16388 réponses à ce sujet

[Tarsiz]

I was wondering whether it worked that way. I mostly tried to hide in broad daylight, so I guess that's why I sometimes failed 6 times in a row. I must have been used to the convenient stealth systems of NWN and Bioware later games I guess. I thought I knew everything about the game, but it feels like I still have so much to learn!

(And yes, the necklace tip was good, will keep it in mind for future runs!)

I tired the combat a second time. The priest went down at the first backstab. So did the archer, who was pretty much harmless with the boots and girdle of protection against missile/piercing weapons. The last fighter, Lidin, had between 8 et 24 HP remaining. I did not take any damage. Quite irritating, but I guess it only illustrates how careful you have to be if you want to send the game in one try.

[corey_russell]

Party play and solo play both have their pros and cons. The major con of solo play is it's less forgiving - the slightest error in execution can end the run, while in a party, a party member might save you.

[Gate70]

Blaggerd and the horde sweep through the Safehouse without injury before finding stairs to a second level. The first group of undead are not unexpected but their numbers are bolstered by a less physical presence. Suffice to say that Blaggerd gains the upper hand but Klaer has to be raised and most of the party are badly wounded with Oondul well into single figures.

 

There are a couple of incriminating screenshots but Blaggerd is

a ) Facing a moral dilemma

b ) Determined not to share his painstaking research with others

c ) Waiting to see others fall on their swords

d ) A bit embarrassed about those pictures of his bloodied nose

 

Yes, it's C. He's really not that nice a person and when he fails in his quest there won't be many mourners for him.

 

I'm going to try a generalised write-up, and keep plot/spoiler out of screenshots as inevitably I'll be metagaming

[Grond0]

I was wondering whether it worked that way. I mostly tried to hide in broad daylight, so I guess that's why I sometimes failed 6 times in a row. I must have been used to the convenient stealth systems of NWN and Bioware later games I guess. I thought I knew everything about the game, but it feels like I still have so much to learn!

Sorry to see your first attempt fail Tarsiz, but you'll have noticed most of us subscribe to the "if at first you don't succeed ..." principle here .  In relation to stealth I will often use rests to ensure my stealthy characters are exploring maps at night-time.  Shadows are much better than daylight for hiding, but night-time is better than shadows ...

[Grond0]

@Grond0: Two Shennaras, what's up with that? Shouldn't the other thief be named K-something?

The Shennaras (which are slightly different) are added by SCS.  They start invisible (and one has several invisibility potions), which makes them pretty dangerous for a solo character - especially if you don't realise they are there!  I'm afraid I don't think I've ever seen an explanation of why they share a name.

[Grond0]

Phantasmic 6 {51} - monks party (update 7)

 

Before returning to the City the monks finished off the few remaining areas not cleared previously - Larswood, Peldvale and the Wizard of Thay area.  I've suffered casualties more than once in the last of those, but this time played safe with the large group of spiders by carrying out a pre-emptive strike before anyone got webbed.  

Spoiler

A trio of Necklace fireballs also knocked the stuffing out of the Wizards themselves.

Spoiler

 

Back in the City the monks did a bit of dodging of the Flaming Fist while invading their HQ and taking Duke Eltan to safety.  A more challenging encounter was with Cythandria.  There, Spook managed to take the golems for a walk downstairs and lose them (which isn't easy), while the others tried to finish off Cythandria - only to find that one of the golems had been able to transition floors independently and had come back up again.  That meant Chimera had the thankless task of running round and round a small room with a golem (faster than him) on his heels.  He successfully did that for a number of rounds though while the others dodged sunfires and finally managed to bring Cythandria down.  

Spoiler

Spectre then took over the 'prey' role while the others threw missiles at the golems.

Spoiler

 

In the Undercellar Slythe was soon stunned.

Spoiler

I tried to use Krystin to kill Quenash, but her large collection of spells and scrolls didn't have a single area damage effect.  After using 2 potions of magic blocking and being badly hurt when charmed Chimera eventually gave up the game and called in the others to kill Quenash.

Spoiler

 

At the Palace all the monks used some of their hoarded potions.  Chimera's horror sent the invisible assassin running, which was helpful.

Spoiler

Primary targets were the shaman and mage and the former was beaten down before the mage succumbed to a stream of darts of stunning.  

Spoiler

The monks then healed up until the assassin showed himself again to complete the job.

Spoiler

Sarevok slaughtered Liia and all the guards, but Belt was safe in a side room.

 

While buffs were still active they cleared the maze before entering the Undercity.  They explored everywhere to start with and then needed a rest after a hard fight with a group of skeleton warriors.  

Spoiler

Then some fireballs opened proceedings with the Undercity party, though several of those ran around and had to be hunted down - Shaldrissa was the last and survived numerous stunning blows during a stealth attack until finally failing against one when already running for her life.

Spoiler

 

At the temple I realised I hadn't got around to talking with Tamoko and went back to do that.  Before returning for a final reckoning with Sarevok though there's some more work waiting for the monks in Ulgoth's Beard ...

 

Chimera - L8, 63 HPs, 367 kills

Spectre - L8, 61 HPs, 590 kills, 0 deaths

Phantom - L8, 61 HPs, 358 kills, 0 deaths

Wraith - L8, 57 HPs, 360 kills, 1 death

Spook - L8, 62 HPs, 339 kills, 0 deaths

Spirit - L8, 60 HPs, 317 kills, 1 death

[corey_russell]

Nice work Grond0!

[Grimwald the Wise]

I have just discovered a major glitch in my set-up and cannot progress at all in the DSoSC quests. While I get my set-up sorted out I am going to try a game with Icewind Dale EE which up until now I haven't tried. Does anyone know if there is a board with a similar thread to this one?

[Grond0]

The Beamdog Forums have a no-reload thread covering all the games - 

https://forums.beamd...solo-fmc#latest

I think there's been quite a bit about Icewind Dale in there, though I haven't read much of it.

[Grimwald the Wise]

Thanks Grond0. Just discovered that my Icewind Dale set-up has problems with screen resolution. I played once, but after that everything has gone to pot.

By the time that it is working properly, I may have BG1 working again.

[corey_russell]

Corthief IX the dwarven thief - Update 3

Traveling with: Minsc, Kivan, Ajantis, Branwen, Dynaheir.

 

The party has made good progress, and has seen a lot of success. However, we've also had many deaths. Corthief IX hopes the party doesn't rebel.

 

Once I got a magical two-hand sword for Ajantis, we put Kivan in the front with Minsc. He had a rough time, but eventually we were able to get him a magical ring and +1 large shield. We were notice-ably killing the enemies faster, so we kept this line-up. However, every time we encountered undead, Kivan got held and killed. Kivan has good dexterity, but his so-so CON really haunts him. He was killed by a ghoul, ghast and vampiric wolf in separate encounters. Eventually we got Kivan Dushai's free-action ring. Corthief tried to pick-pocket it, and had 100% skill thanks to potions of Agility, Mind Focusing, thieving and perception. I had to use different potions as in my EasyTutu, my buffing potions don't stack. But Corthief IX still failed so had to kill her and made residents in Ulgoth's Beard hostile - Kivan appreciates being immune to undead hold, all the same. Think he has nightmares about undead now...

 

However, Minsc and Ajantis still don't have free action. And sure enough, Minsc gets held by a vampiric wolf in Beregost Temple area and dies. Good thing temple nearby..

 

The party has fairly easily solved the Nashkel Mine problem - as well as Minsc soloing Nimbul. We also found a shield spell for Dynaheir. That plus boots of avoidance, and now Dynaheir is no longer looking at instant death if an archer targets her. Each level, Corthief IX is trying to improve his stealth (which can help a lot to stay alive in BG 2 ambushes), but still fails alot. However, with skeletons we destroyed Sendai - we then took our entourage to attack Vax and Zal - they were clobbered. But then winterwolves got into the action. Corthief got in a rare bit of melee as he backstabbed a winter wolf and engaged in melee. Fortunately, Vax and Zal did not last long and the party was able to assist and carry the day.

 

The party is mostly level 5, but still a couple people are level 4. Corthief IX will keep pressing on...oh forgot to mention we gave Sendai's magical sword to Kivan, so now Kivan dual-wields two magical swords. Minsc is dual-wielding maces and Ajantis has ** in Two-Hand Sword as well as ** in Two-Hand Weapon skills, so the party is definitely killing notice-ably faster. Probably Zal's bracers are helping Corthief IX's archery as well.

[Aasim]

Lovely stuff corey & Grond0, keep it up; great reports and a fun read. Hope to join in soon...

[Gate70]

Blaggerd congratulates himself on a job well done in the Safehouse. Only two incidents where body parts were scraped off the floor and brought back to life by a Flaming Fist healer, for free. The re-constituted Oondul and Klaer look as if they may be founding members of the tamp-Blaggerds-corpse-down club though.

 

The bustling city of Baldur's Gate is heaving with opportunity but Blaggerd has looted the palace basement and hocked everything that was dragged out of the safehouse (by everything, it was everything of value with some decent packratting seeing inventory to spare). Over 50k in gold and no need to purchase anything, so he's tempted to leave the city to someone else and hit the road.

 

With two decent two-handed swords to choose from, Blaggerd has switched from Spiders Bane to something that forgoes Free Action for a little extra damage. That's worked out well so far but he's ready to switch back when appropriate.

 

The downside to this is that the party aren't hoarding xp so may be a low-level run. I'm not too concerned as there will be plenty in Amn if he gets there

[Grond0]

Lovely stuff corey & Grond0, keep it up; great reports and a fun read. Hope to join in soon...

I'll look forward to your next run.  In the meantime I hope you enjoy this selection of monkish trials and tribulations ...
 
Phantasmic 6 {51} - monks party (8th and final update)
 
At Ulgoth's Beard the monks showed themselves to Shandalar and he sent them off to the Ice Isle.  Lots of stealth attacks there killed most of the mages before they could buff and it didn't take long for the monks to reach the exit to the island and return to Ulgoth's Beard.  

Spoiler

They tried attacking Shandalar as he was dimension dooring away, but only did minimal damage there.
 
After securing some sea charts and buying lots of magical ammunition they embarked on a voyage to their next destination.  Using magical missiles on the doggies they quickly cleared the island before going into the ship.  Stealth and attacking between levels allowed them to clear the first two decks before resting.  The third level was no problem before they popped their heads upstairs to the fourth to persuade Daese to follow them back down.  A few more stealth attacks and only Karoug remained.  Attempts to use the 2 wands of heavens with missile weapons didn't look promising due to the speed of his regeneration, so they retreated and hid in shadows before starting off with stealth attacks. That gave them a decent start on him and they were able to follow-up with just enough damage to finish the job.

Spoiler

 
After looting the ship using a cloud giant strength potion - getting another of those + a storm giant in return - the monks returned to the village to complete a few quests.  After resting they talked to Kaishas - that means they were now infected with lycanthropy, so didn't want to rest any more (and thus relied on missile weapons to kill werewolves to avoid taking damage).  They killed numerous werewolves in the village before talking to Dradeel to discover where to find the ship out.  Regrettably however, I tried to kill Dradeel as he dimension doored away.  Something a bit odd happened there as not only did he not disappear, but he immediately used "Selune's Curse" without worrying about his clouded aura.  The screenshot suggests a powerful fireball effect, but I think it must have been magic damage as Chimera was 80% resistant to fire damage - the damage seemed to be roughly equivalent to a 20th level skull trap (though probably with a save penalty).  On the plus side the spell killed Dradeel himself, but he took 4 of the monks with him .

 
With most of their lovingly gathered equipment left to rot in the rain Chimera and Spook used potions of regeneration and gave up on the idea of killing the werewolves in the tunnels as they stealthed out.  Chimera tried using darts of stunning on Kaishas while Spook acted as an invisible blocker, but the stun effect was ineffective on Kaishas even when her magic resistance didn't trigger.  Initially I thought perhaps fireballs would be effective at crowd control as the hordes of werewolves gathered.

Despite killing dozens of them however, more and more continued to pour in, so that it didn't seem possible to get Kaishas on her own.  Chimera then tried for a while using Wand of the Heavens blasts to see if he could kill Kaishas like that, but her regeneration was too quick - healing her between blasts.  Instead they both used potions before Chimera waited until he got a good initial damage from the Wand and both attacked.  They managed to get her to near death, but were unlucky that 4 wand blasts in a row were defeated by magic resistance and, at only 1 APR each, they couldn't finish her off - while Spook almost died himself.

Spoiler

After using invisibility and the last potion of regeneration they tried once more.  Again they weren't particularly lucky with wand blasts, but after she hung on for an eternity a couple of rounds while at near death Chimera finally got another blast past her MR.

Spoiler

 
There was still the problem of getting the sea charts from Kaishas' body, but a few fireballs opened enough of a gap to allow Chimera to grab those and moments later they were underway (fortunately none of the werewolves were transported with them).  
 
Back in Ulgoth's Beard Chimera used stealth attacks before Mendas eventually followed him out of the building.  That nearly proved fatal when Chimera was affected by chaos and then charm while Spook was overcome by emotion and nearly died before Mendas fortunately decided to withdraw.  After a bit of waiting around and dodging he was finally persuaded to change form.  

Spoiler

I was expecting his wolf form to be difficult, although unlike against Kaishas there was room to move around.  As it happened though there was no problem.  Spook and Chimera played tag with him - taking it in turns to try wand blasts.  He didn't have the same regeneration as Kaishas and was soon burnt to a crisp - providing a cure for lycanthropy as a result.

Spoiler

 
After raising the remainder of the party and re-equipping them they once more made an unprovoked attack - the one on Dushai was rather more successful than the one on Dradeel though.

Spoiler

 
Finally arriving back in the Undercity they beat up Tamoko before entering the temple.  After all their trials and tribulations I decided not to take any risks, so Spectre went straight into a corner and used a potion of invisibility to strand everyone except Angelo there.  Four scrolls of PfM were then used, with the others having potion protection available if necessary.  While running Angelo round about 60 darts of stunning were thrown at him and eventually one of those stuck.  

Spoiler

Missiles killed the skeleton warrior before a series of fireballs killed Tazok and Semaj.  A short wait was necessary before Diarmid's PFM scroll ran out and then he fell victim to the same tactic.

Spoiler

By the time the stream of fireballs finally dried up Sarevok had just reached near death and Spectre had a fairly easy task to run him round the temple while the others fired missiles at him.

Spoiler

 

Chimera - L8, 63 HPs, 527 kills

Spectre - L8, 61 HPs, 603 kills, 1 death

Phantom - L8, 61 HPs, 384 kills, 1 death

Wraith - L8, 57 HPs, 387 kills, 2 deaths

Spook - L8, 62 HPs, 373 kills, 0 deaths

Spirit - L8, 60 HPs, 340 kills, 2 deaths

[corey_russell]

Congratulations Grond0! Nice run! Keep up the focus in BG 2.

[corey_russell]

Grond0 said...

Sarevok had just reached near death and Spectre had a fairly easy task to run him round the temple while the others fired missiles at him.

 

 

 

Grammatically, this means that the other monks were firing missiles at Spectre, since he is the last specific "him" mentioned...sounds interesting! Unusual tactic too, firing at your own monk...

[Aasim]

Epic stuff Grond0....those werewolves...LOL. Gl further.

[Grond0]

Grammatically, this means that the other monks were firing missiles at Spectre, since he is the last specific "him" mentioned...sounds interesting! Unusual tactic too, firing at your own monk...

Ah, but context is relevant in grammar as well as order and I think the context is clear enough ...

 

Of course firing at your own characters can often be a good tactic in BG.  One interesting reason for doing this is with Jan's flashers.  They have an area effect, but the stun effect is party friendly - allowing you to target a party member who is easy to hit as a means of affecting enemies much harder to hit .

[Gate70]

Blaggerd is told in no uncertain terms that chapter 8 could be an all-nighter and he should wait for another day.

 

Or

 

Turn up.

Wander across the map.

Skip the cutscene (yay).

Pound Ivann and his crusaders into pounded stuff.

Curse as Ivann and his cronies are rescued by a huge explosion.

Finish off Ivann and his gang after the bridge is um err well who needs a bridge anyway.

Return to camp to fuse together the fragments of Klaer retrieved after a call lightning from Ivann's druid friend.

Receive a golden bust of Blaggerd.

Head off to chapter 9.

 

If it's worth doing, it's worth doing quickly.

[Blackraven]

Sorry Tarsiz about Marlene. It seems she was a bit unlucky. But then my no-reloader's experience is that luck runs out sooner or later. I'm looking forward to reading about your next run.

 

Great job Grond0 with the Werewolves. Impressive.

 

Corey, nice progress so far. Keep it up.

Saoni, CN Elven Dragon Disciple, 2nd BG1 report 

 

Saoni, Neera and Garrick were keen travelers, and Saoni was glad her companions were as carefree as she was. The trio accepted to restore order in the Nashkel Mines for Berrun Ghastkill, but postponed that job when they found the place beset with Kobolds. The companions considered the squamous yelpers tedious. Near the Mines they ran into Prism, and saved him from the clutches of Greywolf, with two of Saoni's Chromatic Orbs stunning the bounty hunter. They visited nearby Durlag's Tower but were put off by two Battle Horrors that required several of Chromatic Orbs and Magic Missiles before they fell. (Saoni reached level 6 here and picked Skull Trap as her first level 3 spell.) The friends also looted an Ankheg nest and a cave inhabited by Bears near a Xvart village, fetched a bowl for priestess Tenya, did Charleston Nib and Captain Brage a few favors, and they met Safana, a Swashbuckler in the Lighthouse Area, much to Garrick's delight.

Spoiler

She joined the party helped them to Black Alaric's treasure and stayed on. The band rescued a boy from three Worgs and got into a fight with Arkushule, who cast Sleep at Neera and a failed Charm Person at Garrick before the latter's Magic Missiles and Saoní Chromatic Orbs did her in.
In my install, Thalantyr sells pets for mages, so Saoni got herself a cat before she returned to the Nashkel Mines with her friends to deal with the Kobolds. All went well until Safana became visible while disarming traps in front of a Kobold Shaman and a Chieftain and their subordinates. Saoni ended up destroying the critters with her breath weapon and one or two wand scorchers. Their master Mulahey was paralyzed with a wand before he could call his minions. Saoni slew him and then released Xan, a handsome, moonblade-wielding Elven battlemage (Fighter/Enchanter), who had been Mulahey's prisoner. The five finished a couple of Kobolds and left the mines. With the party's heroic status came new enemies, Nimbul, Lamalha and her gang, and Tranzig for instance.
The threat of Nimbul was neutralized with the Wand of Paralyzation, but dealing with Lamalha and friends took more of an effort. The party was invisible, and moved away from the enemy. Saoni was the first to break her invisibility. She had a chat with Xan about her Bhaalpowers while she fireballing her foes.

Spoiler

When they came after her and Zeela Doomed her, Garrick killed Lamalha with a Magic Missile. Mirror Imaged Xan disrupted Zeela's spellcasting and slew the priestess soon after, but he also got poisoned repeatedly by Maneira's darts of wounding.

Spoiler

Potions kept him going. Saoni took out an already injured Telka with a Chromatic Orb, and Xan closed in on Maneira. He soon had the upper hand, which caused the rogue to panic. Another of Saoni's Chromatic Orbs finished her off.

Spoiler

In Beregost Tranzig actually put up a fight. First of all he had the audacity to shrug off a Chromatic Orb / Magic Missile combo from Saoni and Garrick (after hidden Safana had waited out his buffs). Dude didn't even panic. Downstairs he took another Chromatic Orb, another Magic Missile, and a Melf's Acid Arrow from Xan. Tranzig shrugged off the damage as if he were a warrior and then cast Sleep on Neera, and summoned War Dogs and Kobolds to kill the Half-Elf. Saoni prevented that with a Color Spray cast from scroll, which put the summons to sleep.

Spoiler

The companions killed the summons, and a critical from Safana with her Returning Frost Dart finally caused Tranzig's morale to break. The kill went once more to Saoni with, you guessed it, a Chromatic Orb.

Spoiler

At the Nashkel Carnival Xan copied several scrolls into his spellbook using the red potion for guaranteed success. Failing to deselect Neera before entering Zordral's tent was punished severely by the wizard.

Spoiler

The companions briefly retreated, and returned to overwhelm the wizard with a joint attack. At the temple of Helm they considered themselves lucky that Brother Nalin was able to patch Neera up.

[Gate70]

Chapter 9 is an epic adventure, with several ways to complete it.

Take your choice of subterfuge, pragmatism, deception or foolhardy bravado.

Sigh, we all know what Blaggerd is going to choose...
 
Yes, why wait for reinforcements or look for a weakness when you can make a big scene at the front gate.

 
Remember, this is Blaggerd. He's unmistakable.

 
The first group of guards crumble as the blackguard surrounds them (*)
 
A stream of recruits arrive to reinforce the guards, but Blaggerd is unphased until Kharm gets up close and gives as good as he gets. The horde soon change that, switching from hapless trainees to the deadlier threat.

 
Blaggerd is really sweating now, having used several healing potions and some spells from Mhoa. He's not going to retreat though and holds the line until reinforcements finally arrive.

 
Blaggerd leads the charge, careful to target key enemies as it would be dangerous to be swept along at this stage. Eventually he reaches the enemy leader and cuts him down. The last enemy to fall is a well-buffed mage, causing Slayer some discomfort with a Wand of Frost before weapons finally render her... rendered.
 
The battle is over, and Blaggerd surveys the carnage. There are no party deaths despite Oondul being repeatedly targeted even when staying towards the back of the party, while the Swashbuckler and Cleric/Ranger emerge without a scratch.

 
Blaggerd may not be a good leader but he showed there that he was willing to stand alone up front against some hefty odds.
 
* They surrounded him, but history is written by the victors

[Grond0]

Gate70/Grond0 multiplayer attempt 100 - (update 3)

Robin, elf archer (Grond0) & Treacletoes, dwarven defender (Gate70)

 

After applying an update to v2.1 we continued with our run by making our way through the Cloud Peaks.  Sendai offered some threat by buffeting Treacletoes around so he couldn't reach her archer friends and he gulped a potion while waiting for Robin's arrows to do the job.  

Spoiler

The rest of the work on the way to get the charisma tome was pretty straightforward.

 

Moving north a bit, Bassilus handed over a hammer upgrade to an eager dwarf - nearly all the undead there seeming quite happy to let us attack in peace.  

Spoiler

Melicamp failed to offer us the delights of 'chicken tonight' before we gave Charleston Nib a helping hand.  As I'm in cautious mode this run I suggested that perhaps the Doomsayer should be left alone, but Gate70 couldn't bear that idea .  Treacletoes bored into the attack, while Robin supported by using up 9 of the 10 charges from Imoen's magic missile wand - and in fact the fight was won without too much trouble.

Spoiler

We left that area by providing Brage with an escort back to Nashkel.

 

A bit more quick XP was on offer at the Lighthouse - the sirines had no answer to Treacletoes getting amongst them using a potion of clarity, while the golems were struck down so quickly that none of them managed a single successful hit on Treacletoes.  

Spoiler

Perhaps that success made him slightly over-confident, but he was brought back to earth in an ambush when leaving that area - a ghast immediately freezing him in place to wait while Robin ran round with his bow.

Spoiler

Arriving safely at High Hedge there was a bit of conversation about who should take the tome.  Robin would have gained extra HPs, but decided he had enough anyway (as he's normally just sheltering behind Treacletoes) and it would make more sense to allow the dwarf to activate his regeneration.

 

Treacletoes found his luck was back in when attacking a bunch of ankhegs - none of them registering a hit while clearing the nest (plus a couple outside for luck),  With reputation stuck at 20 Ulgoth's Beard was the next destination to pick up a few purchases (including a staff upgrade for Robin for those occasions where his bow is useless).

 

Getting stuck into the main quest Mulahey failed to cast a spell.  

Spoiler

The amazons did marginally better, but a couple of spells cast failed to take effect on Treacletoes and they didn't last long.  

Spoiler

Robin found a use for a few darts of wounding taken from the amazons to ensure Nimbul couldn't do much.  We did lose out on his boots though when the game crashed while those were being shifted into inventory and they disappeared into another dimension instead.

 

The same poisonous fate befell Tranzig on the way to the Bandit Camp.  Progress there was good with the bandits and Taugosz making little headway against Treacletoes.  In the main tent Robin was out of darts of wounding, but arrows of biting from the sirines performed the same function on Venkt.  Hakt did manage to poison Robin in return, but that was only a minor irritation.

Spoiler

 

The duo moved swiftly on through the Cloakwood, though they did have a rare stop off at the wyvern cave after Treacletoes had slaughtered a couple of wyverns in an ambush and got the taste for more.  

Spoiler

At the mine both mages were poisoned and didn't last long, but one of them did manage to gasp out a horror spell which sent Treacletoes running.  However, he was a hard target to hit and by the time he came back to his senses Robin had shot down all except Drasus - and he proved no problem to the combined attacks.

Spoiler

 

After making their way down to Davaeorn the battle horrors were drawn out one at a time.  A successful rest to heal up then allowed Treacletoes to gulp a potion of magic blocking as he ran through some traps to assault Davaeorn.  The mage tried to keep away with dimension door, but he was hunted down relentlessly and finally fell with the potion (5 rounds duration) still active.  

Spoiler

After flooding the mine the duo have just made their way back through the Cloakwood and arrived in Baldur's Gate.

 

Robin, archer 7, 79 HPs, 179 kills

Treacletoes, dwarven defender 7, 95 HPs, 142 kills, 1 death

[corey_russell]

Corthief IX the dwawrven thief - Update 4

Traveling with: Ajantis, Minsc, Kivan, Branwen, Dynaheir

 

The quest continues. But party members are still dying. One death in particular was pretty dumb - we were in a 3 ghoul ambush and I told Dynaheir to use her frost wand on the one coming toward her - instead her AI fired a useless bullet. I then turned off the AI and had her try again - she got held! The party instantly attacked that ghoul, but then next moment Dynaheir died...undead just have been super deadly this run - I miss my paladin groups with their undead hunters...So then I went to Beregost Temple to raise Dynaheir...the Temple wanted 600 gold - but we only had 411 gold!!! So we had to sell a potion of defense to get Dynaheir back. Better keep a reserve for resurrection money...

 

Fortunately we are dying less. And we are doing harder encounters. We battle the Amazon assassins. Entire party was ranged - we had a couple of skeletons and some monsters from the wand from this very area as distractions. This worked fantastic, the Amazons were destroyed.

 

 

Another potentially tough ambush was two Ogre Mages, who opened with invisibility. The party then responded by buffing, such as shield and mirror image for Dynaheir, resist fear and bless by Dynaheir, protection from evil by Ajantis, and Corthief IX had no buffs so instead equipped his fire arrows. Half the party fell unconscious to a stinking cloud, but the other half defeated these ogres! Nice victory and the loot was welcome...

 

 

We have cleared the southern two rows on the map. Kivan used a protection from undead scroll on the undead in the 3 tombs area. Ranged fire from entire party took down Narcillicus. Melee weapons took down the mustard jellies - Dynaheir didn't have a magical weapon that could hurt them, so just stayed away - she would probably die in one shot if she got targeted.

 

The ogre area north of Gnoll Fotress was fairly tough - the front-liners gulped just a massive amount of blue potions to stay alive.  Fortunately had cash to replenish the supplies. No deaths so all good I guess, but there were some close calls there.

 

We'll keep at it - party about level 5.

[Blackraven]

Saoni, CN Elven Dragon Disciple, 3rd BG1 report 

Near the High Hedge, another Elf joined the party, Kivan the Archer. He didn't last long with the band though, his determination and vindictiveness didn't mesh well with the freewheeling companions. Still he was there long enough for him to be involved in a battle with Sahuagin on the North Coast, saving the lives of Keth'sim Dwin'anea's and Jozzi Seasnake. Their reward was a Boomerang Dagger +2, which became Saoni's main weapon. Xan (specialized in daggers) also used it against a couple of Sirines that inhabited the coast, albeit with mixed results.

Spoiler

He was restored to health by Keldath Ormlyr, and would fare better against the Sirines in the Lighthouse Area (although he got Dire Charmed there once).
An ambush followed: Molkar, Drakar, Halacan and Morvin. As with Lamalha, Saoni was the first to reveal herself, antagonizing the four with some AoE fire. A Shield made her impervious to Halacan's Magic Missile, but she failed to disrupt Drakar's casting of a Hold Person. An preventive quaffing of an invisibility potion kept her safe when the spell held her in place.

Spoiler

The Elf Skull Trapped the lot once the Hold effect had ended, suffered limited Lightning Bolt damage from Halacan, finished the Gnome with a Chromatic Orb, and the others with her throwing dagger from behind an invisible wall of comrades.
A second visit to Durlag's Tower saw the companions form more invisible walls to deal with a Battle Horror, a Doom Guard, and several Ghasts. (This is cheesy I agree, but it saves a lot of time.)
Bassilus went down in two attempts. The first one was aborted when some of his Skeletons started to attack. When those were out of the way, Safana's frost dart, Neera's wand scorchers, Garrick's Magic Missiles, Saoni's Chromatic Orbs, and Xan's boomerang dagger attacks were too much for the priest of Cyric. (Xan initially tried tanking Bassilus, but that didn't work out.)

Spoiler

The company concluded some unfinished business in Beregost (Perdue, Karlat), to see Saoni reach level 7 (spell picks: Magic Missile, Blur, Remove Magic).

The party did well in the Cloudpeaks against Kirian and Vax and Zal, using lots of offensive spell power. Both Xan and Saoni could cast Skull Traps, Garrick's Magic Missiles were becoming potent at level 7, and Neera always stood ready with her Wand of Fire. Unfortunately Xan still struggled to be a good tank. Even with his Moonblade, a Ring of the Princes, Ghost Armor, and PfE his AC wasn't good enough to make the likes of Vax reliant on criticals to hit him. And Mirror Images aren't watertight in such situations either.

Spoiler

The pessimist nevertheless demonstrated he was a valuable companion when an Ogre Mage waylaid the party after their Invisibilities had expired. Xan briefly spooked their foe, and Saoni managed to remove the monster's buffs, but that was all she could contribute because an instant later she was Horrored by the creature, as were Garrick and Neera.

Spoiler

Saoni became the target of a Magic Missile, but then Xan and Safana really stepped up:

Spoiler

The Ogre dropped a Laeral's Tear necklace, ample reward for the hassle.

On the bridge to the Gnoll Fortress Neera reminded her companions why she had been charged with wand duty, and why she wasn't supposed to cast any spells. What was meant to be a Magic Missile became a Wild Surge that fried Safana.

Spoiler

Saoni, Garrick and Xan took care of the Ogrillons, and Invisibility was used to loot a Xvart cave.

Keldath got Safana back on her feet, and the party humored Garrick's request to visit the ruined Ulcaster school of magic, to learn about Myr'Cutio, a famous Bard that once lived there (according to a book he was given at the Nashkel Carnival). Myr'Cutio turned out to have prolonged his existence through undeath, a move that had done little for his conviviality. All he wanted was battle. His song horrified Neera, who was thankfully invisible at the time, so that she wouldn't alert nearby Kobolds and Hobgoblins. Xan tried to melee the undead Bard, but the latter had a drain life ability Xan couldn't protect himself from.

Spoiler

Saoni and Xan ended up nuking their foe with Skull Traps and Fireballs cast from the edge of their enemy's line of sight.

Spoiler

The spoils included a very nice set of Bardic Chain (AC4, does not interfere with spellcasting or pickpocketing) for Garrick. His Caster's Chain (AC5) became Xan's armor.

[Gate70]

Chapter 10

The twerp with a de between his names wants Blaggerd to commit a heinous war crime. Strangely enough, Blaggerd was planning to do that anyway.

 

Everyone in the Coalition Camp wants help with something, so Blaggerd waves at the idle NPC's and suggests they can do the drudge work while he and his horde do something that interests them instead,

 

A shortcut across the Bloodbark Grove turns sour, with Blaggerd stunned by beetles despite his Spiders Bane sword. The horde rally round and Blaggerd keeps 48 of his 95 hit points to fight another day. Or another minute as more beetles arrive with their shambling mound companion. Slayer takes point for a change and Blaggerd aims his crossbow, realising afterwards that he's thrown the normal bolts away and is shooting bolts of biting instead. The beetles can't stand the poison, meaning Blaggerd can switch back to melee for the shambler. Once it falls, Blaggerd allows a brief pause so Slayer can unentangle himself. 

 

Having reached their destination, Blaggerd annotates his map to indicate the short cut may not have helped that much. Now, the task ahead requires more subterfuge, deception and so on. Wonder how that's going to turn out.