1504 replies to this topic

[Shazek]

Does Entangle just stop movement or does it also hold, like Web does? Web will certainly be useful, but I suspect Entangle will be less so, as it's the archers that are dangerous. Is Syvishstara able to use Haste or Fireball yet? Both are really nice against such large groups.

[Leokosta]

lol ... I was gonna ask why 2d4 is better than 1d8, and I realized that 2d4 has a minimal of a 2 roll . Sorry, I am cathing up.

[Usurper]

Yeah, it was a very tiny upgrade .

Entangle just stops movement. I have this old habit of laying an Entangle and Web down in the same area. The Entangle keeps people in the area so that they have a higher chance of getting Webbed. It's either that or Grease at this low level. And unfortunately Syvishtara doesn't have access to level 3 spells yet. The best AoE she has is Summon Wild Horde. She also has a Ring of Energy which can be similar to an AoE if she fires it at someone far away and then runs around a lot. I can imagine a best-case scenario where Gavin and Syvishtara throw down an Entangle/Web combo on top of a Wild Horde, a ton of bandits get caught in the area, and then Syvishtara shoots the Ring of Energy at one of them in the back, runs back and forth, and triggers a chain bunny explosion that kills everyone. That's my goal. We'll see how it works out.

Edited by Usurper, 01 January 2012 - 11:22 PM.

[Shazek]

I will be very impressed should that actually work. That plan seems much better thought out than mine tended to be, but also far more complex. I'd imagine there's a fair chance of Syvishtara getting killed by arrows in the attempt, but if it works, it will be glorious. One thing I've been wondering about - Are you missing CoMForge? There's supposed to be a group of very nasty duergar on the third level of the Nashkel mines, but you didn't mention them. They have some wonderfully powerful equipment, but are very tough without both foreknowledge and strategy. Maybe your Tactics reinstall missed them, or you murdered them on your cheating rerun without noticing.

[Usurper]

Those duergar were missing my first time through, and actually them being missing is what tipped me off to the fact that I didn't install everything as I had meant to. When I reinstalled and replayed the game they were there. I CTRL-Yed them to death because I had already passed their spot in the Let's Play and didn't want to backtrack just to kill them and get their loot. Its my bad for not installing things correctly the first time.

Syvishtara does have a cloak with a +4 against arrows that I got off of one of the amazonian women in the Valley of the Tombs, so I hope that will be enough to keep her alive in the bandit camp assault. I can't say the same for the rest of the guys, though.

[Shazek]

Ah, that makes a lot of sense. Did you do the same with the assassins on the Trade Way North, or will you come back to deal with them?

[Usurper]

Yes, I did the same thing. You can see them in one of the screenshots in the update where I go through small differences between the two installs. But the ones waiting for me at Baldur's Gate bridge are still there...

Edited by Usurper, 02 January 2012 - 04:40 PM.

[Shazek]

Oddly enough, I don't remember a group of assassins in front of the bridge. Then again, I didn't head to Baldur's Gate till level 10 or 11, so they wouldn't have lasted long anyway. It kinda sucks that you missed the loot on the Trade Way assassins, though. The sword and dagger are two of my favorite items in BG1. Only the Druid-specific gear was more fun.

[10th]

Oddly enough, I don't remember a group of assassins in front of the bridge. Then again, I didn't head to Baldur's Gate till level 10 or 11, so they wouldn't have lasted long anyway.

They're from Dark Horizons, and their archers should only be engaged with massive area of effect damage or a liberal application of Freedom of Movement via spells or potions.

10th

[Leokosta]

Just noticed my Imoen doesnt have the Burning Hands. When did u get it ?
Is it a spell or an innate ability ?
Its really gonna be tough for you without some gear you happened to miss. Anyway, be ware of a bug I encounter on the bandits camp. When I was brought to Tazok, and fought him, he was immortal. I think the trigger to stop the fight doesnt happens.

[Usurper]

I, uh... kinda gave it to her as an innate ability with Shadowkeeper after her conversation with Dynaheir. I was hoping it would show up but it didn't show up on its own. And since she can already cast several spells as innate abilities I thought it wouldn't be too much of an imbalance. Shhh don't tell anyone!

And I'll look out for that bug. I hope it doesn't happen...

Edited by Usurper, 03 January 2012 - 08:20 PM.

[Leokosta]

Aha ... Gotcha
I am a little bit ahead of you on my game play, and found some problems/bugs. Would u like a heads up when u get close to them, or you´d rather I dont say anything ?
BTW, If I were u, I would talk to Peltar on the Beregoust temple, b4 going to the bandits camp. The loot there should be useful.

See u

[Usurper]

Id appreciate any help or warnings you could give. But I dont know if I could get to Pelltar because of that merc group at the temple now.

Edited by Usurper, 04 January 2012 - 06:02 AM.

[Leokosta]

Tried to add the Burning hands to Imoen, but SK said I have reached the maximum amount of memorizable spell for this level

[Shazek]

Little tip for that merc. group - enter the area from the opposite side and use all your buff spells immediately. The mercs will run across the zone towards you. (or at least they did for me) You can kill one or two and then flee for your life to another zone, then come back, fully healed, to finish them off.

[Leokosta]

Hey, Usurper ... Is SA Forums down ? Cant access it from here ...
Its page says: forum is closed

"Closed to perform emergency hardware maintenance and to delete all your posts. Forums will be back online as soon as possible or never. (Update: we are still making sure that the right disks get pulled, so nothing is done yet, hehehehehe)"

"Dear Friend,

This page is not an error! We have intentionally closed the forums - there is no need to notify anyone about hitting this page. In fact, please don't. Better yet, don't ever notify us about anything. Just leave me the hell alone, ok?

Thanks,

SA Support Robot"

Edited by Leokosta, 05 January 2012 - 11:29 PM.

[Usurper]

it was down but its back up now.

[Leokosta]

Just found out that there´s one more paladin to be found on BG1. Its part of DSOTSC. Just in case u think Bjourn is the only one left .
Do you plan to release a update any time soon ?
See u

[Usurper]

29 Eleasis, 1369

Bandit camp arrival movie.




Of course, elf. I will join my voice to yours for the success of our battle against the brigands.

My Lord Shevarash, here I stand, on the soil that the beast who slew my beloved still walks. There is no desire greater in my heart than to wet it with his dark blood. I ask for the firmness of my arm to match the firmness of my soul. I ask for fulfillment of my vow, I ask for the strike that will bring down my foe. I ask thee to give me strength to fight, and strength to protect those who fight with me.

With those words, we take stock of the area. It looks much like any other part of the forest we have been to. But Kivan knows these woods, and knows where we stand. The look in his eyes is certainty, and deadly purpose. I don't want to get in his way today. It is late, and we are all tired. I recommend that we make camp. We do, and the night passes uneventfully.

Gameplay note: This next part was actually pretty hard, and I died several times.

The next morning, I decide that we'll draw out the bandits by acting like normal traders. After all, we have a mule. It'll be the perfect disguise! We begin walking up the road, acting as innocently as possible. It's not too long until we attract the bad sort of attention.



As Gavin and I cast our combo spell, EntangleWeb, the ogre mage turns invisible. He can't really maintain it though after vines and webs wrap around his feet. He retaliates by hitting Kagain with a lightning bolt!



What follows next is a strange, awkward dance. Rose, Kagain, and I find ourselves within the radius of the Entangle and Web, and we find ourselves Entangled. The three bad guys are also either entangled or webbed, and none of us can move. The enemies rage against us and try to attack us, while we hit them with ranged weapons in turn.



Kagain switches to his throwing axes. I do not have a ranged weapon, since the Weave frowns on its use, so I try for some magic insted. But before I can do anything, Kivan takes out the ogre mage.



But instead of the weave doing what I ask, there is some kind of explosion around me. I think?



Rose takes out the ogrillon then. I am immobilized by my own web.



It doesn't really matter though, because Kivan takes out the final ogre while we are struggling with our bonds. Mission accomplished!



After that are a few awkward moments while we wait to get disentangled from the mess we created. After that, we move in to loot everyone. But someone seems to come late to the party.



I don't think much of him, and just order everyone in to attack, but then he kills Haiass in one blow!



He runs after me, and I get out of there with a little scream. Gavin tries to Hold him, but it doesn't stick. He turns to attack Gavin instead.



Gavin runs around for a while, keeping ahead of Brotus with his Boots of the Forgotten Ones, while the rest of the party pelts him with missiles. I cast Mirror Image, and then return to the fight to give Gavin some rest.



But he is able to see through my illusions and give me a nasty cut. I am scared, and lose control of myself [status effect].



Gavin and Tiax both rush to my rescue.



But despite being out of control, I still manage to smash Brotus square on the forehead with my staff. He falls to the ground and doesn't get back up again.



I catch myself right before smashing Tiax in his smug little bastard face [berserk effect?]. Kagain laughs at me and seems to feel more comfortable in his armor somehow.









When we loot Brotus's corpse, we find some pretty good gauntlets.



Kagain snaps those up immediately. He passes the Gauntlets of Ogre Power to Tiax, who can use them to augment his attacks with that fire mace he got. We also find a two-handed sword.



I'm not sure that this is a good weapon, especially after experiencing it first-hand. It made me go berserk but that just resulted in me killing Brotus with my own staff and then almost coming to blows with Tiax. I don't really want my enemies going berserk on me, do I? I'll have to think on this. For now, I put it on the mule. I have Gavin resurrect Haiass, and we are ready to go.

With no better plan, we continue to walk down the road, hoping to snare another bandit party. We notice that there are a couple of places where there looks to be trails going off to the east from the main road.



But we do not find any other bandit groups. There is no other choice than to strike into the heart of the woods to the east.



Kivan says he can sneak into the enemy camp and scout it out. I nod wordlessly. He grasps Imoen's Ninja-to and fades into the woods. He doesn't take long to find it.



He finds the easternmost border of the camp.



He runs into some hobgoblins patrolling in the forest too.



And also a group of bandits hiding out near some old ruins.



He even finds a group of Black Talon Elites in the woods. He passes them all by.



We wait for what seems like hours, until Kivan comes running at us through a stand of trees. He doesn't look too happy.



He tells me to quickly teleport us away. We must plan and prepare and we have no time. I touch the portal stone, and we go away. In the comfort and silence of Shevarash's sanctuary, Kivan draws us a map and explains what's going on.



He marks several places on the map. He says that the marks to the south are bandit, black talon elite, and hobgoblin patrols. He says that to the north, mostly in the still-unknown areas, is the main bandit camp. There are lots of guards - hobgoblins to the west and humans to the east. One of the hobgoblins saw him and raised an alarm just as he was running towards us. He doesn't know what exactly that means, but hopes that us teleporting away can fool them. He suggests resting for a full day in here, just to be sure. When I ask him about the one red mark within the unknown black area of the map, he says that's where Tazok is. By the way he stares at that spot I know he wants to just rush straight there and kill him. And quite frankly I don't blame him.

I propose that plan to the party. We sneak around the north side of the camp, rush into Tazok's place, and gank the shit out of him before anyone else knows what's up. Kagain nods and says he's up for it. Gavin says that he'll support me in whatever I do. Tiax seems to be eager for the plan. Kivan of course is on tiptoes. And Rose seems reluctant at first, but steels herself and nods.

I tell everyone to prepare to fight crowds. Then sleep. We do. Kagain has been thinking about the whole situation, and has a question for Tiax.



When Tiax rules, all will belong to Tiax, so trade must cease. Those who survive, will do so by his sufferance, and subsist upon his charity.

Thin times ahead, sounds like.

Begone! Your petty tradesman's concerns sully the Magnificence that is Tiax. There is no sign of the Understanding about you.

I'll take that as good news, at any rate.

The next morning, we prepare to infiltrate the bandit camp. When everyone says they're ready, I touch the door and we go back to the real world.

Edited by Usurper, 09 January 2012 - 08:43 AM.

[Usurper]

Unfortunately, our plan is foiled almost from the very beginning. They are waiting for us. Some mage casts glitterdust on Kagain and I, and the battle is on.



Everyone focuses on the mage without me even having to tell them. Good people, these. I cast Drain Life at the mage, and it's a good thing I did, because I get hit with an Ice Arrow from the treeline.



Then I get hit again. I realize that the Glitterdust on me is really making it easy for them to hit me. A horribly appropriate spell.



The mage fades back into the trees, presumably to let these Black Talon Elites do their grim work. We switch targets to the mercenaries.



Haiass and Kivan attack the same target. He is hurt quickly.



Then Kagain comes running out of the treeline, and I wonder why. A moment later a lightning bolt arcs out of the ground and into him. Ouch.



He grimaces and turns to return. I tell him to wait a moment. Rose and Gavin are doing a one-two punch against the bad guys. Rose lets loose a Grease, and Gavin an Entangle. He is hurt for his trouble, though.



I add my own special flavor to the brew, a Web. Then in my excitement I charge and attack as well!



A black talon elite and some important-looking hobgoblin make it through our gauntlet and charge our lines. We attack back.



Tiax tries casting a Curse on the targets still caught in the web of entangling grease to keep them in there longer, but someone manages to give him the old ice-arrow-to-the-face, and he loses his spell and panics.



Kivan kills the important-looking hobgoblin with a grim smile.



Gavin heals Tiax, but he stays panicked. I move into position for a Ring blast.



Time to do some sweeping!



Unfortunately, a panicked Tiax cross my stream inadvertently.



And then, when he turns around a moment later, he runs into it again and dies! I killed Tiax!



Immediately after that I get poisoned with an arrow.



As I walk sideways, I notice that the bandit I'm almost directly in front of is shooting arrows at Rose.



I make sure that he gets a faceful of fiery death.



Behind me, I hear a meaty thud and the feel of a hot spray of blood on my back. Kagain took care of the mercenary.



The arrows are starting to fly thicker. I notice that more and more are getting through our gauntlet. Time to do some strategic retreating.



Kivan covers me as I rush behind friendly lines.



Gavin and I make a second sticky situation, but it may not be enough. Gnolls are coming from the south, of all things.



I am shot in the back again, and held by a stray vine of Gavin's, I can do nothing but cast Mirror Image.



With enemies closing in from all sides, and most of us feeling very hurt, and Gavin out of healing spells, we have no choice but to retreat.



Unfortunately, the day is not done with us yet. We are ambushed 6 hours into our trip by a couple of spiders!



We run away from them too. Or at least we try to. But they entangle our mule and Kagain in their webs. We have to turn and fight.



And we see Kagain as, struggling in the spider's webs, he is eviscerated by them. He never had a chance.



Kivan rushes in to get Kagain's equipment, and then we run off. Somehow the mule gets away. We keep going on the trail, almost traumatized by this death march now, until we get to the Friendly Arm Inn. We go into the Temple of Wisdom and resurrect Kagain and Tiax. They must both be in a bad mood from dying, because they get into an argument immediately.



Ya twit! Get in my way again, and I'll break yer knee caps. Won't have much luck rulin' the world if ye can't walk, now, will ya?

Should Tiax no longer be able to walk, then he shall have slaves carry him from place to place! In fact, when Tiax rules, he won't NEED kneecaps anymore! Not, of course, that such a petty slave as yourself could ever hope to harm one so great and powerful as the mighty Tiax!

One day, I'll have ta teach ya a lesson or two in respect for your betters. Uppity gnomes should learn their place; diggin' up diamonds and jewels so we dwarves can get filthy, stinking rich off 'em.

Tiax has transcended such petty things as gold and jewels; when he rules, these things shall line his throne room, but only as the merest of baubles to impress his foolish slaves into mindless obedience to his will!

Ha! I've heard o' idiots sayin' they transcend gold and jewels; usually, it means I have to give 'em the once over with a club to get my pay from 'em!

Ye may be crazy 'cause of yer world conquest fixation, but yer stupid 'cause ye don't understand that gold is what makes yer coveted world go 'round. Now off with ye.

Then we set off back to the Jovial Juggler. It is some to take a break. Get some sleep in. Do my hair. I can't take this anymore. That bandit camp was more jumpy and better locked down than any single location I've ever seen! I don't think Candlekeep even had better security.

We travel to Beregost, and when we arrive, I reach down to pet Haiass, but he is not there.



Oh my god! What if he didn't make it?! I walk to the Jovial Juggler with new anxiety. There is a least some good news. Kivan sells all the bandit scalps he has for 1050 gold. That means, altogether, we have 2578 gold, even after the resurrections.



Great Tiax is familiar with every piece of lore on Faerun.

Then you should have noticed that you have an ambition similar to those of the Tel'gothrim.

Drow are nothing! Great Tiax spits on the drow! They will bow to Tiax when their turn comes!

Tiax, drow are bred to lust for power and are shy of no means to achieve it. Yet all Tel'gothrim achieved over the course of thousands of years is the existence in the bowels of Toril. What gives you hope that you shall succeed?

Cyric will grant mighty Tiax all the world, once the time is right!

What can Cyric offer that Lolth cannot?

Silence! Do not argue with the Great Tiax! All traitors! All conspire against the greatness that is Tiax!

Ah, I see... madness. Lle naa haran e' nausalle nogoth... You are a King in your imagination, gnome.

Gameplay note: And such concludes our current chapter in the Big World Project. It was a difficult chapter, full of death and dying. It is time now for a new party vote! I will take this new party and go kick some Amazonian ass in the Valley of the Tombs. Then I will kick some bandit ass in the bandit camp. Then I will kick some ass in other random areas around the southern Sword Coast, until finally culminating in kicking some mercenary ass near the Song of the Morning Temple. So, lets get to it! Stay tuned for a party vote post after this one.