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[Aasim]

Fin - halfling bounty hunter (5th and final update)

 

Hard luck vs dopes there. That assassin dope chunked Viconia and Imoen in two of my runs. It's a hard fight when you're solo.

[Blackraven]

Fin won't be making use of any potions, which may well cause him problems at the palace if he gets that far ...

 When I read this, I feared the worst for Fin. I'm sorry I was right.

[Charlestonian Knight Templar]

@Epsil0: Thanks for the advice. Living on the edge is how I roll. In addition to SCS, I also have item randomiser or some such, so there's nothing in the tree at FAI and who knows where the necklace of missles is. At least I don't have Hard Times installed. Gold and HP are not my problem, so much as nailing down a smart strategy. So I'm likely to pollute the thread with a lot of dead characters... hopefully you all find it entertaining enough. I'll refrain from telling you all how proficient I am against Reevor's rats, at least

Interesting. I own both BGEE & BGIIEE but only played the former once b/c I couldn't use my mods. You mention that you're using both SCS & Randomizer, two mods I use w/Tutu. You also mention Hard Times which is the staple of my BG/TotSC runs - I never play w/o that. Here's my list of mods. Wonder if they're all available for EE now as that might bring me back to playing w/them instead of Tutu.

 

HardTimes-v2; BG1UB_v12; bg1npc-v20; X0black101 (Blackguard); MegaModKits v1.01L; level1npcs-v1.9; bg2_tweaks-v14; Randomizer-v68; scs-v21 (- Tactical Challenges)

 

Any feedback is appreciates B_V. Thanks CKT

[Grond0]

There's a list of BGEE mods at:

http://forum.baldurs...als-quick-links

[Charlestonian Knight Templar]

Upon arrival we reconnoitered the surrounding area & external portions on the wall.  We crossed a natural narrow stone bridge that led toward a Drawbridge spanning a deep natural trench in the elevated rocky surface that provides the Motte for the stone Keep that common folk know as Durlag’s Tower. Upon crossing the natural narrow stone bridge we encountered & defeated two Battle Horror’s. We retired to rest as I, surprisingly, took significant damage as I was the focus of both Battle Horror’s attacks. Sleep was not easy to come by either as we were disturbed three times by small raiding parties of Gnolls. By the time the night was through & we’d finally rested we’d killed 18 Gnolls. Since they were all travelling the same direction, I assume there is a Gnoll lair somewhere to the east of here, likely not too far.

 

It’s taken exactly 280 days this morning to reach Durlag’s Tower, the same amount of time since Gorion & I left Candlekeep travelling in the unknown. Today is 8 Alturiak, 1370 & it is this day I plan to enter Durlag’s Tower. 

 

Getting to the Drawbridge required us to hack through three Doppelgangers.  The Drawbridge itself is apparently un’manned’ so besides the Doppelganger’s getting to the Barbican was easy enough & since it too was wide open we were able to march unhindered into the Bailey. Once there, I wanted to clear any dangers in the Bailey & check the Curtain Wall Battlements to make sure we were safe from ambush. To do just that we battled two Greater Doppelgangers in the Bailey courtyard. The Battlements on the Curtain Wall were another story & we ended up defeating another Battle Horror w/six Skeletons armed w/Composite Longbows & Halberds to the left of the Portcullis. To the right we were attacked by two skeletons armed w/Composite Longbows & Halberds which Imoen & Khalid smashed from down below. Climbing a stone staircase to where the skeletons had attacked us, we were confronted by & defeated a Doom Guard w/four Skeleton’s armed w/Warhammer (2), Morning Star (1) & Composite Longbow & Halberd. We gathered what treasure they had & headed for the ‘Gatehouse.’ It doesn’t appear to be a traditional Gatehouse but it has a Drawbridge & another Portcullis, although the Drawbridge doesn’t span a trench like the Drawbridge to the Barbican does. The Gatehouse is covered appropriately w/Murder Holes I did note. 

 

Key Event: The Ground Floor of the inner keep was unspectacular. Besides Imoen disarming a trap & a few pieces of gold there was little of interest. It wasn’t’ until we purchased a ward stone from the ‘Guide’ we hired in Ulgoth’s Beard that the tide went out on us. Suddenly a Skelton figure in Black Armor appeared threatening us literally & figuratively. He tossed Fireballs like they were innate to him & every one of us retired from the tower to safety as we were all injured save Quayle who’d smartly backed off to work @ range w/his spells. 

BATTLING ON THE BATTLEMENTS

Treasure of Note: (Purse = 837 gold) Pearl Necklace, Sphene Gym, et al;

 

Current Disposition: Camped not far from the location of the natural arch where we’d earlier battled three Doppelganger’s. We sold what we could to an opportunist merchant who makes his gold selling items @ exorbitant prices to adventures daring to enter Durlag’s stone Motte & Bailey.

 

Next Steps:  Back into the keep & upwards on the spiral starcase

 

Level Up:

·         Branwen’s patron deity, Tempus, increased her power. She is now a Matriarch (Cleric//Priestess of Tempus/8) & was granted Cure Disease, Zone of Sweet Air, Cure Serious Wounds & Defensive Harmony.

·         I humbly accept an increase in rank & ability to Superhero (Fighter/8)

 

Current Party: (Reputation: 20 – Heroic)

·         Gawain: Ftr/8; HP91; Full Plate w/Large Shield +1, Cloak of Protection +2, Helm of Defense, Boots of Grounding, Girdle of Bluntness, Rings of Fire Resistance & Free Action; Bastard Sword +1/+3****, Mace +1, (SSS**) (Greater Basilisk)

ELEVATION TO SUPERHERO

·         Minsc: Fighter (Barbarian/7); HP58; Splint Mai w/Boots of Avoidance, Girdle of Bluntness &Spiders Bane***, Flail 1 x2/THWS**(Spellcaster Defend)(Davaeorn)

·         Khalid: Ranger (Archer/7); HP60; Studded Leather +1 w/Bracers of Archery & Boots of the North, Longbow****, B/Sword* (TWS***)( Sword Spider) (Ranger Ranged)

·         Branwen: Cleric (Priestess of Tempus/8): HP48; Full Plate +1 (Plate of the Dark) w/Large Shield & Warhammer*; (Mace*, SSS*);(Ankheg)(Cleric Aggressive)

·         Imoen: Thief (Charming Rogue/9); HP34; Shadow Armor, Cloak of Non-Detection & Gandolar’s Lucky Ring w/Short Bow*, Short Sword +1* Dagger +1*, (Sword Spider)(Thief Def)

·         Quayle: Mage (Illusionist/8); HP19; Bracers of Defense AC6, Sling* & Dagger +2*, Ring of Energy, Necklace of Missiles, (Diseased Gibberling)(Wizard Defensive)

 

Mods Used: HardTimes-v2; BG1UB_v12; bg1npc-v20; X0black101 (Blackguard); MegaModKits v1.01L; level1npcs-v1.9; bg2_tweaks-v14; Randomizer-v68; scs-v21 (- Tactical Challenges)

 

Blue Font: New information;

Red Font: Monster encounters (first use)

(Best kill)(Current AI)

* Name Levels are ancient, AD&D titles that used to represent each new level in a class

[Charlestonian Knight Templar]

There's a list of BGEE mods at:

http://forum.baldurs...als-quick-links

Thanks G.

[Grond0]

Schluss - halfling bounty hunter (update 1)

 

Making progress with Fin was hard work, but quite a bit of that related to the way I was playing.  For instance he was using traps for RP reasons even when backstabs would have been more efficient and similarly had put quite a few skill points into open locks and find traps when increased stealth would have made far more difference to game play.  He also didn't buy useful equipment until pretty late on.  Schluss is playing on the same modded setup and with the same no potions restrictions, but will try and change the above aspects in order to make game play much quicker and easier - he'll also hope for more luck at the Palace (which dopplegangers are affected by pre-set traps seems to be random).

 

He didn't start too well though - old habits dying hard as he went to attack Shoal.  However, the sight of her displacement activating brought him quickly to his senses and he ran away before she could retaliate.  Moving briskly on he got a couple of levels in Beregost before travelling on to Nashkel.  He got another level there for trapping Zordral as he chased Schluss out of his tent and also bought the protection from petrification scroll and Necklace of Missiles.  

 

Travelling back up to Beregost he only just survived a bandit ambush before trapping Silke.  He hoped for a magic quarterstaff, but got a consolation prize with the Golden Girdle.

 

Moving on to the basilisk area he meleed the separated basilisks to get a couple more levels before recruiting Korax to do a job on Mutamin.  He failed to hit him in several attacks though and Schluss had to save against a charm person before finishing the job with a special trap.  Mutamin had quite a haul, including Boots of Speed and a Robe of the Good Archmagi.  Schluss then put traps down next to Kirian's party.  Surprisingly Baerin survived those, but switching to stealth shots finished him off.

 

Fin never got around to killing Bassilus, but Schluss gave him the trap treatment - he didn't have anything useful though.  I mis-clicked on the Melicamp conversation to miss out of the chance of a reputation gain there, but other quests were duly completed to maximise that.  Schluss tried trapping the Doomsayer during that, but it was immune to his damage and was just left alone.

 

After buying the invisibility ring and Greenstone Amulet at Ulgoth's Beard, Schluss trapped Dushai to get his ring of free action before going to finish off a few more areas.  That was carried out without danger, although not quite without mistakes - fortunately gold is not much of a constraint for most solo characters!

 

He's currently at level 8, having explored most wilderness areas.  He will wait until level 9 before starting on the main quest.

[Blackraven]

Hey Grond0, what an entertaining read. I hope Schluss is an entertaining character for you to play as well.

As to Shoal an easy (cheesy) way to kill her with a BH is to plant a number of traps (7 should be safe) when she's still neutral, and then attack her with your ranged weapon so that she becomes hostile and sets off the traps.

This:

After buying the invisibility ring and Greenstone Amulet at Ulgoth's Beard, Schluss trapped Dushai to get his ring of free action before going to finish off a few more areas.  That was carried out without danger, although not quite without mistakes - fortunately gold is not much of a constraint for most solo characters!

 

was quite hilarious.

[Charlestonian Knight Templar]

We headed back into the tower & ascended the spiral staircase to the 1^st floor. There we killed a total of six Ghasts & were wrapping up when…

 

Key Event: Imoen found a chest that was locked & that she didn’t detect any trap on. Even w/her skill (100%) @ detecting/removing traps, once she opened it a Lightning Bolt loosed & it was bad. Everyone tried to take cover but before the bolt stopped bouncing off walls, down halls & dissipated it had taken both Branwen & Minsc. Once again, we were all scorched except Quayle but he has to stay clear b/c a puff of wind could chunk him. Thankfully, my two lost companions could be raised so I got them directly to Kelddath & paid him the gold required for the service, 1600 gold.

 

That night, Branwen & I were sitting @ a candlelit table near the fireplace @ the Nashkel Inn. She’s been trying to teach me how to speak to a woman, the whole chivalry part of knighthood. I must have done well because she agreed to share my bed that night. It’s official now. Great stress relief but it cuts into the sleep. J

 

Returning the next day we killed six Doppelganger’s coming & going. Inside we found an entrance to a Bastion. I sent Imoen up having used her innate Invisibility while still checking for traps. She came back down the stairs & reported that a lone Lesser Basilisk was waiting just outside the door. I quaffed a Potion of Mirrored Eyes & went up alone to eliminate the threat. Up a long, straight, stone staircase we killed four Gnolls before finding another Bastion that circled the entire keep. Once again, Imoen went up using Invisibility.  She reported three Greater Basilisks up there so I had Quayle cast a Protection from Petrification Scroll on me while I quaffed another Potion of Mirrored Eyes just in case. I went up alone again & destroyed them. Man those things are big reptiles.

 

Treasure of Note: (Purse = 1,606 gold) Gems/Jewelry: Pearl Necklace, Bloodstone Amulet

 

Current Disposition: Resting near the Keep on the stone path that leads to Nashkel thru the Carnival.

 

Next Steps:  Up to the 2^nd Floor of the Keep

 

Level Up: None

 

Current Party: (Reputation: 20 – Heroic)

·         Gawain: Ftr/8; HP91; Full Plate w/Large Shield +1, Cloak of Protection +2, Helm of Defense, Boots of Grounding, Girdle of Bluntness, Rings of Fire Resistance & Free Action; Bastard Sword +1/+3****, Mace +1, (SSS**) (Greater Basilisk)

GAWAIN RECORD


GAWAIN INVENTORY

·         Minsc: Fighter (Barbarian/7); HP58; Splint Mai w/Boots of Avoidance, Girdle of Bluntness &Spiders Bane***, Flail 1 x x2/THWS**(Spellcaster Defend)(Davaeorn)

·         Khalid: Ranger (Archer/7); HP60; Studded Leather +1 w/Bracers of Archery & Boots of the North, Longbow****, B/Sword* (TWS***)( Sword Spider) (Ranger Ranged)

·         Branwen: Cleric (Priestess of Tempus/8): HP48; Full Plate +1 (Plate of the Dark) w/Large Shield & Warhammer*; (Mace*, SSS*);(Ankheg)(Cleric Aggressive)

·         Imoen: Thief (Charming Rogue/9); HP34; Shadow Armor, Cloak of Non-Detection & Gandolar’s Lucky Ring w/Short Bow*, Short Sword +1* Dagger +1*, (Sword Spider)(Thief Def)

·         Quayle: Mage (Illusionist/8); HP19; Bracers of Defense AC6, Sling* & Dagger +2*, Ring of Energy, Necklace of Missiles, (Diseased Gibberling)(Wizard Defensive)

 

Mods Used: HardTimes-v2; BG1UB_v12; bg1npc-v20; X0black101 (Blackguard); MegaModKits v1.01L; level1npcs-v1.9; bg2_tweaks-v14; Randomizer-v68; scs-v21 (- Tactical Challenges)

 

Blue Font: New information;

Red Font: Monster encounters (first use)

(Best kill)(Current AI)

* Name Levels are ancient, AD&D titles that used to represent each new level in a class

[Grond0]

Hey Grond0, what an entertaining read. I hope Schluss is an entertaining character for you to play as well.

Not bad so far, thanks.  With Fin I was constantly undertaking encounters when too low level or under-equipped.  I like some of that sort of challenge, but over-did it a bit with Fin, which made progress seem like hard work.  Schluss has taken things far easier and has used backstabs extensively rather than relying just on his traps.

 

Schluss - halfling bounty hunter (update 2)

 

Schluss took on the upgraded dungeon at Ulcaster.  Two lots of traps topped up with speedy backstabs enabled him to defeat the call lightnings of Icharyd, but he didn't have any bonus items.  Inside, a first use of a Necklace fireball with 6 traps set as backup almost killed the Wolf of Ulcaster, but Schluss then missed 2 backstabs and further attempts were made more difficult by dread wolves regenerating in the rooms surrounding the Wolf and more starting to arrive from the rest of the dungeon - as a result he triggered the fireball trap on the treasure while trying to hide.  He had to use his invisibility ring to keep safe there, but decided to have one more backstab attempt before running for it - and this one was successful.  The loot included nothing useful to Schluss - though a monster summoning wand would have been a prize for a mage type.

 

He spent a while backstabbing a couple of battle horrors outside Durlag's Tower.  That took him close to his ninth level and some ghasts within were enough to get that.  Like Fin he killed the basilisks on top of the tower, but was not impressed by the fire wand he got there.  However, he did retrieve the wisdom tome in its normal location there with the help of the Greenstone Amulet.

 

Finally getting on with things he stealthed through most of the Nashkel mines and gave Mulahey a lesson in setting traps (I was going to say it was free, but the lesson proved a costly one for the cleric ).  Nimbul avoided the traps set for him - by dying to an opening backstab - but the two provided for Tranzig did their job.

 

At the Bandit Camp Fin had a real struggle, but Schluss was far better off.  The Greenstone Amulet was available for spell protection, while the Boots of Speed allowed him to break contact and his decent stealth allowed him to hide pretty easily.  There was also no sign of Molkar and, as a result, it didn't take him very long to depopulate the place with backstabs without resting - this was easily his best backstab in the run to date. Just for fun he saved Venkt for last.  Searching all the bodies he came up with the charisma tome among the junk.

 

In the Cloakwood, Seniyad survived initial traps and Schluss had to jump in and out of the house a number of times to backstab his way through ironskins.  In the second area some phase spiders and ettercaps got him up to the level cap - a maximum HP roll taking him to 59 HPs, just above the 57.5 average.  With no more use for XP he just ran in to the spider nest to check if there were any tomes there - no joy.

 

In the third area he took out all the druids, though their ironskins meant that lots of stealth attacks were needed in addition to traps and it took a long time to persuade Amarande to chase Schluss downstairs.  However, none of them had anything on them, like the last run I did with Fin - so it looks like randomizer does not count them among its potential locations for some reason.  I'll probably just skip this area in future.  Schluss ran through the 4th area and has just arrived at the mine.

[Grond0]

Schluss - halfling bounty hunter (3rd and final update)

 

At the mine Schluss put down traps among the party there, then used a fireball intended to make them all hostile at the same time.  However, that didn't work with Kysus turning red first and absorbing all the trap damage.  The others then died to backstabs and stealth shots - though for the second run in a row it was Drasus' enrage that actually killed him.

 

Schluss just stealthed down to Davaeorn's level.  After killing the guard he disarmed the traps (I was surprised his skill of 65 allowed him to get them all) before showing himself to activate the enemies.  He ran out of the path of the web / stinking cloud sequencer and waited that out in stealth before backstabbing the battle horrors.  While he was doing that the guards were building up nicely and trapped Davaeorn while Schluss worked through stoneskins with stealth shots.  Davaeorn then went invisible, prompting Schluss to use his Necklace to fireball all the guards to death before playing safe by using a scroll of magic protection prior to showing himself to Davaeorn.  I suspect the mage was trying a useless sunfire when he reappeared, but Schluss' staff ensured he didn't manage to complete it anyway.  Davaeorn had his standard ioun stone, along with a wisdom tome.  Upstairs, the miner asked him why he hadn't brought the key - Schluss beat back a sudden impulse to backstab him and stealthed back down to get it in order to flood the mine.

 

In the City Schluss trawled round investigating possible locations for tomes.  I forgot while doing that that Marek talked on sight in this installation and then had to wait while he ran through his selection of spells before he would follow Schluss downstairs to his trapped doom.  He got the wisdom tome in the poison quest, but didn't find any others despite looking in many places.  Finally moving on to the Iron Throne Schluss went upstairs to set traps - and I once again forgot that the 2 Shennaras would be lurking.  Schluss survived a backstab from one of them and used his ring to go invisible.  He still had work to do to kill them and fought one of them in melee on the roof - discovering in the process that the ioun stone taken from Davaeorn's body was not protecting against critical hits.  He took the trouble to go to High Hedge and buy the infravision ioun stone there, but that was also not offering critical protection.

 

Back at the Iron Throne and with the other at near death I then made a pathfinding error and briefly came into sight of Zhalimar - turning all the others hostile, though they didn't get a fix on him.  Schluss did then kill the second Shannara and tried to lead Genthore up onto the roof - but all the Iron Throne mob followed, with Zhalimar dying in the traps.  With Schluss back downstairs I was wondering whether to risk going back up again (in the confined space with the others there he might well not have been able to reach the exit point to come back down, though with a scroll of magic protection on the casters would probably help kill everything fairly quickly) when yet another Shennara turned up - presumably having duplicated at some point while Schluss was doing area transitions.  He opened with a backstab of 36, leaving Schluss with 23 remaining.  Melee with Shennara was a pretty even contest, so I thought Schluss should try that for a bit and he started casting Bhaal healing rather than immediately running, but before he finished that he was struck down by another blow - that must have been one of those criticals he was not protected against and with maximum potential damage.

 

That was a disappointing finish after putting in a lot of effort.  Much of that had been in search of tomes, but for a halfling bounty hunter none of those make much difference to game play, so I probably shouldn't have bothered.  As his end was a bit unfortunate I'll probably give him a restart from Candlekeep at some point, though not immediately.

[Grond0]

Gloin - dwarf kensai (update 1)

 

After a few slow runs on my modded installation I fancied something rather speedier, so am having another attempt at a kensai on a basic BGT installation.  As with other recent attempts he won't be making use of any potions.  That means he can't get the strength tome, so I rolled stats until I got something with 18(00) strength in order to minimise the loss from that.

 

Schluss' death left half an hour or so before work and that saw Gloin off to a good start via Shoal, Beregost, Nashkel and the basilisk area - taking only a few scratches on the way.  His high strength means opponents tend not to last very long - here Karlat feels the pain (albeit only briefly).

 

 I don't think any of my dwarf kensais have had above average HPs, but Gloin is currently shaping up well with just above the average of 67.5 at level 6.

[corey_russell]

Good luck Grond0 - STR shouldn't be too bad of an issue, as you can get various strength items in BG 2, as well as a hill giant belt in Chapter Two. If he uses Warhammers (which he might as well so he can use the dwarven thrower) he can use Crom Fayre which upts his STR to 25. What are his proficencies right now?

[Grond0]

Good luck Grond0 - STR shouldn't be too bad of an issue, as you can get various strength items in BG 2, as well as a hill giant belt in Chapter Two. If he uses Warhammers (which he might as well so he can use the dwarven thrower) he can use Crom Fayre which upts his STR to 25. What are his proficencies right now?

Thanks Corey.  At the moment all his points have gone into axes with the final one in single weapon style.  I think he probably won't bother with hammers this run, though some of my kensais have done so.

 

 

Gloin - dwarf kensai (update 2)

 

Gloin started the session by working up to Ulgoth's Beard and buying the Greenstone Amulet and Cloak of Displacement.  The former allowed him to sort out Bassilus and then go over to the Lighthouse area to tackle some sirines.  Now up to level 7 and a healthy 82 HPs he had no problems taking down the flesh golems.

 

On to the Nashkel mine where his newly enhanced constitution meant a single rest cured him of trap damage and the odd kobold critical.  Against Mulahey he carelessly let the cleric into conversation range, and responded to the arrival of reinforcements with a Necklace fireball, before jumping in and out of the cave to avoid spells while finishing Mulahey off.

 

Killing the amazons, Nimbul and Tranzig and clearing the Bandit Camp pushed Gloin's funds up to 38k and he invested nearly all of that in the invisibility ring at Ulgoth's Beard - without the use of potions that avoids potential danger when trying to rest in the Cloakwood mine.  With nothing else to buy there he also hacked down Dushai for his ring.

 

After running through the Cloakwood he fireballed Kysus and Rezdan and meleed Drasus and Genthore.  Now with boots of speed on he quickly went invisibly through the mine.  He showed himself to the battle horrors and led them upstairs before going invisible again to dump them, then used a scroll of magic protection to leave Davaeorn with no chance.  After resting to get a second horror ability he flooded the mine and left (or possibly more sensibly left and flooded the mine).

 

A quick tour round doing reputation quests maximised that and produced a bit of money to buy the Claw and Horn of Kazgaroth.  Gloin also stopped off at Durlags Tower to get the tome there, along with his final BG1 level for killing a battle horror.  He's just arrived in Baldur's Gate.

[Aasim]

GL Grond0 with your kensai. Is there a specific reason why you pick axes (apart the fact they can be thrown?)

 

 

hacked down Dushai for his ring.

Isn't Dushai a "she"?

[corey_russell]

Kensai's can't use any range weapon that doesn't also have a melee component - meaning they can only range with throwing axes or throwing daggers. Being solo, Grond0 will have to range a lot, thus a proficiency that also has range component is quite useful. There two excellent axes in SoA, Stonefire and Frostweaver, as well as a +4 throwing axe in ToB. These axes also kill trolls (the SoA ones). Finally if he's good he can even use Azuredge to kill vamps, which also can be a +3 range weapon.

 

But Grond0 if there's more to that please clarify. : )

[Charlestonian Knight Templar]

After resting up from our difficulties on the 1st floor of the keep, we headed off to see what we’d find on the 2^nd floor. I had Imoen use one of her Potions of Clarity to increase her ability to find/remove traps even further (120%). The good thing about those potions is that they last about six hours so.

 

Key Event: As soon as we topped the spiral staircase onto the 2^nd floor, Imoen detected a trap at the entrance to a hallway directly across from the stairs. She Removed Traps & then I had her use her innate Invisibility to scout the hallway. She snaked around a half-C hallway until she found a chamber & was questioned by a Ghost who I guess could Detect Invisibility. She kept him from acting in an aggressive fashion for a few moments but then he turned on her. She got off one of her innate Magic Missiles (she’s poppin’ off five @ a time now). She retreated back to the where we had arranged ourselves to face a foe coming behind her down the hall. Nothing happened so she used her innate Invisibility again (not sure why in retrospect) & slipped back down the hall until he saw her again. She fired off her 2^nd & last Magic Missile but we’re not sure if it got him b/c suddenly he was in the midst of us. I immediately used one of my innate Draw on Holy Might spells, Minsc & Branwen went into their Enraged state. I’m not sure what Quayle did. He usually casts a protection spell of some sore on himself & the casts Blindness. (He doesn’t use Spook or Deafness as much as I’d like & he usually has Protection from Normal Missiles in his quick item slot along with Potions of Healing & Antidotes in the other two slots. He did manage after the battle to pull a two Scrolls of Dispel Magic out of his pack & use them to dispel a Confusion Spells that had affected me, Minsc & Branwen. Khalid, meanwhile, fired Arrows of Biting. Minsc got the kill.

 

After that we unlocked a few chests, Imoen removed a few traps & we almost had a run-in w/a rogue that was working the same floor. He backed down & we raided the chests right under his nose.

 

Treasure of Note: (Purse = 1,544 gold)

 

Current Disposition: I returned us to Nashkel to identify a wardstone & a potion or two. I couldn’t do it as Nalin wasn’t able so we made our way north to Kelddath who could. Back in Nashkel we’ve spent the night at the inn. Branwen joined me once again.    

PERFECT ENDING TO A DAYS WORK 

Next Steps:  Durlag’s keep, 3^rd level; maybe the basement

Level Up: None

 

Current Party: (Reputation: 20 – Heroic)

·         Gawain: Ftr/8; HP91; Full Plate w/Large Shield +1, Cloak of Protection +2, Helm of Defense, Boots of Grounding, Girdle of Bluntness, Rings of Fire Resistance & Free Action; Bastard Sword +1/+3****, Mace +1, (SSS**) (Greater Basilisk)

·         Minsc: Fighter (Barbarian/7); HP58; Splint Mai w/Boots of Avoidance, Girdle of Bluntness &Spiders Bane***, Flail 1 x x2/THWS**(Spellcaster Defend)(Davaeorn)

·         Khalid: Ranger (Archer/7); HP60; Studded Leather +1 w/Bracers of Archery & Boots of the North, Longbow****, B/Sword* (TWS***)( Sword Spider) (Ranger Ranged)

·         Branwen: Cleric (Priestess of Tempus/8): HP48; Full Plate +1 (Plate of the Dark) w/Large Shield & Warhammer*; (Mace*, SSS*);(Ankheg)(Cleric Aggressive)

·         Imoen: Thief (Charming Rogue/9); HP34; Shadow Armor, Cloak of Non-Detection & Gandolar’s Lucky Ring w/Short Bow*, Short Sword +1* Dagger +1*, (Sword Spider)(Thief Def)

·         Quayle: Mage (Illusionist/8); HP19; Bracers of Defense AC6, Sling* & Dagger +2*, Ring of Energy, Necklace of Missiles, (Diseased Gibberling)(Wizard Defensive)

 

Mods Used: HardTimes-v2; BG1UB_v12; bg1npc-v20; X0black101 (Blackguard); MegaModKits v1.01L; level1npcs-v1.9; bg2_tweaks-v14; Randomizer-v68; scs-v21 (- Tactical Challenges)

 

Blue Font: New information;

Red Font: Monster encounters (first use)

(Best kill)(Current AI)

* Name Levels are ancient, AD&D titles that used to represent each new level in a class

[Grond0]

Kensai's can't use any range weapon that doesn't also have a melee component - meaning they can only range with throwing axes or throwing daggers. Being solo, Grond0 will have to range a lot, thus a proficiency that also has range component is quite useful. There two excellent axes in SoA, Stonefire and Frostweaver, as well as a +4 throwing axe in ToB. These axes also kill trolls (the SoA ones). Finally if he's good he can even use Azuredge to kill vamps, which also can be a +3 range weapon.

 

But Grond0 if there's more to that please clarify. : )

The other standard attraction for axes rather than daggers is that strength bonus damage gets added.  That added to the kensai bonuses means an axe-throwing kensai can rival an archer as the best ranged character (does better damage, but doesn't have the flexibility of different ammunition).  I have given kensais dagger proficiency, though much more rarely, and also sometimes give them no proficiency with missile weapons (they're pretty capable throwing axes even non-proficient).  However, K'Logorath is such an obvious weapon for a kensai in ToB and Azuredge so useful in SoA that choosing other proficiencies is normally done just to experiment or vary things rather than to improve a character.

 

Finally, in the case of my current run of dwarf kensais, the portrait being used was persuasive that they should use lots of axes.

[Grond0]

Gloin - dwarf kensai (3rd and final update)

 

In the City Gloin had the luxury of knowing where items were and went straight to pick up the 3 tomes available.  He also got a +2 ring from Ramazith and a +2 axe from the Mountain Maulers.

 

He was then sent back to Candlekeep.  Without potions he couldn't access either of the tomes there, but did want to get Prat's throwing axe.  A scroll of magic protection and ring of free action provided his defences.  He didn't use the shield amulet and took a surprising amount of damage from Tam's arrows as a result, but still had a bit in hand to finish off Prat.

 

Back in the City he rested to get his final Bhaal power and then sought out Slythe.  He was pulled away from Krystin and axed into the floor.  Moving on to the palace he used shield and DUHM for protection, along with wearing the Golden Girdle.  With the dopplegangers active his first horror sent one running and his second did the same to another.  Liia died, but the remaining attackers were defeated with Belt not having taken too much damage.

 

With XP already above the standard BG1 cap Gloin just went invisibly through the maze and into the temple to find Sarevok.  He triggered the lightning traps and then rested to fully heal before using a long-distance axe throw to get Sarevok out to play alone.  Without a speed advantage that's still a tricky fight and he was hit early on when he was impeded slightly by a bat (sometimes I kill them before starting the fight to avoid that, but hadn't bothered this time).  With Sarevok well into injured territory he was then hit again, when I didn't react instantly to Gloin not responding to a movement command.  That took him to 42 HPs and in danger of being killed by a critical, so he responded by using his ring to go invisible and then Bhaal CLW and a DUHM got him back into safe HP territory again.

 

Continuing the fight saw Sarevok quickly on to badly injured.  However, I was getting tired by now from the constant pausing and a slight control error let him get another hit in - taking Gloin back down to 37 HPs.  He got 4 back by using Bhaal LMD, but now had no way to use his other DUHM (that should have been used to get a further HP boost while he was invisible before).  A critical was now likely to kill him and there was a slight scare when once more he didn't respond to a mouse click - but this time I reacted very quickly and paused and moved away again before Sarevok got an attack in.  Shortly after that Sarevok reached near death - but that still meant he had about 70 HPs!  However, with the winning post more or less in sight I successfully tightened up play and there were no more mishaps in the 11 further hits (requiring 30-40 circuits of the lower portion of the temple) needed to persuade Sarevok to give up the chase.

 

Gloin rested then went invisibly back through the maze to report to Duke Belt.  He has just arrived in Athkatla.

[corey_russell]

@Grond0 - Grats once again! Based on your description, it sounds like that Sarevok fight took a long time - 40 min. real time?

[Grond0]

I didn't note the time, but I think it would probably have been a bit longer than that.

[Epsil0]

Arghhhhh! Without going through all that happened before, carelessness ends another run as I accidentally run into my own Web spell in the Baldur's gate sewers with Carrion crawlers still nearby. A perma-hold was inevitable and down Gideon the Skald falls. 

[corey_russell]

Arghhhhh! Without going through all that happened before, carelessness ends another run as I accidentally run into my own Web spell in the Baldur's gate sewers with Carrion crawlers still nearby. A perma-hold was inevitable and down Gideon the Skald falls. 

Sorry to hear that. One good option is have an arcane character cast invisibility on your character - the crawlers don't attack you then. Horror on the crawlers might work too. If you are solo, of course then I guess you would just be out of options that point.

 

In future, considering getting Dushai's free action ring - that would make both your own webs and carrion crawlers much safer to deal with.

 

Good luck in your next attempt.

[Epsil0]

Sorry for the frustration in my above post: I was just really irritated to have all my work undone by me being impatient and not waiting out my own spell.

 

I generally play BG1 solo, only switching to a party in BG2: most of everything is just kiting in BG1 anyways! This does mean that Charm and Hold spells might as well be game over (and are in the former case...) 

 

But after the heavy micro of playing a Skald with darts, I wanted to play something simpler. As in, bash in creature's skulls without having to worry about kiting simpler. With that in mind...

Two points in Axes, and two points in TWF. I opted for 9 INT over 18 DEX since the inability to use even green scrolls is just too much to stomach. Plus, AC becomes more or less irrelevant in BG2 anyways, so it's not too much of a hit.

 

Gondil starts off as all my other characters: taking out Shoal with ranged weapons. From there, we cut straight to Nashkel to get the Ankheg armor. Back to Beregost to complete a few tasks, and then north to retrieve Evermemory for some much needed funds to buy the Shield amulet, Necklace of missiles, and Pro. Petrification. Basilisks are cleared to obtain level 6, and Peter and co. are Fireballed from offscreen. Proficiency points are placed into TWF (3 now) and one into Maces looking at BG2.

 

Greywolf loses a straight man-on-man battle, though it costs Gondil one of my axes. Kobolds costs Gondil the other; he's now only fighting with the Stupifier and a +1 small shield. Even so, Lay on Hands and the CLW Bhaal power gets Gondil through the mines, and Mulahey is dealt with by a Necklace of Missiles charge to wipe his minions, and jumping in and out to avoid the Hold spells. The Amazons fall soon after by stealth fireballs as well, (down to two charges by the end) and Nimbul is useless against Cavalier's fear immunity and the Shield amulet. The Stupifier stunned him, though, and the guards took the kill. A +1 Battleaxe is obtained from Feldepost before killing Tranzig by traveling up and down the stairs.

 

Ankhegs and Sirines are cleared, the latter under the effects of the Greenstone Amulet to protect against Feeblemind, giving level 7 and a CON tome after the Flesh golems.The bandits camp should've gone much smoother than it did: I wanted to melee the guy wearing Fullplate to death. It didn't work: I wouldn't have died, but I was forced to quaff a potion of regeneration. But then the game crashed, and the last quick save was right before that fight. I came to my senses then and had Gondil kill him from afar with copious amounts of fire. The tent itself is no problem under a potion of Magic Protection.

 

After selling and rebuying the Necklace of Missiles, Gondil heads off to Cloakwood, where all difficult encounters were again destroyed with liberal amounts of fire. The only exception was Davaeorn, where I had a brush with death when Gondil successfully shrugs off a Hold Person: I thought it was his Dire Charm, which Gondil is immune to by class.

 

In Baldur's gate, we've so far cleared the Seven Suns, killed the Ogre mage and Carrion crawlers properly this time (with fire), and fought Gretek's party in the Helm and Cloak for her +2 Battleaxe, and killed the top level of the Iron Throne... with fire. Level 8 and his final level was achieved here, and Gondil is ready to be send back to Candlekeep.

[corey_russell]

@Epsil0 - the best way to melee Khosann (the guy with the full plate at the bandit camp) is using a potion of absorption, since he uses a warhammer. Obviously girdle of bluntness in addition would help even more.