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[SapphireIce101]

Ouchies in the FIrewine Ruins, and I'll keep the 1.5 days before stuff on the ground deleted thing in mind.

Soren led his group to the mines, and ended up fighting with some protectors, the fight was difficult and one of the protectors ran into a barracks, so Soren gave chase after all the guys outside were killed. After all of that, Khalid’s fighter side ended up leveling up.


On the second level of the barracks, a bandit told Soren where the enterance to the mines was at.


Inside of the mines, Soren spoke to a man that told Soren everything about the mines, and that he had intended on flooding it, but Soren had to find Rill and get the rest of the slaves out first. That shouldn’t be to hard, or at least Soren hopes it isn’t too hard.


On the second level of the mines, Jaheira’s druid side leveled up after a huge fight with tons of bandits and a mage. Soren found Rill and and a dwarf named Yeslick. Soren freed Rill and gave him one-hundred gold. Soren had Yeslick join his cause, and then sent him to the Friendly Arm Inn.


On the third level of the mines, Soren found an ogre mage that tortured people quite horribly. So, Soren destroyed the ogre, while Imoen hoped that she would never be tortured like that.


On the last level of the mines, Soren found Davaeorn. A battle quickly ensued because the man was obviously a bad person. Davaevorn demolished Khalid with a chain lightning spell, basically just outright frying him and making sure that there was no way for him to come back. After all of that Dynaheir leveled up, and adding some new spells to her repitore. Soren spoke to Davaeorn’s apprentice, and then ran like a little girl because Soren let him go free.



Soren went back to the first level of the mines, and told the miner that his friends were safe, and that Soren had the key. So, the mine was flooded, leaving Khalid’s very fried up corpse within the mines. Jaheira was mourning the loss of Khalid, as was Soren, Imoen, Minsc, and Dynaheir. However, they all knew that they had to honor Khalid’s sacrifice by destroying the Iron throne!


Soren went back to the Friendly Arm Inn, and picked up Coran the Fighter/Thief. (Or in our case, fighter/sharpshooter.) So, now it was time to go on a Wyvern Hunt!


On the way to hunting some wyverns, Coran’s thief side leveled up!


After fighting the wyverns, Minsc leveled up and so did Jaheira’s fighter side!


Soren turned in wyvern heads at the temple in Beregost, and got two thousand gold for it!


Soren: Berserker > Cleric - 4 > 5
Imoen: Adventurer - 6
Jaheira: Fighter/Totemic Druid - 5/5
Coran: Fighter/Sharpshooter - 4/5
Minsc: Berserker - 6
Dynaheir: Invoker - 5

Reloads: 2

Note: R.I.P Khalid!  I didn't expect him to go like that! Also, when BG2 rolls around, Soren, Minsc, Jaheira, and Imoen are going to be like O_O. Also, I don't know if I'm going to keep Coran, or if I should just go find Safana. May or may not post more.

Modifié par SapphireIce101, 23 mars 2012 - 05:32 .

[corey_russell]

Coran is arguably the best archer with his 20 DEX (DEX improves Thac0 with ranged weapons). He even can get good AC with heavy armor/sword/shield.

Safana, is well, sultry? Guess whatever your group needs more...

Tough break there with Khalid...he's been a solid contributor for many of my runs. Good thing so may NPCs to choose from for BG 1...

Modifié par corey_russell, 23 mars 2012 - 09:55 .

[BelgarathMTH]

Update, Friday, March 23, 2012:

-We cleared the Basilisk map. With Dynaheir as a sorceress with 6x PfP, and Imoen as a T/M with 3x PfP, this wasn't hard. No Potions of Mirrored Eye were needed. I avoided the fight with the rival party, as I always do as a good character, simply by shrugging off their taunts and cries of "coward". I see them as younglings, perhaps teenaged, and come on, I knew we could slaughter them easily. Where is the good in killing a gang of teenagers just to get their possessions? 

-(IC, and private thoughts to self) Branwen seems to be falling in love with me, and..... I with her. The thoughts that go through my mind when I watch her fight with her... uh.... she wears very revealing clothing, and refuses to take the robe of the Jedi. She is so deep, and even kind-hearted when one gets to know her beyond her Northmaiden reverence for battle. And she is amazingly strong with the Force. I know in my mind why the Jedi order enforces celibacy, and that no good can come from my attraction, because I know the story of The Fall of Saint Anakin. And I can see the potential for Branwen's falling to the darkside through her battle lust, but....  with my heart, my feelings... Force help me, I want to believe that our love could transcend all that.....

-(still IC) I used Force Persuasion against the leader of a group of bandits in the Peldvale to win free access to the leader named "Tazok". They took us to the far northern edge of the forest where they had established an encampment. I hope to avoid much bloodshed by Force Persuading these weak-minded bandits. Surely enough, the one guarding the main tent proved extremely susceptible. With but a wave of my hand and a compliment to his guarding ability, he put my padawans and me in charge of the leaders' tent. I can't help smiling and thinking of the old "fox in charge of the henhouse" cliche.

OOC - This battle was a cakewalk. Branwen and Gavin both cast Hold and Silence on the wizard. Dynaheir cast Web, and Imoen cast Stinking Cloud. It was so ridiculously easy from there, it makes me giggle to think about it. Talk about "strong with the Force"!



   

-(IC) Outside, we encountered Sergeant Taugouz (or whatever - I am horrible with names, since I usually perceive the world through my feelings rather than my intellect) - he had apparently heard the commotion in the tent. Since he was still under the influence of my Force Persuasion, he apparently did not realize that he was coming alone against six powerful Jedi. He was Held effortlessly by Gavin, and fell seconds later. My only regret is that I wish I could have seen a way to spare his life. After dispatching him, we snuck away from the camp and back to the Friendly Arms, sparing the lives of the other humans, hobgoblins, and gnolls in the camp.



-(OOC) We went back to the FAI, rested, and went to Beregost. Reported to Vai. Got Gavin summoned by the SotM Temple for his third character mission. Did our business, Imoen opened the necromancer's house with a Knock spell. (I have her Find/Disarm Traps to 100%, and have left her Open Lock at minimum in favor of beginning to build her stealth actions, so I have her carry Knock for just these kinds of situations.)

The battle on the bottom floor was intense and interesting, but nobody got hurt very much. The head cleric got one of those thrice-damned Rigid Thinking spells on me, but it didn't matter. Dynaheir cast Web, Imoen cast Stinking Cloud, and then they started casting Magic Missiles over and over on the head cleric. They even managed to interrupt his Summon Undead twice such that he never got his skellies. Gavin had to tank a flunky, but Branwen was free to cast Silence, Hold, and Holy Smite over and over.

This was the easiest and most fun this battle has ever been for me. My party is VERY strong with "the Force"!






-(OOC) Our spells were depleted after this, so we decided to leave and rest in an inn before confronting the lady necromancer. Once again, once we returned, the battle was very interesting. I cast my Inquisitor Dispel twice during the battle and it wouldn't work. Either she was too high a level even for double-level Dispel to work, or her MGoI stops Inquistitor Dispel because it counts as a level 3 spell which is protected against. I wasted a lot of Branwen's and Gavin's spells, forgetting that her MGoI would make her invulnerable to anything they could do magically, but it was all good in the end.






Gavin will use the +3 staff, which makes him look more like a Jedi Knight because of the glowy-stick effect.

Todd - Level 5 Inquisitor
Gavin - Level 6 Cleric
Branwen - Level 6 Cleric
Minsc - Level 5 Ranger
Dynaheir - Level 5 Sorceress
Imoen - Level 5 Thief/Level 4 Mage

Reloads:0

Modifié par BelgarathMTH, 24 mars 2012 - 05:11 .

[SapphireIce101]

@Corey - I was debating on if I should keep Coran or not, but since I'm Coran'd out it wasn't that hard to say "Hey, I wanna replace him with someone else!"  Also, I wasn't expecting Khalid to go like that..Imoen is gonna see some horrid things when BG2 comes in.

@Belgarath - Keep up the nice work as always.

Update Time!

Soren headed towards Gullykin, and met a halfling named Alora. He got Alora to join his cause, and sent Coran back to the Friendly Arm Inn.


Soren headed back up North towards Baldur’s Gate, and met a Paladin named Ajantis, and then sent him to the Friendly Arm Inn.


Soren went to Baldur’s Gate, and spoke to Scar. Scar gave Soren the task of investigating the Seven Suns. Also, Soren told Scar that he thought that the Iron Throne was behind everything.


Soren went to Ulgoth’s Beard, and went directly to the inn. He spoke to a dwarf that wanted a dagger from Durlag’s Tower. Soren said that he would get it when he was able to.


Soren went back to Baldur’s Gate, and the first thing that happened was that Elminster spoke to him. Also, Soren realized that he liked Dynaheir in the more than friendly way of liking a person.


The group went to the Elfsong, and celebrated Soren’s birthday, even though it wasn’t really Soren’s birthday.


Soren went to the Seven Suns building and talked to a Merchant, he said some shapeshifters have infiltraited the building. Soren went to the second floor of the Seven Suns, and defeated a doppleganger, and then he spoke to Jhasso. Now, Soren told Scar of what happened, and then said that he would go back to the Seven Suns building. Soren also leveled up. Soren went back to the Seven Suns, and destroyed the dopplegangers, now Soren had to go do somethings in the sewers…eww.



Soren found an ogre mage, and killed it. He also brought up a ruby ring, and a body of a noble girl from the sewers. Also, while in the sewers, Soren had told Dynaheir that he loved her. After dealing with the ogre, Soren went back to Scar, and told him of the progress that he had made.


Scar told Soren that he had an audience with Duke Eltan. So, Soren spoke to the Duke, and he told Soren that he wanted Soren to investigate the Iron Throne. In turn, Soren went to go investigate the Iron Throne…for two thousand gold.


Soren made it to the top floor of the Iron Throne building, and a huge battle ensued. It was a difficult battle, but nobody fell, and nobody gave up. Soren spoke to a man, and then let him go. The man probably didn’t deserve to be let go in the first place, but Soren is a nice person.


Soren went back to the Flaming Fist, and spoke to Duke Eltan, telling him that any incriminating things would be found at Candlekeep. So, Duke Eltan gave Soren a book that would allow him passage into Candlekeep.


Soren: Berserker > Cleric - 4 > 6
Imoen: Adventurer - 6
Jaheira: Fighter/Totemic Druid - 5/5
Alora: Thief - 6
Minsc: Berserker - 6
Dynaheir: Invoker - 5

Reloads: 2

Note: Thats right, I picked Alora to replace Coran. Her dex is just as good, even though some of her other stats are lacking. Also, her pickpocketing skills, and her lock pick skills are pretty good.

Modifié par SapphireIce101, 24 mars 2012 - 05:36 .

[BelgarathMTH]

Update Saturday 3/24/2012:

@Sapphire: Looking good, man. Do try to keep that reload counter from going up any more, hmm? We're both going to need those in late SoA and ToB. ( ...grin...  Consider that a friendly challenge. )

-I decided to tackle the Cloakwood today. My goal was to get through Davie, but I got distracted spending a lot of time playing with portraits and tweaking my party and such, so I only got to the beginning map of the Mines. More on this at the end of this post.

-Sided with the druids against the unwelcome hunters and got the sword +3 against Shapeshifters. This will come in handy on Werewolf Island.

-Got ambushed two or three different times while traveling here and to and through and yonder. The ambush was always the same. I had to get my three ranged characters to deal with one giant spider before they could finally assist my three melee characters against two wyverns and two more giant spiders. It always looked about like this screenshot:



-I did the Cloakwood up to the mines map. Before doing this, I kicked Minsc for Kivan and Imoen for Coran, just so I could enjoy some more NPC Project material (see below). I obtained the Greatsword of Free Action using one and only one Potion of Free Action. The hamadryad got Gavin Dire Charmed, so I just had the rest of my party lead him in circles on a merry little chase, after Dynaheir had cast a Web right into the middle of the hammadryad's Teleport Field. The Web didn't seem to do much good against her, but after a couple of Inquisitor Dispels, hits from my lightsaber, and shots from my archers, she really couldn't do much against us.

-I pretty much left the shadow druids alone after promising to deal with the threat to their forest. You have to have Jaheira in your party to trigger the whole defeat-the-evil-druids storyline.

-Got wyvern heads for Coran. Backtracked all the way to Beregost to get credit. Got myself all the way back to the beginning of the Cloakwood Mines map.



Just for kicks and giggles, I have switched out my BG1 style portraits for a set of Amaurea's most excellent portraits. I like to have all my party portraits in one artistic style, BG1, BG2, or Amaurea, and I usually switch out a few times during each trilogy run. I SK'd Coran's thief skills to get his Find Traps and Open Locks to respectable levels, while sacrificing his stealth actions.  I remain at zero reloads.

Modifié par BelgarathMTH, 25 mars 2012 - 02:12 .

[SapphireIce101]

Ahh, thanks. Also, Coran. I just happen to be...Coran'd out. Also, definitely going to need those reloads. I might end up going 20+ if I don't watch myself. Haha.


Imoen leveled up against some mephits that wanted to take Dynaheir away, and then Imoen dualed to a mage.

Soren went to Candlekeep, and found a bunch of Ogre Mage bounty hunters. It wasn’t easy taking them down, but nobody died so that was a plus. Then, Soren gave a book to the gatekeeper and was allowed enterance into Candlekeep.


Soren entered the Priest’s Quarters, and found a priest disecting a cat, but it wasn’t really a priest…it was a DOPPLEGANGER!


Soren entered the Library and spoke to some monks, some of them being dopplegangers, and he also talked to someone named Koveras, and found where Rieltar was at, but Soren would not let his anger get the best of him and decided to let Rieltar live. Imoen leveled up after fighting a doppleganger. Soren read a letter from Gorion, telling him that he was a Bhaalspawn. Jaheira did not know and she said that she would never betray Soren.



Soren went to go find Tethtoril, and instead was thrown into jail, only to get broken out of jail by Tethtoril. What a wonderful day it was.


As Soren was fighting through some dopplegangers, Imoen leveled up again. Then, Soren fought some dopplegangers that looked like Tethtoril, Eliminster, and Gorion. Apparently, Sarevok was playing a nasty, dirty game with Soren.


Soren found some men in the caves, and killed them some what easily. Dynaheir leveled up against some greater Basilisks. (I had to reload once because the guys targeted Soren and Jaheira was the one with the protection from petrification on. Haha.) Soren spoke to a man in the lower levels too, but he ran away.


Now, Soren was out of the caves and he only had one thing left to do. Go kill Sarevok!

Soren: Berserker > Cleric - 4 > 6
Imoen: Adventurer > Mage - 7 > 3
Jaheira: Fighter/Totemic Druid - 5/5
Alora: Thief - 6
Minsc: Berserker - 6
Dynaheir: Invoker - 6

Reloads: 3

Note: Death by petirifcation is not fun, and I was going to use a potion of mirrored eyes..only to find out that it doesn't do what it used to do anymore. D'oh! Curses on Item Revisions sometimes! Also, I'm really liking Alora. Shes a happy little halfling.

Modifié par SapphireIce101, 25 mars 2012 - 03:41 .

[BelgarathMTH]

Ouchies on the Petrification, Sapphire. I forgot you were playing with some difficulty enhancements, and I'm still doing vanilla difficulty. I'm sure you'll beat me anyway on number of reloads by the time we get to ToB, because I've nowhere near mastered all those pocket plane battles and the battle against Mel. (Last run, I had to turn the difficulty slider down to easy before I could beat her.)

Also, I may start to get a lot of reloads later just because I'm playing my own head tank and leading my own party this time. It just wouldn't feel heroic or worthy of a paladin/jedi warrior to cower in the back giving orders while everybody else takes the chances in the front line.

If I do another run after this one, I guess I'm finally ready to try an SCS run, although maybe not with all the difficulties turned on.

[BelgarathMTH]

quick update: Sunday, March 25, 2012

-I got up to the Cloakwood Mines entrance, and realized the Wand of Fireballs was gone! Backtracked all the way to the FAI to see if Imoen had it. She didn't.. Went to Beregost and High Hedge to check the shops and see if I had accidentally sold it. I hadn't. So, not sure how, but it's gone.

-I decided to kick Coran and bring Imoen back in, partly because Coran's shrill, whistled "Here, Doggy" battle cry was hurting my ears, and partly because she had at least one Fireball spell to use. Dynaheir just got a third level spell, but I took Haste.

-There was lots of carelessness at the entrance to the mines, but everything turned out okay. Dynaheir opened with Web and Imoen cast Fireball (before the leader started talking). Gavin cast Silence and Branwen cast Hold Person on the cleric.

 The melee leader got out of the Web using his Boots of Speed. I had forgotten about those. He went after Dynaheir, and she couldn't outrun him. Still having a brain fart, I cast Inquisitor Dispel at the head melee guy. Of course it didn't work since he was wearing a magic item to get his Haste. Gavin fired his sling at the 2 mages struggling with the Web. The rest of us were running in circles, Branwen and I trying to get the enemy tank's aggro, unsuccessfully, and Dynaheir running for her life.

Kivan got some bow shots in, and finally pulled aggro. Then Dynaheir and Imoen were able to finish him with Magic Missiles. We were finally able to finish off the Held and Webbed mages and cleric.

I realized when it was all over that I had forgotten to cast Remove Fear before the battle. That could have gotten us all killed. It would only have taken one successful cast of Horror by one of those mages.

So basically, whew!

[SapphireIce101]

Yeah, Mel is a wee bit difficult.  Also, Coran's whistling isn't that bad!

Update Time!

The first thing that happened when Soren went back to Baldur’s Gate was a woman spoke to him about his problem. She said if he wanted to speak to her again that he had to go to the Flaming Fist Building. Ugh. Flaming Fist.


On the way to the Flaming Fist Building, Soren was caught by some Flaming Fist. Soren met Angelo, and luckily, nobody was killed. Now, Soren had to find his way out of the building. While in jail, Soren found a murderer named Neb. Unfortunately, he was Soren’s only way out of jail.


Once Soren was out of jail, he spoke to Tamoko. She told Soren the information that he needed. Now, Soren only had to go back into the Flaming Fist Building, save Duke Eltan, go back to the Iron Throne building and kill someone, and lastly find this Kristen and Slythe.


After fighting with some flaming fist, Imoen leveled up! Soren spoke to the fake healer, and he was really a doppleganger! Alora leveled up after fighting said doppleganger. Soren spoke to Eltan and got him to the harbor master as soon as possible.



Soren made it to the top of the Iron Throne building again, but this time he spoke with a woman, and ultimately killed her. (She was passed out! I swear Soren wouldn't kill a person who wished the surrender!)


On the way to finding Kristen and Slythe, Jaheira leveled up against the ogre that was in…a bar.


Soren found Kristen and Slythe, and then killed the both of them rather easily. Of course, Slythe’s backstabs were no joking matter and they did nearly kill Minsc a couple of times.


Soren went to the Duchal Palace, and gave his invitations to the guards. Then, Soren had to listen to Sarevok’s speech. Then, most of the nobles turned out to be DOPPLEGANGERS, and Soren had to protect the dukes. Once that was over, Sarevok came into the fray for a little bit. Then Belt teleported Soren to the Thieves Guild and sent him after Sarevok.



After fighting some guys in near the Bhaalist Temple, Imoen leveled up! Soren spoke to Tamoko, and had to kill her even though he really did not to.


Soren went after Sarevok, and killed him. After that, Soren, Jaheira, and Minsc leveled up. Last thing that had to be done was tell Duke Belt of what had transpired down in the temple.


Soren: Berserker > Cleric - 4 > 7


Imoen: Adventurer > Mage - 7 > 5


Jaheira: Fighter/Totemic Druid - 6/6


Alora: Thief - 7


Minsc: Berserker - 7


Dynaheir: Invoker - 6


Reloads: 3

Note: And thats the end of Soren's Venture through BG1... I didn't do Durlag's Tower, Werewolf Isle, or  Ice Island, but those get boring sometimes. Also, I think I'm gonna miss Alora. Shes soo cheerful!

Edit: Challenger Update coming to a post near you soon!

Modifié par SapphireIce101, 25 mars 2012 - 09:25 .

[BelgarathMTH]

-kicked Dynaheir for Xan, just to get some more NPC Project material to enjoy. SK'd Xan to sorcerer.

-second level of mines, Imoen got fried by a Lightning Bolt. Had to backtrack all the way to FAI.



-upon finally arriving back in the mines, got the other mage and the ogre mage with little trouble thanks to True Sight.



-came up on Davie's chambers. Imoen got forced by the game to the front of a narrow entryway and almost died to a simple guard. A couple of healing potions and some Rubik's cube moving of the party saved her life. She then disarmed all the traps, especially the Battle Horror ones (so, whew). I had been planning to pull her back so we could buff, but unfortunately Davie saw her while she was getting the last one.

We had to act fast. I drank a Potion of Magic Shielding. Xan cast Haste. I threw the Boots of Grounding to Kivan. Good thing they go on like slippers. Branwen drank a Potion of Grounding. Gavin drank a Potion of Grounding.

Imoen had to spend the critical first moment finishing up with the last trap. She went down to almost one hit point from Davie's opening Lightning Bolt. The rest of us were okay due to last-second buffing.

Imoen ran back, drank a healing potion, and cast Fireball before we all got mixed up. It only did 2 points damage. Xan cast Web. Gavin and Branwen attempted Hold and Silence - to no avail.

I used Inquisitor Dispel twice to keep de-buffing Davie. I believe that's what saved us. Imoen and Xan cast Magic Missiles. Davie got a Hold on Gavin as his last act. Davie is dead, and the rest of us are not much worse for wear.



Finished up, saved the miners, went back to FAI. Will probably do the Sword Coast or the East Forest next. Will definitely finish all three of those maps before heading up to Baldur's Gate.

Todd - Level 6 Inquisitor
Branwen - Level 6 Cleric
Gavin - Level 6 Cleric
Kivan - Level 6 Ranger
Xan - Level 6 Sorcerer
imoen - Level 6 Thief/Level 5 Mage

Reloads: 0

Modifié par BelgarathMTH, 25 mars 2012 - 11:46 .

[SapphireIce101]

Ooh, Keep up the nice work, Belgarath. Hope to see you in the BG2 Thread soon though.

Challenger update!


Current Challengers:
 
Name: Todd
Race: Human
Alignment: Lawful Good
class: Inquisitor
Solo or Party: Party
Members of Party: Branwen, Gavin, Imoen, Jaheira, and Xan
Location: Friendly Arm Inn
Reloads: 0
Entered By: BelgarathMTH
 
Name: Izuerial
Race: Elf
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
class: Mage
Solo or Party: Party
Members of Party: Imoen, Montaron, Xzar
Location: Friendly Arm Inn
Reloads: 0
Entered By: Golgoth
 
Future Challengers:
 
Successful Challengers:
 
Name: Soren
Race: Elf
Alignment: Neutral Good
class: Berserker, dualed to Cleric
Solo or Party: Party
Members of Party: Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc, Dynaheir, Alora
Location: Chateau Irenicus
Reloads: 3
Entered By: SapphireIce101

Modifié par SapphireIce101, 26 mars 2012 - 12:21 .

[Satyricon331]

Congrats, SapphireIce! I don't know how you guys manage to get through BG1 with so few reloads.

[BelgarathMTH]

@Satyr, you basically do it by memorizing every encounter. Knowledge is power. For example, I knew from past experience that Davaeorn casts a potentially fatal Lightning Bolt near the beginning of every time you fight him, so I knew to protect everybody from Lightning. He also has a Fireball in his repertoire, so I knew I needed to protect at least myself from all magic.

[BelgarathMTH]

Update Tuesday, March 27, 2012

-Went to do the Sword Coast maps. Sacrificed Imoen to the (totally unfair!) Siren encounter. Was going to spare her, fight the ogre mage, and free her, (which would have fit my roleplaying), but unfortunately, Xan decided to fire his crossbow and finish her, and she was in mid-Raise Dead casting for Imoen to boot! Consider Xan strongly reprimanded! Had to backtrack all the way to Beregost and back to get her raised. Sigh.



-While exploring and helping the local populace fight off an invasion of wolves, hobgoblins, ogres, carillon, and sirens, met a very interesting diviner. I never noticed this before, but she had something interesting things to say about the fact that, in our world, Shadows of Amn and Neverwinter Nights were done deals and in development. Now that I think about it, there are several of the encounters with diviners that do the same thing. Very droll insider humor, if you have the hindsight and info to appreciate it.



-Here's an interesting shot of one of the battles with Sirens. With Web, Silence x2, Inquisitor True Sight, and Inquisitor immunities, this battle is over. Cleared the two pertinent maps, got to the exterior of a pirate's cave based on a tip from Safira. Soon, the Tome of Constitution will be mine.



IMPORTANT TIP FOR FRIENDS: I am finding that it is very helpful for viewing screenshots in all the various posting formats, and especially for these widescreen ones, to use the browser zoom controller in the bottom right of the browser window. At 100%, the screenshots I'm posting are too small to read, but by clicking twice and zooming to 150% or 200%, they are very large and easy to read. I try to take it easy on the number of fullsize screenshots, with only one to four or so of the most important of those posted, with sometimes some extra thumbnails posted for the "just in case anyone is interested in more" factor.

-Gavin and Branwen progressed to level 7 (yay!)

Todd: Level 6 Inquisitor
Gavin: Level 7 Cleric
Branwen: Level 7 Cleric
Kivan: Level 6 Ranger
Xan: Level 6 Sorcerer
Imoen: Level 6 Thief/Level 5 Mage

Reloads: 0

Modifié par BelgarathMTH, 28 mars 2012 - 08:21 .

[corey_russell]

@Belgarath:

You say your encounter with the nymph is unfair, but you could just kill her outright not let anyone die. You can't blame anyone else but yourself for falling for that trap. Someone dieing is just the price to pay to get Droth's helmet, but one can certainly beat the game without it.

As for the zoom in/zoom out, there's another way and it works with both explorer and firefox (well at least the later versions of them). You can use CTRL and + (plus sign) together to zoom in and CTRL and - (minus sign) to zoom out.

EDIT: no offense is intended, by the way Belgarath -- presumably Faerun residents know "kiss of death" is a real thing thanks to magic.

Modifié par corey_russell, 28 mars 2012 - 04:02 .

[BelgarathMTH]

@Corey, I know I can just open fire on the nymph. The reason I didn't is that I am roleplaying a merciful person. I wanted to go for the ending that would spare her life, and would have if Xan and the rest of my party hadn't stayed in attack mode when the important dialogue started and then finished her off.

I was pretending that Imoen said something like "hey wait, these nymphs can be dangerous to you men, let a woman handle this" and then tried to talk to her. I didn't think there was a good way to justify a story where any one of us would sense her lethal intent through Detect Evil or "the Force" or a divination, because she is not evil. She is under a Geas.

I call it "unfair", because there is no way a first time player could possibly know what is about to happen. And, in the lore of FR, I don't think that nymphs just run around willy-nilly doing the "kiss of death" at sight.

EDIT: I notice a typo in my post that may have caused a misunderstanding of what I was doing. The subdued version of the nymph was going to cast Raise Dead on Imoen, and then we could have saved the nymph's life, and not even had to backtrack to get Imoen Raised. This was the more personally satisfying result that I was trying for.

Also, it didn't occur to me that using the word "unfair" in reference to a fight might invite counterpoints and debate. Sorry about that.

BTW - thanks for the tip about ctrl-+ and ctrl- zooming. Sometimes that is indeed way more convenient than going for the mouse while reading and scrolling.

Modifié par BelgarathMTH, 28 mars 2012 - 08:38 .

[corey_russell]

BelgarathMTH wrote...
I call it "unfair", because there is no way a first time player could possibly know what is about to happen. And, in the lore of FR, I don't think that nymphs just run around willy-nilly doing the "kiss of death" at sight.

I agree with your statement. BG however, was designed to be reloaded, many times probably, since there are a number of almost forced reloads if you didn't know what was coming - those amazon assassins for example, if you stumble upon them unprepared are often fatal. So in that context, if you die to nymph, reload and let someone else kiss her, simple.

It only becomes unfair in a no-reload context as that can end a run, but we are playing the game in a way it was never intended. I agree it's rather cheap that the engine doesn't have the party stop attacking, especially after you just had a conversation that signified the end of hostilties -- THAT is unfair, as the programmers could have stopped that from happening with a little more programming (which they did do in Dragon Age:Origins).

By the way, to avoid the party killing her, I turn off AI actually have only 1 or 2 fight her, so that there's good chance she'll live long enough for me to pause and cancel all party orders.

Modifié par corey_russell, 29 mars 2012 - 03:21 .

[BelgarathMTH]

@Corey: Thanks for the reminder tip about making sure the party is not in group attack mode in order to get the good resolution of the Shoal scenario. I could use your expertise to tell me how to get the good resolution of the child cleric of Umberlee scenario. (see below).

-finished off the pirate's cave and got the Tome of Bodily Health (+1 Constitution). Got 19 Constitution and +1 hit point per level for the rest of the run.

-completed the East Forest map with the Red wizards of Thay. Gavin and Branwen cast Hold and Silence twice each, Xan cast Web, I cast True Sight. Not much to see here, folks. Here's a postcard, wish you all were here, love Bel, blah, blah:



-finished off the ankheg map. Nice xp bonus with 1000 xp per ankheg.

-passed by Baldur's Gate City on the way to Ulgoth's Beard. Tried to get the good resolution to the child cleric scenario. Told her "I am working for them, but I just want to know what's going on." She said to get lost. I clicked her again and reiterated the same thing. She went hostile and cast Entangle, and another spell or two that didn't do anything. I had my team cast Web and a whole bunch of Hold and Silence, and then we ran past the poor, hopelessly outmatched child onto the highway to Ulgoth's Beard. I wonder if she'll still be hostile when we pass through again.



-arrived in Ulgoth's Beard. Bought Greenstone Amulet, I will wear, Cloak of Displacement, I will wear, +3 staff for Gavin, +2 bullets for Gavin's and Branwen's slings, Wand of the Heavens for Gavin, and some +2 arrows for Kivan. (Thnking of Battle Horrors, here).

Intention is to go to Durlag's Tower next session and do at least the easier floors of it, to get that golden armor for either Gavin or me. I've never actually finished the bottom floors of that awful place. The furthest I've ever been is when I got a party wipe to a Cloudkill cast by the dwarven guardians of the lower floors.
 
I'll probably wind up still not doing it, since I really don't want to ruin my 0 reload status on such a nerve-wracking place, and since I intend to take this party all the way through ToB. (gotta save those reloads, don't want to waste them trying to get high-risk magic items that I can't keep anyway. )

After Durlag's, will do Werewolf Island. Not sure yet whether I'll risk the Ice Island Maze. Then it will be BG City, Candlekeep, and finish the main questline. If and when I exceed 161,000 xp, (I play with no level caps), I will keep the bonus going into SoA.

Todd - Level 6 Inquisitor
Gavin - Level 7 Cleric
Branwen - Level 7 Cleric
Kivan - Level 6 Ranger
Xan - Level 7 Sorcerer (took Fireball)
Imoen - Level 6 Thief/Level 5 Mage

Reloads:0

Modifié par BelgarathMTH, 30 mars 2012 - 12:04 .

[corey_russell]

The child of umberlee solution: very similar to the Neryiad one actually! She will die to concentrated fire VERY easily. Not only that, if your fighter gets a critical, he can one shot her before she agrees to stop fighting!

So I have my party OUT of visual range (or AI off, either way) and have JUST Branwen talk to her (a non fighter basically). Branwen gets a few hits with her Bassilus hammer, the child agrees to stop fighting (of course I have to pause and halt Branwen too), then you can deal with the fishermen.

This is assuming vanilla, no idea what/how SCS changes this.

Modifié par corey_russell, 30 mars 2012 - 01:16 .

[Grond0]

That works in SCS as well though she won't die as easily as you're suggesting. I agree you should only attack with 1 character at a time to avoid the situation where she gives in and talks and then an attack already underway hits her and turns her hostile again.

[BelgarathMTH]

Oh, I see, I would never have thought of that. You have to hurt her badly to make her give up before you can get the good resolution. That's a pity. I guess it's a case of "corporal punishment" on a spoiled, but in this case very dangerous, child.

[BelgarathMTH]

Postcards from the Edge ... of Durlag's Tower

-saved the girl cleric on the way back south and gave her her mother's bowl. (Thanks, Corey, Grond0 for telling me how.)

-The battle horrors went down pretty easily to a barrage of Magic Missiles from Xan and Imoen.

-Here's a shot of Kivan and me clearing basilisks off the battlements. We had a close call when an exploring Imoen found the door up to the roof, stumbled into a basilisk, then ran screaming back inside, and the thing followed her. I barely had time to gulp a Potion of Mirrored Eyes and use my Boots of Speed to get into the passageway and block the thing before it got out to my party. I had Xan cast a Protection from Petrification on Kivan so he could follow me outside to finish them all off. I didn't care to take the time to cast the spell on the whole party, so I just took Kivan with me. I had to use a couple more potions before the two of us got them all.



-Disaster. Poor Imoen, even with 100 percent Find/Disarm skill, can't get all the traps in this hallway before one gets her. They were stacked so that she couldn't get one disarmed without triggering another. And we got attacked by a skeleton warrior right when heck broke loose! It would have been comical with all the "click, zap, click, zap, eek, a skeleton, <swipe>, click, zap" and my party running around in circles, if not for the fact that we were all about to die! Had to backtrack to Beregost to get medical attention.



-Went back long enough to find the rumored Golden Plate +3. I will wear it for now. Gave three of the dwarven guardians the items they requested. The last one wanted a bottle of wine, which I went through enormous trouble to get (had to find a switch, fight flesh golems to get to a power station and a wine press), but I didn't like the overeager, hungry look in his eyes. The other three had disappeared when I gave them their items, meaning that they were projections. I had a very BAD feeling about what was going to happen if I gave that last guardian his wine! So, I ordered a retreat. I don't think anyone, especially Imoen, was too upset.

-Decided to get some business done in Baldur's Gate before heading back to Ulgoth's Beard. Outside the gates, a bounty hunter was waiting for Kivan. Apparently, Tazok has put a price on his head. Our usual Web, Hold, Silence combo took her and her wolves down pretty easily. You'd think all these bounty hunters and dark wizards would learn not to attack our party. Kivan recovered a stolen bow that had been given to him by his wife Deheiriana, and a suit of Elven Chain. I was happy for him. Very satisfying.



Todd: Level 7 Inquisitor
Gavin: Level 7 Cleric
Branwen: Level 7 Cleric
Xan: Level 7 Sorcerer
Kivan: Level 7 Ranger
Imoen: Level 7 Thief/Level 6 Mage

Reloads: 0

Modifié par BelgarathMTH, 31 mars 2012 - 01:31 .

[BelgarathMTH]

More "Postcards from the Edge":

-This was just TOO fun. I'm not done playing yet, but I just had to post these. (IC) We decided to get some business done in Baldur's Gate. Visited the Seven Suns, discovered and cleaned out the doppelgangers, reported to Scar, and got a quest to clear the sewers and discover the people-eating monster. Killed sewer mutants and phase spiders, lots of fun. Decided to climb up and clean up before continuing.

Went to an inn (the "Fist and Stars", or something like that), met a friendly party of adventurers, shared drinks and traded stories. Then a group of trouble-making supervillains walked in. Remembering that I am a Jedi and a gentleman, I offered to leave the bar to avoid trouble. Would you believe the fools ATTACKED us? In a public bar, in front of the gods, our new friends, and everybody? Well, sorry Master Yoda, but I ENJOYED handing their arses to them! Only fools fail to respect a party of six Jedi Knights!





Our new friends stood there and watched the fight without lifting a finger. Their leader made a joke about "ahem, yes, well, we need to go heal our wounds from that.... uh... encounter, and they left. Heal their wounds indeed! They just stood there, not that I would have wanted them to get involved and get hurt. My padawans are becoming very powerful with the Force, and I do believe I will be recommending every one of them including Imoen for Master rank come evaluation time! Brilliantly done, my padawans, brilliantly done!

Reloads: 0

Perhaps, I should have posted this run in the no-reloads thread. Oh well, I know good and well that I am doomed to multiple reloads in SoA and ToB. (grins knowingly at my student, and my friend, Xan). Onward, to futility! Our quest is doomed! (smiles and reaches out in Philos to Xan)

Modifié par BelgarathMTH, 01 avril 2012 - 01:21 .

[BelgarathMTH]

Woohoo! So, this post is mostly OOC, just because I'm sitting here in my living room whooping and hollering, though a bit of IC stuff may creep in here.

Holy crap! Yikes! Woohoo! We just attacked the top floor of the Iron Throne building. First of all, Xan leveled up to level 8 and got Stoneskin. (Woohoo!) I decided to have him start fighting with his lightsaber, as a fully trained Jedi should! (I'm still working on understanding his melancholy nature - but, Yoda help me, he is very, very strong with the Force, and I really want to get through to him!



So, OMG, OMG, or (ahem), bowing and reporting to you, my Master Yoda:

We cast Webs, Silences, Holds, as usual. It was not as effective here as in the past. I had Imoen and Xan cast Fireballs, and had Xan (perhaps most importantly) cast Knight Speed, i.e., Haste. 

 I apologize for guiding them a bit closer to the Darkside in this way (with the Fireballs), but, would it really have been better to have five promising padawans die rather than using the Force to attack? I must meditate and discuss this with Master Yoda later, but for now, Force help me, we are alive! And I feel the Force flowing through me, and so joyous, and vindicated.....

Please examine the following images before you condemn me and strip me of my title, O my Masters:

-This is my team buffing with Protection from Darkside at 10 Feet, and Protection from Fear. My new favorite padawan, Xan, cast Stoneskin (Force repulsion/forcefield).



-This is us beginning the battle against these powerful SIth Lords:



Branwen tried to Silence and Hold, but she went down to Fireballs and lightsabers flying about. OMG, or, OMMY, i.e. "oh my Master Yoda"!

OMMY X2:


OMMY X3:  (Yikes! Eeeek! OMG, OMG, OMG!)



At the end, we were still standing, and very much aware of the traitorous treachery of the Iron Throne! We shall have to do something about this Sith plot!



My feelings tell me that we need more experience and that my padawans need more practice with the Force before confronting these Sith, and most especially before confronting the Darth Lord, who killed my Master, and whom I now suspect is behind all the troubles of this brewing war. I think that we will return to Ulgoth's Beard and assist the people there with their troubles before pursuing the Sith farther, although not before reporting our latest information and our, at least temporary, defeat of the Iron Throne to Scar.

EDIT: Scar has told us to protect the Grand Dukes of Baldur's Gate at all costs. Matters may be coming to a head, and I feel a great disturbance in the Force! Nevertheless, my feelings still tell me to go to Ulgoth's Beard and help the people there!

Reloads: 0

I think maybe I could have posted this run as my first entry in the no-reload thread, although, I feel that I will need many, many reloads in SoA and ToB. BG1 is like a second home to me, but SoA and ToB loom ominously in my future. I shall remain in the minimal reloads "world", for the time being. It's only the knowledge that my first "death" will not ruin my run that allows me to keep relaxing with my hobby, after a hard day's work, and not obsessing over a feeling of doom. Which reminds me of my new best friend, Xan.

"Our quest is vain! Onward, to futility!"

Modifié par BelgarathMTH, 01 avril 2012 - 01:55 .

[BelgarathMTH]

Postcards from the Edge:

-Went to Ice Island. Almost got toasted by a Fireball. Greenstone Amulet saved me from a few Confusion-based spells.



-Went to Werewolf Island. Was entirely too confident. Forgot to to buy Raise Dead scrolls in Baldur's Gate. Forgot to cast Protection from Evil 10', and most disastrously, forgot to cast Haste. Ran all the way back to the village hoping that they would help us. They just stood there staring with their mouths agape. Finally got a Haste from Xan, tried to keep Imoen running away. I think that if I had thought to have her drink a Potion of Invisibility, it would have saved her. She died. Had to do the whole rest of the module without her.



-Used lots and lots of Potions of Giant Strength, Invulnerability, and Heroism, combined with a constant casting of Haste, and Potions of Absorption and Fire for the traps, to get through the rival werewolf pack on the ship. Used a strategy of running back downstairs to split up large groups of wolves. Since we had a lot of +3 weapons available, being able to fight greater werewolves was not that much of a problem.



-Finished up the sidequests, ran the rest of the module. Defeated the werewolf queen on her ship, quite easily with Haste. Went back and defeated the werewolf king, also very easy with Haste.



-Will Raise Imoen and finish the run during the next few sessions.

Todd: Level 7 Inquisitor
Gavin: Level 8 Cleric
Branwen: Level 8 Cleric
Kivan: Level 7 Ranger
Xan: Level 7 Sorcerer
Imoen (ah, poor, poor Imoen): Level 7 Thief/Level 6 Mage

Reloads: 0

Modifié par BelgarathMTH, 01 avril 2012 - 11:13 .