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[Gate70]

Introducing Merro (Gate70)


and Savvy (Grond0).


I think I've got this right, wasn't making my usual notes so might have missed a death or two (minor details eh).

Death 1, Savvy. Killed by a wolf, caused by game lag while Merro tried to kite 3 wolves and a ghoul. Temple visit and dropped voice connection to reduce lag.

Death 2, Merro. Smooched by Shoal the nereid, caused by stupidly standing in the way when Savvy was dealing with her then attacking due to the cursed sword. Conversation runs even when she is hostile.

Death 3, Merro. Held by a ghast when ambushed with half-ogres, caused by berserking sword fury.

We have paid 500gp to remove the cursed sword and took one from Arghain instead. Dealt with Bassilus using a potion of freedom, Mutamin and two groups of basilisks with protection from petrification, got Melicamp restored, taken the ring of freedom from Dushai, stolen Algernon's cloak, killed the house spiders, laundered the golden pantaloons, delivered a letter to Mirianne, return a sword to Perdue and a ring to Joia.

[Alesia_BH]

Good luck with this guys! Sounds like a lot of fun.

[Gate70]

You bet. Death 4, Savvy in the flesh golem cave, victim of lag. Anyway, we're off partying. Here's Savvy.


Does my bum look big in this?

[Gate70]

From memory
Before the flesh golem cave we had mixed fortunes. We successfully dealt with Kirian and crew Merro got confused but Savvy used a web spell as a cave bear and gnolls were siding with Kirian. Once Merro got his head together the battle was soon over, but three or four blue potions were glugged.

If only we had bracers
Meilum was next, falling to melee. Then Zal and Vax, who were helped by a winter wolf and two other critters. Web helped against them too, then we returned Rufie to Albert.

A close call
Next we headed to the coast. On the way a ghast used a potion of lag, and Savvy got held. Merro quickly intervened, killed the ghast and waited for Savvy to recover.

A cunning plan
At the coast we killed some worgs for Ardrouine, webbed and killed three sirines with cavalier immunities and PfE. Sil and two more sirines got the same treatment, then Merro used a potion of absorbtion in the flesh golem cave.

The plan goes sour
With two flesh golems down a third used a potion of lag to kill Savvy and although Merro tried to intervene the golem knew better than to be distracted. Merro extracted revenge and tried to pick up the pieces but his inventory was full. He was worried the rest may wash away so stashed it with Black Alarics treasure and headed to a temple.

Back to work
Merro handed over Savvy's bow, arrows and armour and we headed back to the cave to grab all the stored loot. Savvy identified a tome of bodily health and read it to Merro.

The wrap-up
We then cut down Caldo and Krumm, returned a drowned cat to Drienne and called it a day. Cavalier level 6 and Blade level 7.

Modifié par Gate70, 07 novembre 2011 - 10:59 .

[Alesia_BH]

Gate70 wrote...

Does my bum look big in this?

 

I thought we might see Merro in Ankheg Plate. I was tempted to ask Grond0 how it looked on him. 

[Grond0]

All I can say is that it's a good job that Savvy is a chaotic character!

[Gate70]

Thanks to After5CST for mentioning wireless network performance. As I'm hosting I switched to a cable and the dreaded lag has improved greatly. There were a couple of freak moments where I couldn't see ambush critters, e.g. Grond0 could see me running into a ghast when I thought there was a big gap.

Greywolf and Prism are sorted, as is Nashkel mine with the death of Mulahey.

We inform Berrun Ghastkill that the mine problems are sorted, kill Nimbul and Tranzig then deal with a revenant, ghasts, a mage and mustard jellies before returning for Lamahla and gang.

We go straight to the bandit camp, dropping hobgoblins quickly. Merro asks Savvy to web Taugosz Khosann, saving potions for later. The plan works and Merro switches armour.

We rest outside the main tent and enter. Merro tries to distract Raemon and Britik while Savvy casts web. Venkt evades the web and starts Melfing so Merro starts to take down his mirrors.

Lost track of Grond0 here, think he may have stepped outside for a short while to avoid his webs, so Merro drops the mage. The other three don't last long and Merro shrugs off a trap to open a large chest.

Savvy isn't fussed about Gurke's cloak, but Merro wants to help Aldeth Sashenstar handy sword if we move into the expansion: note, Durlags Tower and Ice Island are trap nightmares so if we do these we may need to bring along a thief (Alora?) or see if a third adventurer can be convinced to lend a hand.

Merro uses the ring of freedom to spring traps and his poison immunity keeps him safe as he drags spiders and ettercaps into the range of Savvy. Merro blocks Centeol's pets, and Savvy gives them a lightning bolt nice touch, not seen that before.

Merro hands the ring of freedom to Savvy and grabs Spiders Bane. They rest at the edge of this map and are looking forward to their next adventure plan is for the hamadryad and wyverns to be Cavalier specialities, while Drasus and co will web nicely.

Tonight is our first night with no party deaths. Reduced lag, better equipment and more levels help but also working much better together.

[Alesia_BH]

Glad to hear the lag has improved.

If I weren't absolutely certain that my computer couldn't handle it, I'd be happy to pilot Alora for you over in Durlag's Tower.

Enjoy guys!

[Gate70]

Network seems to be the key factor, my low spec 2006 single core laptop with onboard graphics works fine (as did my 1990's Windows 95 pc's on a crossover cable way back).

I have BGT installed, think you're Easytutu otherwise I'd have suggested trying it for 5 minutes over whatever connection you can find. Grond0 & I should be able to do werewolf island but I'd like to see a blade vs Aec'letec. Will chat with him and see if we can take these two through with minimal reloads and say mirror images. I can remember most traps (certainly the deadly ones) and don't see any other issues but then I've always had a thief in any tower trip.

[Grond0]

Durlag's is actually not that hard without a thief - you just need to stock up on fire and lightning resistance! I'm sure we'll give it a good go.

[Gate70]

The adventure continues. As predicted, the hamadryad is quickly killed as are the family of wyverns. We mess up the encounter with Drasus though Merro invisible and Savvy getting spotted and both get confused.

Kysus is stupid enough to stand next to Merro, a fatal mistake. Savvy is killed, but Merro recovers to drop Rezdan, then Drasus and finally Genthore. He nips into the guardhouse, kills two more guards and dumps a ton of loot into a barrel.

800gp is needed to raise Savvy, and we grab a ring fire resistance and rescue Samuel before returning for the rest of our loot.




Hareishan is no problem for a potion of absorbtion. Two battle horrors fall to a potion of strength and Davaeorn is quickly felled.

Sorcerous Sundries is our first stop in the city, with Savvy learning scrolls galore. Then we drop into the sewers where an ogre mage uses a lightning bolt to fry Merro one reload tonight.

After a second successful attempt we grab a tome of dexterity then deal with Ramazith. Then starting the Marek and Lothander plot, grabbing the Helm of Balduran, retrieving the body of a child from the body of Jalantha Mistmyr and getting the child raised.

[Gate70]

First the good news. No party deaths tonight (edit, I think. How can I forget that...)

So what did we do. Killed Larze and Marek, pocketed a cloak from Quenash, read the int/wis tomes we found last night, cleared the Seven Suns and Merchants League, spoke to Scar and Eltan then buffed for the Iron Throne mercenaries. Savvy glugs a potion of protection from fire, while Merro does the same and adds potions of clarity, heroism, frost giant strength, mind focusing and regeneration. A final PfE and Merro starts slicing casters while Savvy drops webs. The battle is soon over didn't need regeneration potion really. We emerge victorious.

Now the bad news. The game paused for a movie and froze. We reloaded from the exit autosave and it froze again. Disabling movies and clearing cache made no difference, resting froze too.

We may be able to continue - I reloaded without Grondo and got into a pause/nomovie/unpause loop without freezing. A forced rest worked after the Flaming Fist got bored and the movie issue vanished so I saved and hopefully we can continue another night. EDIT, best case scenario is we continue but have wasted a group of potions that would have helped hugely against Degrodel because of the forced rest.

Later edit. Looks like that worked but it then did the same later. Game times were 10pm and 6am so suspect it is the evening/morning movies. Will try running the morning movie too.

Modifié par Gate70, 10 novembre 2011 - 10:50 .

[Grond0]

It's another clear case of the enemies getting scared and bringing in Alesia_BHs security experts. Fortunately I think they are no match for the abilities of a berserk cavalier!

[Gate70]

Every time the game froze at a cut-scene the work-around appeared to be for only one of us to be connected and the other to re-connect after the scene completed.

Degrodel and guards were first, fairly easy. Then we reported to Eltan and were sent to Candlekeep where we were falsely accused of killing Rieltar. Tethtoril frees us and we escape into the catacombs. A protection from magic scroll and potion of cloud giant strength means Merro can grab two tomes, scrolls, potions and a ring which Savvy then identifies.

The buffs last long enough to deal with doppelgangers, Prat, spiders and topping up with a potion of mirrored eyes means we can add two basilisks to the list. 161k xp reached at about this point, while it will still increase we have decided not to level up until Amn.

Back in the city we drop Cythandria despite her confusing Merro then scaring a hasted Savvy. Merro removes fear on the third attempt then we kill Cythandria. Slythe is unable to out-fight us, and Krystin is no trouble. Merro is immune to her cloudkill, she is not. Silly mage.

At the duchal palace we kill a group of greater doppelgangers and the sight of Merro's blood scares off Sarevok. Liia is dead but Belt sends us into a thieves maze which we traverse safely. Rahvin and his mercenaries fall to webs and there is no sign of Tamoko. We head inside the temple to confront Sarevok and teach him a lesson. Instead, we are given a series of lessons and decide to retreat for more potions. On our return we are given another lesson or two before Savvy finally tells Merro to hide and draws Sarevok away.

Angelo, Tazok and Semaj are easy pickings without Sarevok. The same is true of Sarevok, until Merro buckles and agrees with Savvy that he should retreat again. Just as this is decided Sarevok collapses. This battle requires a different approach in BGT to either vanilla or Easytutu, taking all four on together saw Semaj, Angelo and Sarevok dismantle us with ease. I don't think either of us were happy with this series of failures, the main issue being that Semaj was de-buffing us despite scrolls of magic protection, automatic saves (potion) etc.

A brief winter holiday sees us at ice island. There are two moments of confusion, and Savvy is somewhat bemused when Merro persuades Tellan to help us escape.

Durlags tower is our penultimate destination werewolf island last, and we scoot upstairs to grab the final tome before heading into the basement. Our final act tonight was the elimination of the four warders level exit not Kiels group.

Modifié par Gate70, 12 novembre 2011 - 05:16 .

[Gate70]

Savvy the blade and Merro the cavalier. Something like 4 reloads today and 380k xp each; not levelled beyond 161k.

Durlags Tower, the dreaded doors level. We force our way through traps using fire resistance rings and a protection from electricity scroll. Kiels warders are dropped, but we are unable to break open his treasure chests.

The next level sees a third greater wyvern and remnants of five status heroes turn on us. Savvy gets poisoned by either the sirine or Bullrush the hobgoblin. He runs away, then has to wait for Merro to throw him blue potions. Merro just manages to cast slow poison, but Savvy collapses. We reload as although Merro can continue he is not going to retreat all the way to a temple.

Second time around Merro controls the five statues better. They all die as the last wyvern badly wounds Merro. Merro starts to run but Savvy uses a volley of magic missiles to finish the battle.

We have another two reloads caused by greater ghouls disrupting rest. Then we kill Kaldran, the air aspect and the fission slime. We glug potions of absorbtion, then Merro melees the phoenix guards and we are transported to a giant chessboard.

Savvy launches web, fireball, fire potions and fire arrows as Merro uses fire and lightning invulnerability to melee the king.

More traps and creatures are dealt with and we are soon greeting a demonknight. It de-buffs Merro and kills him, something we both realised as soon as the dispel launched. Try again.

This time Savvy uses a scroll of magic protection on Merro who then glugs potions of heroism and speed. Savvy demonstrates ranged offensive spin but Merro adds the final tap.


Back at Ulgoths Beard we deal with three groups of cultists, Merro falling victim to friendly fire web but Savvy finishing the job. We discuss tactics and Savvy uses invisibility to sneak down and kill most of the cultists. He knows Merro will glug six potions and cast PfE/DUHM, but equips arrows of detonation.

This means the priestess summons Aec'letec early. Merro hears the commotion, glugs a potion of mind focusing and heads down to melee the beast. Savvy is already death-gazed, so Merro glugs a storm giant potion and hacks away with 100% fire resistance in preference to a ring of armour. A brief discussion sees Savvy move in and kill himself with arrows of detonation area effect as otherwise he will burst into a ghoul.

Merro had stopped fighting so Savvy could die so has taken a beating. He uses lay on hands before taking a final swing at Aec. Both connect, and for one it is fatal while the other hangs in by a hairs breath.

Merro staggers away 3/92hp left and collects what gear he can, stashing it in a bookcase upstairs. After three trips he has tucked away everything of value and goes to get Savvy raised.

They celebrate by travelling to werewolf island. Merro switches to a one handed sword and shield, then Savvy webs him. reload at about 5hp as it was only going one way.

Merro re-equips Spiders Bane only has 1 star in b swords so will use when essential. A way is cleared to a wooden hut where we buff and head into the wreck of Baldurans ship. The first level is soon cleared, will it be a similar story as we move up another deck?

Modifié par Gate70, 13 novembre 2011 - 04:41 .

[Gate70]

Savvy the blade and Merro the cavalier.

Baldurans ship, level 2 and 3 are done straight after the first level then we rest before dealing with the final level. Karoug is last to be attacked, but Spiders Bane is still effective.

The islanders turn nasty but we quickly track to Kaishas Gan and kill her. Then Baresh and finally Mendas / Selaad.


Final stats.




End
That was about 12-15 reloads. I'm sure we could reduce this substantially with a bit more care. The fights against Sarevok was the one sticking point until Grond0 tucked him into a corner.

Postscript
We start a job for Belt, but are ambushed by Mae'Var. That's another story, one that will be new to Savvy/Grond0 in places having never completed SOA or TOB. All suggestions welcome, but bear in mind his blade may not be able to cast the gemjump spell so the boots of stomping may not be accessible.

edit, looking at those stats I expect the blade to be taking the lead into SOA. Felt much more like 50/50 so perhaps the cavalier was goal-hanging.

Modifié par Gate70, 13 novembre 2011 - 08:37 .

[Grond0]

I thought Savvy was doing well to get 40% towards the end!  Typical tactics were for Merro to have the bad guys focus on him, allowing Savvy to join in safely.  However, by that time Merro had normally decapitated at least one of them.
Of course if the scores were measuring assists rather than kills then Savvy's web would be racking the points up.  Overall I think it's a good, complementary, pairing.

[Humanoid_Taifun]

Yeah, bards are late bloomers.
Good hunting, guys. I wish I was up for some multiplayer, but I sure aint.