors were then confused by Jan (Chaos) and easily dispatched; the mage went down after Mazzy's ice arrow barrage.
The extra rest meant that summons were again available. After the Beholder Gaal and other remaining cultists were no problem to them.

Back on the surface, the party reported their success to te Temple of Helm, sold some loot, took care of guild business, had Cromwell forge the Ring of Regeneration +2 (Ring of Protection +2 combined with Ring of Regeneration) for Mazzy, and traveled to Trademeet to try and save teh Halfling's sister who according to a messanger had fallen ill after having drunk a 'love potion'.

[Serg BlackStrider]

Solid progress, Blackraven! Keep on it!

[Alesia_BH]

Noted, thanks! I think, this is fine move from aTweaks' author, the one I agree with.

 

Yes. It was glad to see this. I was worried that ATweaks would mess up the Ascension Demon Battles.

 

They play beautifully with Ascension abilities and the SCS scripts. I'm glad they're unchanged.

 

 

Stay tuned with the rest of Ascension!

 

 

I will. There will be full battle reports eventually, of course. 

 

We're just about to start Demon Battle III.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Epsil0]

Tsk, and Benoni's tale comes to a swift and unfortunate end as he picks a fight with some Hobgoblins that he shouldn't have. I checked the logs, and Aerie's Silence must've only hit one of the two shamans. He didn't survive the Hold Person, and Aerie hadn't rested to have her Remove Paralysis up.

 

I'll probably come back to Benoni at some point, but for now... It's time for a non-RP run.

[corey_russell]

Sorry to hear that Epsil0 - those hobgoblins have gotten a number of no-reloaders, so you are not alone in that. Hope you enjoy your next run.

[Blackraven]

Sorry Epsil0
I had hoped for more of Benoni in Amn.

Enjoy your next run though!

[Alesia_BH]

Condolences, Epsil0. 

 

Sorry to see Benoni go. Hold Person is a dangerous spell. 

 

We're looking forward to your next run!

 

Best,

 

A.

[Alesia_BH]

Quick Note on Arkona's Game:

 

One last pile of corpses

 

Full updates coming soon.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Epsil0]

The worst thing is that I just realized that I was utterly safe; the item I got to carry over was the Horn of Kazeroth or whatever; Hold is a second level spell... And my aura was unclouded... I just didn't even think to use it at the time.

[corey_russell]

The worst thing is that I just realized that I was utterly safe; the item I got to carry over was the Horn of Kazeroth or whatever; Hold is a second level spell... And my aura was unclouded... I just didn't even think to use it at the time.

Yep, sometimes the many options can be over-whelming. If you had dispel magic memorized, that also could have been attempted. Those enemies don't see thru invis, so putting your character invisible via spell may also have saved him.

[Alesia_BH]

The worst thing is that I just realized that I was utterly safe; the item I got to carry over was the Horn of Kazeroth or whatever; Hold is a second level spell... And my aura was unclouded... I just didn't even think to use it at the time.

 

That stings.

 

But that can easily happen against hobgoblins. The tendency is to take a fight with them for granted.

 

Any creature with Hold Person is a legitimate threat, however. Hobgoblin shaman have to be taken seriously, at least in the early game.

 

Lesson learned, right? And lessons learned make us better players.

 

Best,

 

A.

[Alesia_BH]

Arkona, Halfling Barbarian: Draconis

 

As everyone now knows, Arkona has done it: she has defeated Melissan and attained her destiny. Her journey in this thread isn't over, however: we still have a lot of ground to cover. Plus, I still intend to run Arkona in an Enhanced Edition/SCS v30/BP Ascension/ATweaks install. There's a lot more Arkona to come. One step at a time though, right? Let's talk about Draconis. 

 

Draconis is the most fearsome dragon in the unmodded Trilogy. He has a solid base movement rate, his acidic breath weapon is relatively difficult to stop, and he uses invisibility to good effect. And yet despite all his strengths, he is easy prey for a well dressed barbarian.

 

Here we see Arkona's inventory.

 

She's wearing Shadow Dragon Armor for the acid resistance. She also has a fat stack of Protection from Acid scrolls: 9 in total. She has the Shield Amulet to protect against Draconis's Magic Missiles; Roranach's to handle Wing Buffet; Boot of Speed + Oil of Speed to evade melee hits; Darkfire and Arrows of Dispelling to remove Stoneskins and Haste; the Book of Infinite Spells: True Seeing Edition to reveal Draconis when he gets all hidey-hidey; Seeking for ranged damage; and, in the Bag of Holding, the Defender to aid in a melee finish. This is a well dressed barbarian. And this is a recipe for a dead dragon.

 

Human form Draconis was less troublesome than he typically is. I'm accustomed to seeing Wish- I wish for control over time ->Fallen Planetar->Demon Hoedown from him. However, since I had accidentally chose the Only Selected ToB Mages HLA option this time, I saw no planetar. I also saw fewer demons, perhaps due to ATweaks. Whatever. A planetar and five demons would not haved stopped Arkona. Mage Draconis was going down either way.

 

He buffed well, as always. This is a reasonable well dressed mage. Skipping SI:A won't hurt you when facing a barbarian.

 

Ah, but running out of Absolute Immunities and ProMWs will. And no amount of hidey-hidey will save you, Draconis.

 

The inevitable happened. Draconis got draconic. Go figure.

 

We're running Protection from Acid now. We had lost one scroll to human form Draconis before the flip, but our second is in place. This Draconis, v15 Draconis, could use more Removes. That potion quaff was an Oil of Speed.

 

Arkona kept her distance, and then -when Draconis's ProMW expired- she dispelled Draconis's haste effect.

 

She can now engage on her own terms. Hardiness first, please.

 

With Hardiness and the Defender layered atop her barbarian resistances, Arkona is tough to stop. 6HP per hit isn't going to do it, Draconis.

 

I can't blame you for going hidey-hidey again, but all that's going to do is make me bust out the Book of Peek-a-Boo I See You. 

 

Stoneskins? You know what that gets you, right? A Dispelling Arrow.

 

A few shots from the sling

 

And then a double flail finish

 

Next up, the real toughie: SCS's Anadramatis.

 

Best,

 

A.

[corey_russell]

Corthief V the level 8 thief/level 9 berserker (inactive) entering BG 2/ToB portion of trilogy no-reload run...

Traveling with: Joshua, Misty, Forrest, Hanna, Wewa

 

Corthief V and gang have defeated Sarevok and escaped Irenicus' dungeon - here is his stats after today's session:

 

The early adventures went really well - as berserkers, Suna Sune and even Mencar Pebble Crusher were pretty easily defeated.

Spoiler

 

The group also freed Hendak and also did the Lilacor's quest as berserkers - all went well. However, the party dynamics radically changed after completing the Lilacor quest - we were level 9 berserker, and thus time to dual to thieves! (well except Wewa who dualed to thief at level 7 in BG 1). We went to the merchant in the Waukeen's Promenade, he has a lot of basic equipment (bucklers, studded leather etc.) to equip us. When there, we all dualed to level 1 thieves. The hardest part by far is the proficiency points, we don't want to waste any. But after the dual, you can can't see the inactive classes skills. A lot of equipment moved from the different characters, as everyone was using weapons they weren't using before.

 

Once ready, we ventured into the moored slaver's ship. This was pretty hard for the team, lots of damage. A critical play was Wewa enraged and then used darts on the mages - she wasn't going to kill anyone, but she draw out their hold persons, which was the idea. She then withdrew to the party to finish anyone who followed her. The mages were still alive, so Corthief V had to creep up to disarm the trap then the whole party ranged attacked the mages - took a bit but we did get the job done.

 

I guess I should speak of roles. Wewa and Corthief V will have traps/locks skill, while everyone else has snares/hide in the shadows. Forrest also has 100% in detect illusion, should come in the handy in the near future. We did eventually complete Hendak's 2nd quest and got more than one level I think. The party also weathered a few more ambushes and tried to the work on the Harper Quest.

 

Speaking of Harper quest, the Prebek battle did not start well. Joshua and Misty tried to backstab Prebek and Sansha dead, but they failed.

Spoiler

 

However, it quickly became critical. The party was slowed, Joshua was held, and only Corthief V had control of himself, as the rest of the party was confused!

Spoiler

 

Corthief V decided to go after the goblins, since the enemy mages were protected and he couldn't get rid of their protections.The enemies concentrated on Misty, there just wasn't anything Corthief V could do to save her - she wasn't' chunked at least.

Spoiler

 

Eventually, the confusion wore off, and the party were able to finish off the enemies after all. This fight is exactly why the party is berserker, so that they can protect themselves once they regain their berserker skills, just have to survive until the.

Spoiler

 

After finishing the Harper quest, the party was very close to level 9 thief (though not quite). Ambushes are a bit rough for the party at the moment in our leather. Wewa has good AC at least (-9).

Spoiler

 

This party plays quite unlike any party I've ever played before, it''s interesting. Will keep at it.