46 réponses à ce sujet

[Son of Imoen]

[spoilers about what the player knows at the start of chapter 4,

please don't spoil me about future events]




I'm about to attack Spellhold to free Imoen for the very first time ever, so I don't know anything about what will follow besides what the cutscenes of Irenicus escaping and the cutscenes of him continuing his experiments on Imoen). It'll probably take some time before Imoen is freed, but when she is (the BG2-mod-) Xan will leave (he announced such at least) and Imoen will be my main mage again.

What worries me of course, is the drop in levels, comparing the 2 mages: 

at the start of chapter 4, my main mage Xan is level 12 with 1.060.000 xp ,

at the end of chapter 1 Imoen was my main mage with (Adventurer level 7 and) mage level 8 and only 118.000  xp in her mage class.

a. Once I free her, will she have gained xp in the meantime or will she be 8th level still? How does Imoen's xp usually compare with those of the rest of the party at the time of freeing her, if you had al others continually with you?

b. Will Imoen's final power be effected adversely if I postpone going to Spellhold and do some more subsequests first (I'm thinking about getting to Trademeet first and bringing the acorns back to the Windspear Hills, haven't done that yet with this party)?


[but please don't spoil me about when and where you will actually succeed in freeing here, I just want a comparison of her power as part of the party and usefullness at that time for the party]

Thanks in advance, Son of Imoen

Modifié par Son of Imoen, 09 septembre 2011 - 02:03 .

[Thrar]

There are two possible levels she can be at, depending on your PC's experience. Both are higher than what she was at when you last saw her, although she'll still be behind if you do just about everything in chapter 2/3.

[corey_russell]

There are just two Imoens you can get after freeing her. She will be either level 11 or level 13. If your party is single class characters and level 13 or higher, she will be level 13 version. If you have multi-classes or dual-classes, you will usually get the level 11 version of her.

[morbidest2]

Probably Imoen will be an 11th level mage (T7), so you might want to bring along some scrolls for her to memorize, so that she can start casting a number of different 5th level spells. When you finally get back to the main land {chapter 6} you might want to consider going to the Watchers Keep dungeon if you want to give her a lot more experience and mage levels, before you go on with the main quest plot.

[Humanoid_Taifun]

I think I remember somebody experimenting what levels she would spawn at and the conclusion they reached was that it wasn't just your main characters level that decided her version, but the average level of all classes of your party (which usually is a bit lower when multiclasses are involved, of course)

[Son of Imoen]

Thanks for all your quick replies. My party is a mix of multi- and single-class characters, if the game looks to the average level, I will do some math later. Right now I've booted from a different partition then the one BG is installed in.

Ever since Irenicus' dungeon, I keep a scroll case full of spells just in case I get her back and she's lacking some useful spells.

Another thing I'm anxious about (a reason to consider doing the Trademeet quest) is if my characters are well enough equiped. My cleric-ranger PC is allright, dualwielding flail of ages and either mace of disruption or the sleeper, but should I need to get my hands on +4 weapons first? Keldorn's best weapons are Lilacor +3 and Blade of Roses +3.

My first ever BG2 character, a Blade, wields Daystar, but defeating the lich at such a low level (he was level 10 or 11 back then), was just a stroke of luck brought on by Minsc's Azuredge axe. I didn't manage to repeat that feat with my ranger-cleric, as after I defeated the Lich, the door was slammed shut and I'm locked in with a lich reviving, then starting to cast Time Stop and summon a Pit Fiend that cast a kind of Horror Remove Fear wasn't able to withstand, losing control of all but 2 of my 6-man party.

[Son of Imoen]

P.S.: The Lich killed easy was on SCSII v.11, and I could get out after killing him. The Lich being too hard and me not being able to get out the door again ('magically barred') was on SCS v.15, perhaps it was changed to be more difficult inbetween those versions?

*edit: managed to open the game, even though it was installed in a different boot: it was just a case of very much sheer luck my Blade had: he was level 12, his party was hardly buffed, my party was so fresh and green we didn't even have magic ammo in our quivers. It was just one very lucky blow by Minsc with Azuredge and/or me with the Blade of Roses. Couldn't replicate it.

Is the lich guarding Daystar something most people reserve for later on in the game or is it doable in chapter 2 with skill instead of unbelievable luck? (SCSII-style).

Modifié par Son of Imoen, 09 septembre 2011 - 05:46 .

[Humanoid_Taifun]

You might do well to upgrade the Mace of Disruption if you can do it without going OOC.

[Son of Imoen]

Humanoid_Taifun wrote...

You might do well to upgrade the Mace of Disruption if you can do it without going OOC.

Out of Character: a new one for the commonly used abbrevations (i looked it up in Urban Dictionary, we did have a saying for it in my PnP days, but I didn't remember what).

Well, I meta-game too much to be a real roleplayer, but I (SoI) don't know how to upgrade the mace.

*edit: I found a list of the possible upgrades by Cromwell at GameBanshee, but upgrading is not an option, if there's only one way to get the necessary mineral: it's already converted to a fine sculpture in my own temple (I'm accepted as a candidate for the clergy of Lathander, going through my tests, so both morally and game-engine wise it's not an option anymore). An idea springs to mind to recieve the quest from another temple than my own, with a future character and creating the Mace instead, thereby ensuring another temple doesn't get a fine statue and I get a fine mace , but right now, it's fait accompli.

Modifié par Son of Imoen, 09 septembre 2011 - 08:43 .

[Son of Imoen]

corey_russell wrote...

There are just two Imoens you can get after freeing her. She will be either level 11 or level 13. If your party is single class characters and level 13 or higher, she will be level 13 version. If you have multi-classes or dual-classes, you will usually get the level 11 version of her.

Right now the average of all our levels is 11 (with a mix of single-, multi- & 1 dual-class characters) so unless I level-up much more, she'll be a level 11 mage. Well, that's at least better than level 8 .

My remaining question is, if having +4 weapons is a pre-requisite (in terms of: being able to beat the foes) for Spellhold, or will my +3 weapons do as well? Upgrading Mace of Disruption isn't an option, no-one is proficient in axes, so no Azuredge, and Daystar is out of reach if I can't handle a Lich yet.

My dilemma is: go to Trademeet (another character found Flametongue there, which seems a good weapon vs. those pesky vampires, though I haven't tried it in battle yet) thereby foresaking another chance for Immy to get xp but gaining a good weapon for what I fear will come or get on board that ship and save Trademeet, Windspear Hills and the Planar Sphere as means for Imoen to get xp?

I'm very curious about how the story will unfold when I continue and I've already done most of those other quests with other characters who are still in chapter 2, so mostly I feel about going on, just anxious if I'll make it alive.

[Humanoid_Taifun]

I make no promises (I've never tried this myself), but I've heard that Sir Sarles still has the illithium in his inventory even after you've finished the quest and you can get it back by killing him (there are ways to do this without loss of reputation, for example the level 9 mage/level 7 cleric spell Gate).

In any case, enchantment level 3 should suffice. There is one particular enemy that is immune to +4 weapons, but since he's vulnerable to +3, that isn't too much of a problem.

Oh and I don't know your party make-up, but I advice you to take Yoshimo with you - even if that means having a full group (you'll have a good opportunity to drop him in time for Imoen to take his place).

[Grond0]

Son of Imoen wrote...
Is the lich guarding Daystar something most people reserve for later on in the game or is it doable in chapter 2 with skill instead of unbelievable luck? (SCSII-style).

This lich is easy prey in the vanilla game (just use protection from undead), but much more of a challenge under SCS2.  He will normally immediately cast remove magic and gate against a character protected from undead, which is nasty when the door is locked behind you (unlocks once the lich is dead).  After a couple of nasty experiences with solo characters I now tend to leave this lich alone until my character is well-equipped for a challenge.

[Son of Imoen]

Humanoid_Taifun wrote...
Oh and I don't know your party make-up, but I advice you to take Yoshimo with you - even if that means having a full group (you'll have a good opportunity to drop him in time for Imoen to take his place).

This party's make-up is (npc-mod heavy, my first BG2-run was purely Bioware-npc, but so many other npc's seem like fun):
Faihra - Ranger/Cleric
Keldorn - Inquisitor
Keto - Bard
Amber - F>T
Aerie - C/M
Xan - Enchanter

...so there's no slot left for Yoshimo.

If the reason for taking him is getting to know his role in the plot (I accidentaly stumbled upon spoilerish information about him betraying CHARNAME), I'll just wait for that to unfold with my first BG2 character Kheltick, who just happened to be bypassed by Faihra.

Kheltick's party is very canonical (I only swapped Minsc for Keldorn because of Keldorn's greater usefullness, once I met him in the sewers):
Kheltick - Blade,
Keldorn - Inquisitor,
Jaheira - F/D,
Yoshimo - there he is...
Aerie - C/M
Nalia - Adventurer>Mage

Kheltick did spend a thought of doing without a full thief, as NPC1-kit Nalia has 80 in Locks and 100 in Traps, which seems doable, with Minsc 95 in stealth for scouting, but my meta-gaming knowledge from this forum stepped in, that including Yoshimo might get interesting. But I want to get my Blade to 1 million xp before he too starts chapter 3 - which turned out to be very short to my surprise with my ranger-cleric.

[Son of Imoen]

Grond0: I copied your reply about the lich to my new topic.

for anyone wanting to give tips on dealing with the Lich, I made another topic, as I felt I was starting to many discussions at the same time in this one.

about the Lich in the Crooked Crane

[Humanoid_Taifun]

Son of Imoen wrote...
This party's make-up is (npc-mod heavy, my first BG2-run was purely Bioware-npc, but so many other npc's seem like fun):
Faihra - Ranger/Cleric
Keldorn - Inquisitor
Keto - Bard
Amber - F>T
Aerie - C/M
Xan - Enchanter

...so there's no slot left for Yoshimo.

So, whom are you going to leave behind?
Imoen?

Modifié par Humanoid_Taifun, 09 septembre 2011 - 10:30 .

[Gate70]

Son of Imoen wrote...
Well, I meta-game too much to be a real roleplayer, but I (SoI) don't know how to upgrade the mace.

*edit: I found a list of the possible upgrades by Cromwell at GameBanshee, but upgrading is not an option, if there's only one way to get the necessary mineral: it's already converted to a fine sculpture in my own temple (I'm accepted as a candidate for the clergy of Lathander, going through my tests, so both morally and game-engine wise it's not an option anymore). An idea springs to mind to recieve the quest from another temple than my own, with a future character and creating the Mace instead, thereby ensuring another temple doesn't get a fine statue and I get a fine mace , but right now, it's fait accompli.

For reference in future runs; Sir Sarles may not like the fake illithium but he's not the ultimate sponsor. The temple may actually prefer something a little more tarnished and the sculptor wouldn't know this (n.b. you have to only have the fake stuff otherwise he grabs the real deal regardless).

[Son of Imoen]

Humanoid_Taifun wrote...

Son of Imoen wrote...
This party's make-up is (npc-mod heavy, my first BG2-run was purely Bioware-npc, but so many other npc's seem like fun):
Faihra - Ranger/Cleric
Keldorn - Inquisitor
Keto - Bard
Amber - F>T
Aerie - C/M
Xan - Enchanter

...so there's no slot left for Yoshimo.

So, whom are you going to leave behind?
Imoen?

Nope, Xan will leave of his own accord. At least, that's what he says: he's just with me to free Imoen and then he'll leave. I don't know for sure as it's the first time I play this mod, but that's what I'm going by right now. I can always kick him out of course.

[Humanoid_Taifun]

That'll be one harsh kick-out. (I'm trying not to spoiler you, but when the game forces you to decide on whom to give the boot, it's one of the moments where as a nice guy you really do not want to leave anybody behind)

[Son of Imoen]

Humanoid_Taifun wrote...

That'll be one harsh kick-out. (I'm trying not to spoiler you, but when the game forces you to decide on whom to give the boot, it's one of the moments where as a nice guy you really do not want to leave anybody behind)

OK, will have to do some rethinking then...

[The Fred]

As regards Imoen, I actually found her to be of about the right level. There were a lot of things which I think I didn't do, but given that the driving force to do most of those quests is to get the cash to pay the Shadow Thieves to help you free Immy, I didn't really feel the need - from an RP perspective, it makes sense to pursue the main quest line as much as possible, and I had the cash after doing only the de Arnise stronghold. I did do the Unseeing Eye, too, though more because I got drawn into it by happenings in the Temple District.

When I got Immy back in Spellhold, she was L7->11, and Nalia was L4->12, which seems to be more or less in line. I'm actually thinking I may have to let her go, at least for a while, since despite her extra mage level, Imoen's return makes her a bit redundant.

[morbidest2]

I trust you remember that, except for Imoen, no NPC has enough charm or cash to get passage on a pirate ship from Spellhold/Brynnlaw to the mainland and get back to the Copper Coronet. If you dump anyone there, or in Shark City, I don't think you could use them again until ToB. I wonder what happens if you drop someone in the Underdark?

[Humanoid_Taifun]

You can return to the Underdark, so that shouldn't be an issue.

[Son of Imoen]

Going on what y'all are telling, I'm thinking about leaving Keto behind before I open chapter 4 and just do my landing in Brynnlaw anew. It hurts to leave Keto behind (she's fun to have around), but it might even hurt more to leave someone behind in some even place I don't know of yet, but H_T's warning, "that'll be one harsh kick-out" sounds grim... And I'd rather miss out on a bard than on one of my mages or missing a tank or a thief in my party.

[Gate70]

I don't see dropping Xan as a major issue if you weren't planning on getting him back later. Aerie and Imoen will have a reasonable spread of spells even if not quite at the same level.

If you've already dropped a modded NPC that makes room for Yoshimo?

I would suggest having a lot of scrolls ready for Imoen to learn. Enjoy.

[Son of Imoen]

the issue is both a moral one: "when the game forces you to decide on whom to give the boot, it's one of the moments where as a nice guy you really do not want to leave anybody behind", warned H_T, as well as a spell-issue: untill I get Imoen back, I need Xan as a mage. I'm anxious about what'll happen when I finally find Imoen (though don't spoil me): it might be one hell of a dire place where I don't want to leave Xan behind alone (my character is CG, doesn't like to leave people in a mess who've been trustful to her - chaotic means not caring about the law, but she does care about friends).