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[Alesia_BH]

Quick Note on Alastria's Game:

Alastria is currently resting in Nashkel. She has reached Level 4.

I haven't decided whether I'm going to do RPed journals for Alastria's BG run. If there's interest, I will. If not, I'll do periodic progress reports. Let me know.

For now, here are some pics to give you a sense of what early game play has been like.

Playing Cat and Mouse with critters of the coastway.



Battling through lesser foes with Shield->Chill Touch.



Alastria is not a stand-back-and-blast caster: she's a Warrior. And in the early game, she's formidible when buffed.



Character record at Level 4. Spell Picks: Level 1- Blindness, Chill Touch, Shield; Level 2- Blur



Best,

A.

Vaclavc wrote...

Good luck with your sorceress, Alesia_BH.

Thanks V!

Modifié par Alesia_BH, 11 mai 2011 - 09:12 .

[Gate70]

Steb, NE male dwarf fighter/thief. Travelling with Kagain, Shar Teel, Montaron, Xzar and Edwin.

Cloakwood, a place of broken dreams. At least they are for Seniyad the druid and Aldeth Sashenstar. mwahaha

Shar Teel makes a decision that forces us to return to Beregost and re-equip.


Kagain drinks two green then four blue potions fighting Centeol's ettercaps and spiders, but their poison is too quick and he dies. The rest of us finish the fight and head for a temple (800gp plus 5 green potions).

We're wary of a hamadryad, using spells and weapons to kill her while resisting her charms. We forget to rest before dealing with Drasus and co, but only Genthore resists two horror spells.


The third nails him too.


The two mages are swatted first, then Drasus. Genthore dishes out some more pain for me, so Kagain steps in. I land a critical hit but Kagain adds a final blow.

Hareishan, Natasha and an ogre mage jailor are disrupted and killed before Edwina uses mirror image to foil Davaeorn. A hold spell and an ettercap are too much for Edwina though, and the rest of us are too slow to help. My sword accounts for Davaeorn, and we go from two mages to zero until Edwin is restored.


Steb, Fighter 5 Thief 6. 243 kills, greater basilisk.
Kagain, Fighter 6. 197 kills, greater basilisk.
Shar Teel, Thief 5 (Fighter 6). 140 kills, Firebead Elvenhair.
Montaron, Fighter 5 Thief 6. 83 kills, greater basilisk.
Xzar, Cleric 1 (necromancer 6). 57 kills, battle horror.
Edwin, Conjurer 5. 35 kills, Taugosz Khosann.

[Alesia_BH]

Gate70 wrote...

Cloakwood, a place of broken dreams.

Nice work Gate70! The Cloakwood and Davaeorn are major hurdles. Glad to see Steb cleared them.


Cheers,

A.

[polytope]

Alesia_BH wrote...
Familiar

Tweedle-Deedles

The Dove, Tweedle-Deedles, has been Alastria's companion since childhood. He never leaves her side.

Modified Tutu Fairy Dragon Familiar. Casts Strength instead of Mirror Image. Bird animation and Icon. Otherwise identical.

NW: If anyone can share an easy way to make Tweedle-Deedles white let me know.

Try using "Character Colour:52" as listed in NI (with a timing mode of 9), I'm guessing a RGB ratio of something like 7, 10, 13 - but it depends on the original animation's palette and might need tweaking.

Good luck.

[Alesia_BH]

Quick Update on Alastria's Game:

I'm pleased to report that Alastria has reached Level 5 and is still Reload free. Importantly, she has been able to do so by fighting the way she did in SoA: toe-to-toe melee- even when out numbered and outlevelled.

First: credit where it is due. Alastria's performance was made possible by one spell above all others: Chill Touch. And her use of Chill Touch was made possible by one forum member: Amanasleep.

About a year ago, when I started playing BG again, there was yet another Sorcerer Spell Pick Thread in circulation. In the interest of promoting casting diversity and (selfishly) to get new casting ideas, I encouraged others to post unconventional picks. Amanasleep started talking about Chill Touch and Ghoul Touch. I was skeptical, but intrigued and experimented with them in BG2. I filed away his remark that they were far more useful in BG1.

Yesterday, when I built the BG1 version of Alastria, Chill Touch was her first pick. It ended up being the spot-on right move. Blindness is the "Favorite Spell" on Alastria's information page, but Chill Touch is the "Favorite Weapon." More importantly, the spell has allowed me to realize my vision of the character. That matters to me.

I never would have thought of Chill Touch were it not for Amanasleep. Thanks! You're a hero Amanasleep!

More on Alastria's game soon.

Best,

A.

 

Modifié par Alesia_BH, 12 mai 2011 - 05:38 .

[The Fred]

Chill and Ghoul Touch I think don't get used much, because putting a mage in the front line is generally not a good idea. However, as a solo or for Fighter/Mages or similar, I can see them being quite nice (though after a bit you get actual weapons which might be better). I might try them out myself, sometime.

[Grond0]

I've found magical weapons somewhat annoying. There's nothing worse than having to quickly waste melf's missiles when a mage puts up a protection from magic weapons, just because your inventory screen does not allow you to switch weapons.

[Alesia_BH]

The Fred wrote...

Chill and Ghoul Touch I think don't get used much, because putting a mage in the front line is generally not a good idea. However, as a solo or for Fighter/Mages or similar, I can see them being quite nice (though after a bit you get actual weapons which might be better). I might try them out myself, sometime.

There are some excellent reasons to avoid Chill Touch: the danger and opportunity cost are chief among them. But, there are some good reasons to use it as well- reasons that many of us have missed (myself included). We've missed them, in part, due to inaccuracies in the spell description.

Unlike most touch spells, Chill Touch has a fairly long duration: 1 Turn (That part of the description is accurate). It also offers an unmentioned +4 Thaco bonus. And in the early game, where Thacos are horrid and the difference between mages and fighters relatively slight, that makes a big difference. It's almost like a mini-Tensor's Transformation.

The damage, 1d8, is respectable for an early weapon. Stength bonuses do stack. Further, though the description mentions a save against the damage, experience and the ITM file suggest otherwise.

Then there is that Thaco Drain: -2 on a failed save. With BG1 enemies frequently failing the save, it's a nice bonus. 

Add it all up, and it's a respectable little spell in the early going.


I'm begining to see Chill Touch like I view Polymorph Self. They're both awkward to use for a conventional mage but, if you build your strategy around them, they can flat out work- at least for awhile.

Grond0 wrote...

I've found magical weapons somewhat annoying. There's nothing worse than having to quickly waste melf's missiles when a mage puts up a protection from magic weapons, just because your inventory screen does not allow you to switch weapons.

Understood.

I've always been a MMM fan, but I've historically had a dour assesment of most magically created weapons. With Alastria, I've had to learn to appreciate them.

Having the wrong enchantment can be irritating. There are often quick-fixes though. For example, if you are running Polymorph Self or Shapechange -and aren't Tensor locked in- you can simply flip forms. You can also dispel or cast-over.

Nonetheless, I agree Grond0: the speed and convenience of switching is a drawback. You can end up squandering spells and rounds.


Best,

A.

Modifié par Alesia_BH, 12 mai 2011 - 02:20 .

[Alesia_BH]

Opps...

Modifié par Alesia_BH, 12 mai 2011 - 02:20 .

[Vaclavc]

Quick update on my solo Diviner run:

Elven diviner Moruvyn visited temple near Beregost and cleared the area from hobgoblins led by Cattack. Then, he traveled north to FAI, where he helped Joia to retrieve her ring. Next, Moruvyn visited Nashkel, endured conversation with Noober and got almost killed at Carnival by Exploding ogre, summoned by some would be spellcaster.



Nevertheless, he survived and advanced to level 3 with 10 HP total.
V

[Gate70]

Steb, NE male dwarf fighter/thief. Travelling with Kagain, Shar Teel, Montaron, Xzar and Edwin.

Yes yes we saved everybody, sing our praises (rep 12) so we can buy some goods cheaply. No no we didn't see a dwarf called Yeslick but no doubt he's a good swimmer.

Buying goods - I can't risk failing to steal and losing a dagger of venom and shadow thief armour (no experience of thieving from stores so don't want to find out the hard way). These two items are more than 30,000gp and I'm 5,000 short. We'll return later.

Farmer Brun is gracious enough to help (rep 13) but a zombie farmer and a child priestess called Tenya just thank us. We empty a cave of wyverns to collect a huge reward then buy Edwin a scroll of friends before giving him Algernon's cloak (cha 18).

Into the city, where we grab a tome (dexterity), kill Dabron Sashenstar and grab his crossbow, kill Desreta and Vay-ya, nab the helm of Balduran, sanctify Kerephs skull then help Lothander and Varci Roaringhorn at the expense of Jalantha Mistmyr and Marek. G'axir the seer falls for a random sphene gem while Larze the ogre is doomed, blinded, slowed and killed.

The maulers of undermountain provide a new axe for Kagain, then we rest for the night.

Steb, fighter 5 thief 6. 283 kills, greater basilisk.
Spiders Bane/Heavy crossbow of accuracy.

Kagain, fighter 6. 235 kills, greater basilisk.
Battle axe +2, axe +1.

Shar Teel, thief 6 (fighter 6). 144 kills, Firebead Elvenhair.
Short bow (Hakt's bow at level 7).

Montaron, fighter 5 thief 6. 100 kills, Jalantha Mistmyr.
short bow +2.

Xzar, cleric 5 necromancer 6. 61 kills, battle horror.
Sling +1.

Edwin, conjurer 6. 40 kills, Taugosz Khosann.
Sling +1.

[Alesia_BH]

polytope wrote...

NW: If anyone can share an easy way to make Tweedle-Deedles white let me know.

Try using "Character Colour:52" as listed in NI (with a timing mode of 9), I'm guessing a RGB ratio of something like 7, 10, 13 - but it depends on the original animation's palette and might need tweaking.

Good luck.

Thanks for the suggestion Polytope!

I'm not sure how to implement this. Tweedles is basically a Fairy Dragon with the Pheasant animation. There are color settings in his CRE file but they seem to correspond to the Fairy Dragon not the Pheasant- they don't influence Tweedles' appearance.

Should I create an item for him that will change his color? Should I fiddle with the animation directly?

Btw. It may be best if we handle this in PM- it is a bit off topic.

Thanks again Polytope.

A. 

[Alesia_BH]

Quick Note on Alastria's Game:

Since it may be hard to imagine how a Melee Sorceress could thrive in BG, I thought I'd take a moment to explain why Alastria works.

1) The Familiar.

The conversation has to begin with the Familiar, Tweedle-Deedles. He's a modded element that has been an important part of the equation. People interested in building a similar character or interpreting Alastria's results need to understand the effect he has had. As mentioned, he's basically a Fairy Dragon that can cast Strength once per day instead of Mirror Image. Early access to a Familiar gave Alastria a noticeably larger margin for error in the early going. And while Alastria could have been built with a high natural strength, given her numbers, the Strength spell has helped. The Fairy Dragon's Invisibility 10' Radius spell has been important to: it's insured that Alastria always has time to buff before combat. No doubt: The Tweedles has made a big difference.

2) Her Spell Picks

Alastria's current spellbook:

Level 1: Blindness, Chill Touch, Protection from Evil, Shield
Level 2: Blur, Mirror Image

Note that since she isn't using many slots for offensive spells, she can keep a lot of defensive spells in her book. She's basically running too many buffs for many BG enemies. Here affective AC is typically  -6 (-11 against missle weapons). She rarely gets hit except on Criticals and Mirror Images often handle those.

Guess what Alastria wants for Christmas? Yup: An Ioun Stone. Lack of Critical Hit Protection is her biggest weakness.

Chill Touch and Blindness->Darts have provided an adequate amount of offense. She also has the Wand of Sleep and Necklace of Missles if she gets in a tight spot.

3) In Sum

All together, she's comprable to a Warrior who trades Hitpoints and Critical Hit Protection for Blindness, Mirror Image, earlier access to a low AC, and the ability to cast from scrolls. That's not a bad trade and that's why the early going has been pretty smooth.

She does have a tough stretch ahead though. Enemy Thacos will start overwhelming her AC. She is also out growing Chill Touch and has a while to go before she gets Polymorph Self. These are the lean times. The challenge is just begining for her.


Anyhoo. I'll provide some combat reports soon.

Best,

A.

Modifié par Alesia_BH, 13 mai 2011 - 08:36 .

[Shadow_Leech07]

Alesia_BH wrote...
All together, she's comprable to a Warrior who trades Hitpoints and Critical Hit Protection for Blindness, Mirror Image, earlier access to a low AC, and the ability to cast from scrolls. That's not a bad trade and that's why the early going has been pretty smooth.

She does have a tough stretch ahead though. Enemy Thacos will start overwhelming her AC. She is also out growing Chill Touch and has a while to go before she gets Polymorph Self. These are the lean times. The challenge is just begining for her.


Anyhoo. I'll provide some combat reports soon.

Best,

A.

This is probably the most insane challenge I've ever heard of. A melee sorceress through BG1....I had a hell of a time getting a fighter through(with reload). Good luck with this, it actually sounds pretty fun. 

[Alesia_BH]

Shadow_Leech07 wrote...
 This is probably the most insane challenge I've ever heard of. A melee sorceress through BG1...

It is pretty nutty. But you know, it isn't the class that matters: it's the math. And so far, the math has favored Alastria.

For example consider this contest.

Combatant 1- AC: 7, THACO-12, APR-1, Damage- 1d8+5
Combatant 2- AC: -4, THACO-13, APR-1, Damage- 1d8+3

Who wins?

That's Greywolf, Level 7 Fighter, vs Alastria, Level 5 Sorceress. Alastria is Combatant 2. And of course, she's Mirror Imaged, can sneak in Blindness each round, and lays on a -2 THACO penalty with her weapon on failed saves. Alastria wins.

The math is going to stop being favorable soon though. That scares me.


Best,

A.
 

Btw. Alastria just reached Level 6. That's an important one for her because it gives her Vampiric Touch. She can now get her Hitpoint total into the 40s. The girl still needs an Ioun Stone though...

Modifié par Alesia_BH, 13 mai 2011 - 04:15 .

[The Fred]

Shadow_Leech07 wrote...
This is probably the most insane challenge I've ever heard of. A melee sorceress through BG1....I had a hell of a time getting a fighter through(with reload). Good luck with this, it actually sounds pretty fun.

I take it you've never heard of the No-Reload Extreme Poverty Solo 1/2 XP Melee Sorcerer Challenge?

[Vaclavc]

Sadly, my solo Diviner run ended prematurely due to ambush between areas. Skeleton archers and worgs were too much for level 3 mage...
I will be back soon with new character

V

[Gate70]

Yep, those ambushes can be really annoying.

Steb, NE male dwarf fighter/thief. With Kagain, Shar Teel (dualled), Montaron, Xzar (dualled) and Edwin.


A short jaunt tonight. Ramazith is my first mark, followed by the butler, Jardak, Ratchild and a non-confrontational sneaky talk with Degrodel. The Seven Suns is next, then Sunin. I steal a cloak from Quenash instead of asking nicely for it.

[Shadow_Leech07]

Alesia_BH wrote...



The math is going to stop being favorable soon though. That scares me.


Best,

A.
 

Btw. Alastria just reached Level 6. That's an important one for her because it gives her Vampiric Touch. She can now get her Hitpoint total into the 40s. The girl still needs an Ioun Stone though...

Are wands off limits for her?  I noticed Alastria seemed to be taking all comers in straight up hack and slash in your pictures, much different then my cowardly fighter who would just shoot a few arrows and run away lol.

The Fred wrote...

I take it you've never heard of the No-Reload Extreme Poverty Solo 1/2 XP Melee Sorcerer Challenge?
../../../images/forum/emoticons/devil.png

Fair enough. Hmmm...this does give me an idea. Maybe I should try a randomly generated character solo challenge myself. That might prove to be interesting.

Modifié par Shadow_Leech07, 14 mai 2011 - 03:52 .

[Alesia_BH]

Shadow_Leech07 wrote...

 Are wands off limits for her? 

No. The only one she's used so far is the Wand of Sleep but I can see her using others later. She'll likely need them in the upcoming stretch.

I noticed Alastria seemed to be taking all comers in straight up hack and slash in your pictures, much different then my cowardly fighter who would just shoot a few arrows and run away lol.

 Well, in the first picture, her back is facing all comers. She's done her share of running too.

She frequently fights in Melee- that's why Chill Touch is listed as her Favorite Weapon. But she chooses her time in melee contact very carefully. I basically do the numbers in my head. If it's safe, she charges in. If it's unsafe because there are too many foes, then she uses a Wand of Sleep charge. If it's unsafe due to a powerful enemy, then she goes Blindness->Darts.

 

Hmmm...this does give me an idea. Maybe I should try a randomly generated character solo challenge myself. That might prove to be interesting.

Sounds neat. I hope to see it.

Best,

A.

Modifié par Alesia_BH, 14 mai 2011 - 06:17 .

[Shadow_Leech07]

Well I've just rolled my character up and now I think I'll start playing!
I am going to join this challenge on Core soloing a randomly generated character named Starent Hobbles. I have the Baldur's Gate expansion installed as well. Here are the statistics
Starent Hobbles Male Halfling
Str 9 Dex 14 Con 15 Int 14 Wis 7 Char 16
class: Thief
OL 32 Stealth 25 FT 21 PP 22 Backstab X2

[The Fred]

Ooh, good luck!

[Gate70]

Yes, good luck.

Steb, NE male dwarf fighter/thief. With Kagain, Shar Teel (dualled), Montaron, Xzar (dualled) and Edwin.


Shandalar has a job for us. Xzar sub-contracts Beyn and Marcellus to three skeletons, then Edwin malisons Andris from a distance before Xzar silences him from the same distance. Our attack is successful and Kagain notches up another kill.

Garen falls for our second memorised malison/silence combo, allowing us to deal with his ankhegs first. Cuchol manages to confuse Kagain and Montaron, then Melf and scare Shar Teel. Montaron recovers to deal a chunky shortsword blow.

Monty has to find a few traps the hard way, but we eventually reach Tellan. There is a gap between malison and silence (stuck in a corridor), allowing Shar Teel to backstab him, then Montaron to backstab him a second time. Kagain rushes in to finish him off.

Shar Teel backstabs Dezkiel but Edwin kills him with a bullet. We're done, time to go and talk to Scar (and Eltan).

Modifié par Gate70, 14 mai 2011 - 09:35 .

[Shadow_Leech07]

Thank you but...Starent died to the wolf just outside Candlekeep. I underestimated the wolf and Starent paid the price. Here's my new character!
Alexandra female elf lawful evil
class: Diviner
Str 10 Dex 11 Con 15 Int 11 Wis 16 Char 13
Not going to lie, don't expect much from her but lets give her a whirl.

Modifié par Shadow_Leech07, 14 mai 2011 - 09:42 .

[Gate70]

Good luck again!

Steb, NE male dwarf fighter/thief. With Kagain, Shar Teel (dualled), Montaron, Xzar (dualled) and Edwin.

Duke Eltan wants us to sort out the Iron Throne HQ. Deal.

Xzar starts with silence (Naaman and Alai save) while Edwin uses greater malison.


Then they add hold person and slow.


No need for Xzar to doom/command so he starts to sling a helpless Gardush. Edwin turns the heat up twice and crisps Naaman.


Kagain is Melfed so we kill Alai, Aasim and Diyab after Gardush (Shar Teel regains her fighter levels at this point). Edwin is Melfing a helpless Zhalimar Cloudewulfe, we join in only for Edwin to conclude with magic missiles.


Shar Teel isn't the talkative type, choosing to backstab Thaldorn before he can spill the beans. I stop her from doing the same with Eltan by helping her set a few traps in his sleeping quarters. It looks like we're heading back to Candlekeep now.

Steb, fighter 6 thief 6. 299 kills, greater basilisk.
Heavy crossbow of accuracy, Spiders Bane.

Kagain, fighter 7. 272 kills, Andris
Battle axe +2, axe +1.

Shar Teel, thief 7 fighter 6. 158 kills, Firebead Elvenhair.
Composite longbow +1, Varscona.

Montaron, fighter 6 thief 6. 119 kills, Jalantha Mistmyr.
Hakts bow, short sword +1.

Xzar, cleric 6 necromancer 6. 64 kills, battle horror.
Sling +1, war hammer +2 Ashideena.

Edwin, conjurer 7. 49 kills, Jardak.
Sling +1, quarterstaff +3.

Modifié par Gate70, 14 mai 2011 - 10:53 .