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Syvishtar's Journal


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#541 Usurper

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Posted 24 June 2012 - 06:22 AM

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23 Nightal, 1369, Hour 14

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I think the most tempting part of Yeslick's offer is that I don't know him. I have fond memories of killing gnolls with Kagain. Xan I am in love with, even though it is still early in our relationship. And back when I was a man I had a wild and crazy night of passion with Viconia. Yeslick I do not know at all, so it will be easier to risk him, or to see him fall, in battle. Besides, Viconia needs to rest that fine ass of hers. You'd think the platemail would obscure it but nope!

Posted Image All help is welcome. We've much to overcome.

Posted Image That you have, and none would know better than I. These are my mines that the blasted Iron Throne has stolen. Well, they were my clan's home 125 years ago. Curse me for a fool, I trusted them! Years ago that blasted Rieltar gave me a good trade smithing for the Throne, and then I go and tell him about my old home! About how my clan had the richest iron mine on any coast, and how almost all were killed when we breached a riverbank. Lost most my kin in that flood. Those of us that survived couldn't bear to go back down. It was a giant watery tomb, and we left it the way she stood. So I go and tell this to my "friend" Rieltar, and he has me chained up! He tortures the location outta me, and now this graveyard feeds the Iron Throne as they bleed the coast dry. If you want to cripple their plans, help me flood these accursed mines once more! They plugged the breach, but knowing hands can loose the flow! We can drown these black-hearted rats in the very mine they've stolen! Here be the way!

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Posted Image Our paths must run apart for a while. If I should need your help again, though, we should rendezvous at the Jovial Juggler in Beregost.

Posted Image I will do ths, but not willingly. I am far from safe in these dwellings of surface folk.

I wave goodbye to Viconia and watch her leave. To, you know, make sure she's okay. Then I turn my attention to Yeslick. The poor guy is totally without equipment, since he was in jail. We're going to have to equip him from our stores. It doesn't start out well. He asks us for a warhammer. We, uh, we don't have any warhammers at all. That's, uh, unfortunate. The little guy really likes warhammers.

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We decide to give him the Flaming Death flail.

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Gameplay note: He gets 3 attacks per round with it, but his THAC0 is only 17.

We do a little equipment shifting. Yeslick also likes the Crystal Plate Mail the best for its resistances. He can use the Helm of Mind Warding, so he goes for that. We should not forget its True Sight. Of course he gets the Boots of the Forgotten Ones and the Large Shield +1 that we have. He also gets a sling and a Cloak of Protection +1, because he looks less well protected than others in the group. When he is all suited up, he looks rather dashing.

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He is the toughest, strongest, potentially most damaging melee fighter we have, and that is without taking into account his spells! We must put him on the front line. In fact, he can lead us for now. Xan can come back to the rear with me.

He says that we should rest so he can pray to get his spells back. I dare not risk sleeping right out in the open where any Iron Throne flunky can find us, so I teleport us to Shaundakul's Sanctuary. We spend an uneventful night resting in the quiet. Then, we return and go down the next level of stairs.

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When we get down the stairs, they are waiting for us.

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Yeslick fights like a dwarf possessed, swinging his flail wildly and getting the first kill.

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One of the guards is beating on me, so I run away into the corner and cast Mirror Image.

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Xan takes him out a moment later.

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Then Xan goes after the hobgoblin archers, and they don't fare very well.

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Yeslick gets a second kill.

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As Xan gets his third.

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And Kagain finally contributes with the last guy.

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Posted Image What place is that?

Posted Image These be the guardrooms. I trained me militia here, long ago... willin' lads, good wi' an axe, all o' 'em. I expect the Throne've stuffed it wi' hobgoblins an' scum like that, so watch yer step.

With that, the old dwarf speeds down the hall and enters the first door on the left. We hurry to catch up to him.

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I think Yeslick takes offense to that.

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Skeezer is practically bursting with excitment after looking around the room for two seconds.

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There are 4 fire agate gems, about 50 gold, and two spell scrolls in here. I guess that guard had aspirations. The scrolls are of Sleep and Shocking Grasp. Skeezer copies down the Shocking Grasp and gives the Sleep to me.

But Yeslick is already down the hallway again. I think he believes he can clear this entire mine out himself.

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Yeslick, Kagain, and Faldorn charge the hobgoblins, but two of them are spellcasters!

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I hope we can do something about them in time. I throw out some random missiles and interrupt one of them.

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But Skeezer goes for Sleep, and it takes too long to cast. The second one gets a Hold Person off aimed at Faldorn! Thankfully she resists it. Then Skeezer's spell finally goes off.

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I guess Hobgoblin Captains are too cool for that sort of thing. Well I have an idea of what to do about that...

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Burn baby burn! Faldorn also summons some insects to confuse one of the casters. And Skeezer shoots some magic missiles at another, but not before he successfully casts Dispel Magic at us. These shamans are no pushovers.

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I try to interrupt another shaman with Chromatic Orb, but that doesn't really work out well.

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Faldorn has effectively shut down one of the shamans, and the other has put himself into a Sanctuary. I think we can pretty much forget about them for the rest of the fight.

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The shaman with bees dies to the bees, and the one in the Sanctuary wanders off. We are only resisted by a Captain, but he puts up quite a fight, holding the door against us in some kind of desperate last stand move.

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After what seems like an eternity, Faldorn strikes him down.

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Yeslick leads us further into the room and we find two more hobgoblins. He destroys both of them, one after another.

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We actually find a lot of loot in this room. There is a katana and a composite long bow, which we take. There are piles of cash and gems in the chests, which are always welcome. There is one cursed scroll and one Protection from Acid scroll. Not bad. But there are also several magic scrolls of spells that I had not heard of before, even in Candlekeep. The first is Orb of Air, a level 1 spell. The second is Icebolt, a level 2 spell. And the third is Ajandurah's Ice Shard, a level 4 spell.

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Gameplay note: Turn a target into a puff of smoke for 4 rounds?! I have to try this out!

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So this is 2d10 damage. Other comparable level 2 damaging spells are Agannazar's Scorcher for 3d6 the first round, and 3d6 the second round. Plus its a beam so it can hit other people too. There is also Melf's Acid Arrow, which does 2d4 per round for every 3 levels. And finally, there is Rhialto's Random Missiles, that does (for now) 1d6 missiles inflicting 1d4+1 possible damage each, a range of 1-28 damage. I guess Icebolt's advantage is that it does cold damage, even though its damage is lower than comparable spells at that level. I'll load it up and give it a try.

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So 3 arrows' worth of cold damage. Arrows are 1d6 damage, so this ice shard does 3d6 damage, I assume. The other damaging spell I have right now at level 4 is Ice Storm, which does 2d8 damage per round for 4 rounds to a 30' radius. I guess if you wanted to only inflict cold-based damage to one target instead of an area you might use this. But, one spell level lower you have Flame Arrow, which starts out doing 4d6 damage per arrow, and the caster gets one arrow per 4 levels, with a maximum of 5 arrows at level 20, which would be 20d6 damage. I guess, once again, this is favored for its ice properties. If an enemy is vulnerable to ice or immune to fire it would make more sense to prepare this spell. I guess.

Yeslick says we should stick to the main hallway, so we turn around and go across it to the other door. Skeezer once again ransacks the place.

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We find something completely amazing in this room.

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Complete immunity to normal missiles?! Skeezer puts it on. He is always getting hit with arrows.

Yeslick keeps pushing us, though, so we hit the next room, and see another surprised guard.

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Again, Kagain is the one who takes him out.

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In this room we find an acceptable number of potions, some money, and a scroll of Dispel Magic. This is extremely valuable tactically. Also, Skeezer and I both have it written down in our spellbooks already. I stash the scroll.

The next room we enter is some kind of armory.

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There are armor and weapons hanging about all over the place. Only a Medium Shield +2 is magical, though. We leave the rest where it is, and go back out the door and down the hallway leading southeast. It is a long, ominous hallway, so we advance down it slowly, the dwarves leading the way.

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The Monk is always out to keep a wild mage down. But the Weave, she speaks to me. Together we work our collective will on this brittle, cracking world.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.

#542 Usurper

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Posted 24 June 2012 - 06:23 AM

We see another group of hobgoblins, and the dwarves charge towards them as fast as they can.

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I shout at them to watch the open door, but they don't care. I feel a flash of magic going off.

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I shout at everyone to retreat to my position, and everyone turns around to run back to me. But two volleys of Magic Missiles also come flying out of the room, and Yeslick is pelted with them.

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One of the hobgoblin shamans casts Hold Person at Kagain. I tell him incoming, and he manages to drink a Potion of Freedom just before it hits. Good on him!

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I wait a beat for the right moment, and then throw my one and only Potion of Explosions into the hallway. I disrupt the shaman's spell, but I forget to hold my sword when I do it and I'm caught in the blast!

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Kagain hits one of the hobgoblins so hard that he falls on his back and slides down the hallway. Awesome! But at the same moment a glowing ball of mage appears at the end of the hallway, already casting a spell.

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Skeezer is already casting an Acid Arrow at the hobgoblin Shaman, so he can't do anything. And I am already trying to suck the life out of a hobgoblin captain, so I can't do anything either. We are both powerless to stop Natasha from subjecting us to our first Fireball.

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Skeezer dies instantly.

Posted Image Another victim in our hopeless crusade.

Even though he says that, Xan still gets the deathblow on the hobgoblin captain a second later.

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I'm not sure how it happened, but Kagain is all the way down the hall and in Natasha's face. I only notice when she casts her next fireball at point-blank range.

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Faldorn had taken a few seconds to call a Woodland Being before getting back into melee, and the nymph has finally arrived. They always take so long. Maybe we should stop doing this in combat.

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Down the hallway, Kagain drinks a Potion of Fire Resistance before running off after Natasha again.

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Gameplay note: Drinking that potion puts Kagains fire resistance up to 115%, which means fire will actually HEAL him when he gets hit with it now.

Midway down the hallway Faldorn takes out one of the hobgoblins that is blocking our way.

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I guess Natasha recognized the potion that Kagain drank, which is why she fries him with a Lightning Bolt this time.

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Kagain dies.

Posted Image I wish no dwarf dead, but I'll not miss his company!

Faldorn appears around the corner, on her way to heal Kagain, at the same time that the nymph Dimension Doors to his location. But they are both too late. The nymph just teleports away again, leaving Faldorn to face Natasha alone.

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In the middle of the hallway, Xan removes the last of the resistance to us.

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I call for a general retreat into the room. We can fight at the doorway. But I did not expect to see an entire other squad of hobgoblins waiting in ambush for us in here!

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I call for a new retreat to the armory. We all manage to get away. The nymph even manages to Dimension Door her way to me.

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We have enough time for Faldorn to cast Resist Fire and Cold on Yeslick and for the nymph to heal us all, before the hobgoblins show up again.

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Then the nymph proves herself quite useful by Holding a hobgoblin captain!

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Faldorn kills it, and we move on to the other hobgoblins coming down the hallway. The nymph holds one of them too.

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I get out a scroll of sleep and cast it at some of the hobgoblins. One of them falls, but I feel Natasha resist it. She's back there!

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My three main tanks crush the opposition and rush down the hallway to reveal Natasha in the midst of casting another spell. I am already casting of my own too.

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Natasha gets finished with it first. A Lightning Bolt flies out and hits Faldorn in the chest.

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She just shrugs it off and keeps coming for Natasha. Thank the Weave. My own spell fares better. Nobody resists a Fireball.

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Both Faldorn and Xan run for Natasha, but she manages to rush past the hobgoblins sleeping on the floor, around the corner, and into the room, evading them completely.

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When she comes back out of the door a few seconds later, it is to hit Yeslick with a nasty Magic Missile barrage.

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I try to roughly approximate the spell I just learned, Orb of Air, but it doesn't really come out right.

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Also she hits me with some Minute Meteors in return before ducking back into the door and out of our reach. The bitch!

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On the melee line, another hobgoblin falls.

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Natasha predictably comes back into view when she can cast another spell, and I try to hit her with another Orb of Air. But the Weave flows through me and hits her with another couple of different kinds of orbs.

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Natasha the man tries to run away from Faldorn and Yeslick, which are hot on his tail. He only turns around once, to hit Yeslick with a full volley of Magic Missiles.

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Outside, in the hallway, there's only one hobgoblin left. The nymph and I keep it from casting, and Xan keeps it from living.

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Then it is all of us vs. the man-bitch Natasha. He seems to have cast every single spell he could, because he takes out a dagger and tries to defend himself. But, in the end, Yeslick strikes him down.

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We think we might have a lull in the fighting, but then our nymph screams and falls to the ground, dying from a poison arrow, and a hobgoblin appears in the doorway.

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Yeslick manages to take out the hobgoblin, but alas, it is too late for the nymph.

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Posted Image Perhaps we will survive longer than I had originally thought.

There are a ton of bodies here. I don't even know where to start. Well, wait, yes I do. I must start at Skeezer's body, because he's holding the bags and the glasses of identification. The second place I stop is Natasha's body. He has some scrolls of spells I do not yet know - Ghoul Touch and Hold Person. Hold Person is exactly like the cleric spell. But Ghoul Touch is new.

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He also has Slow and Mirror Image, which I put in my spellbook. Last, he has a mage robe, a Traveler's Robe. I put it on the mule, along with Skeezer's stuff. The rest of the bodies only have minor gems, a few +1 arrows, and gold coins on them.

Then, I stop to ponder our situation.

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We are deep within the mines, deep within enemy territory, and from the looks of things we are almost done. We are down two men, but the remaining guys are quite strong. If I were to go back to the Jovial Juggler now, I'd lose days, almost a week, of travel time. When I got there the only help I could pick up would be Dynaheir and Jaheira. They are good enough people, but I feel as though they'd just be slaughtered here in a moment's time, with all the Fireballs flying around. I think that given the circumstances, we should just press on. Yeslick, Xan, Faldorn, and myself can flood these mines. I'm sure of it. Probably. If we use all our potions and scrolls. Lets see at least.

We arrange everything, passing out potions and going through scrolls. Yeslick takes a lot of Kagain's fighter equipment too. We are eventually ready. Then we charge around the corner and through the next door we see.

The Monk is always out to keep a wild mage down. But the Weave, she speaks to me. Together we work our collective will on this brittle, cracking world.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.

#543 Usurper

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Posted 24 June 2012 - 06:24 AM

There are two squads of hobgoblins here. Time to die!

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Two shamans finish their spells and both go after Xan. He resists the first, but the second Hold holds.

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My Sleep scroll takes a lot more of the hobgoblins out of commission than one.

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With almost every hobgoblin in the room asleep, Yeslick and Faldorn go right after the magic users. Me too, actually.

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We are doing pretty good, but I do not kill the shaman that I'm attacking right away, and that gives it time to cast Dispel Magic on the general area. All of the hobgoblins wake back up.

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I try to put them all back to sleep again, but it doesn't work as well the second time.

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Faldorn holds off the entire room's complement of hobgoblin fighters while Yeslick and I finish slaughtering the casters.

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Then we all turn on the melee guys. It isn't pretty.

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I get out my Ring of Energy. It has been too long since I've used this!

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Xan snaps out of the Hold Person and joins in on the fun.

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Yeslick finishes taking out the ranged guys that were in the corner, and the battle is practically won.

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I even jump into the melee with my sword.

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Yeslick takes out the last of the hobgoblins, and we have taken another room!

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Yeslick is the one to clean up. After collecting all the baubles and money, he drinks a Potion of Stone Giant Strength and starts ripping open chests.

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He has some problems with two chests, so Xan pops a Potion of Fire Giant Strength and rips the top of the chest off of the bottom.

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We find gems, jewelry, two Potions of Major Healing (much needed), two magical axes, a magical spear, and a magical amulet. No one can identify what they are, so I put on the Girdle of Cognizance and turn back into a man to try to identify them.

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It feels both strange and familiar to be male. I am able to tell what the spear is. We have seen one before already; it is a Spear of Fire. One of the Battle Axes I can identify too, and it is Enrager.

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The amulet turns out to be the Amulet of Great Foresight.

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I put the Amulet on, but then I feel the coldness of a curse closing on me!

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The Amulet doesn't seem to do anything to me besides not leave my neck. But I'm a little worried. It also doesn't work as advertised. I'm going to have to remove this eventually. The last axe, a pole axe, is not something I can identify right now. I'm going to have to wait until tomorrow.

Then I think we should rest, so I try to use the Stone of Recall. It doesn't work. Nothing happens. Is this place warded against teleportation magic? Are we too far underground? I do not know, but I worry.

We decide to keep going. Yeslick has a fire burning in his eyes that I can sortof understand. He needs these people gone from his ancestral home right away. We go back the way we came, down the hallway, and enter the next room. We are greeted with the sound of flies buzzing, and the sight of corpses.

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Posted Image Here, Syvishtara, here is another awful consequence of civilization! A wild beast finishes his kill and eats it! But "cultured" beings satisfy their hunger by slaughtering enslaved cows and pigs - so their natural instinct to kill for food gets perverted into a desire to murder and cause pain!

Posted Image Ye sick fiend... ye've made a pain-house out o' me home! DIE, YE FILTH!

Posted Image You disgusting animal. Unlike the pathetic slave that you've tortured, we can fight back!

Posted Image Take your best shot.

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Finally! I've been carrying this spell in my spellbook since we entered the mines, and I can finally cast it.

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For my trouble I get hit with two Acid Arrows!

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Then Yeslick does something that I totally did not expect. He throws out his hands in a spell-like gesture and some energy flies out to hit the ground behind the Ogre Mage. There is a rebound, and all of the spell and physical protections disappear from the magic-wielding beast. GO YESLICK!

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Gameplay note: I had forgotten Yeslick's special ability is a free Dispel Magic as a spell-like ability.

The acid from the Ogre Mage's acid arrows eats into me, and although I drink a healing potion it doesn't go away.

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You know what, though? I don't have to deal with this shit. I take out a Protection from Acid scroll and use it on myself. It works! Also, Yeslick hits the Ogre Mage with that flail and sends him into a panic!

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The Ogre Mage runs for a bit, and then tries to stop and turn. He tries to cast a spell, but Xan isn't having any of that. He chunks the Ogre Mage and blood sprays everywhere.

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He isn't carrying any loot. But at least he won't be torturing and killing any longer. I can live with that.

Hallway, door. We take a look inside. There is a guard who is apparently very hard of hearing.

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Posted Image We don't really need a reason. We're here to kill you.

Posted Image We'll see who'll be doing the dying today!

Yeslick immediately chunks him. It's pretty funny.

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We decide to take the northwest hallway to see where it leads. It leads to a small temple.

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Posted Image No! Now die scum!

Xan decapitates him with one swipe of his sword.

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Yeslick stands still in shocked silence for about half a second. Then,

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Posted Image What's wrong?

Posted Image What's wrong? What's wrong?!? Look around ye! The scum've taken me shrine... Clangeddin's shrine... an' they'e given it to Mad Cyric! O' all the filth ta track into me home, ta bring the Mad God's worship in here... they're gonna pay, ye mark me words. They're all gonna bloody pay!

Posted Image Isn't there anything w can do here?

Posted Image Nay... consecratin' this shrine'd take a lot longer than we have, an' I'd need all sorts o' special holy widgets ta do it, too. Not ta mention we'd need at least a week wi' a scrubbin' brush an' some incense or what-have-ye ta get rid o' the stink o' Cyric. By Clangeddin, what a mess!

Posted Image We will make them pay for this blasphemy, Yeslick... never fear.

Posted Image Aye... Aye! DAVAEORN! Yer death is comin'!

In one vase we find a Potion of Stone Giant Strength and an Elixir of Health. A godsend if there ever was one! And in the other we find a Potion of Invulnerability and one of Healing too. Excellent!

We follow the hallway back northwest, and it opens into the room we first came into. This time we take the southwest door, and we find a lava forge. This is definitely dwarven make.

The Monk is always out to keep a wild mage down. But the Weave, she speaks to me. Together we work our collective will on this brittle, cracking world.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.

#544 Usurper

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Posted 24 June 2012 - 06:24 AM

It is here that Faldorn decides to broach the subject of evil with Yeslick.

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Posted Image By Clangeddin's beard, lass, me clan never wronged a thing o' nature!

Posted Image No race is greedier than yours, and it is nature who gives you the wealth. You burn the trees for fuel and dig the galleries and tunnels deep, and convert the body of our mother into shiny metal toys.

Posted Image What do ye think the Nature intended metals fer? Fer hidin' in its womb?

Posted Image The rocks are root of mountains and the floor of the valleys.

Posted Image But change and purge o' the roots is the way o' nature.

Posted Image The uprooted plant dies.

Posted Image As the flowers and trees o' the surface wither ta be born again, so the metal's taken out so new metal can be created.

Posted Image It does not work that way, Yeslick. For the dead plant returns to mother, but your worked metal does not.

Whew. Okay then. This debate is not something I really care about. Let us move on, shall we? Going down the final hallway, we find a deep, circular hole in the ground.

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I can only imagine that this is where the dwarves got their mining done. The next room we come to looks like a cafeteria of some sort.

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There is nothing and no one here. We take a glance and move on. In the room behind it, we encounter a final group of hobgoblins, their shaman blessing them.

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The same thing happens as last time - Xan is held and our magical protections are dispelled.

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I try to help with the fighting, but I am hit, so I retreat, cast Mirror Image from a scroll, and move in to melee again.

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Another Hold Person flies in and gets both Yeslick and Xan. I could dispel it but I hope I don't have to.

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The hobgoblins just can't seem to hurt Yeslick and Xan, and Faldorn and I cut the hobgoblins down one by one.

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The narrow hallway really works to our advantage, because we can overpower hobgoblins one at a time. Faldorn can even take time out to heal me.

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Then both Yeslick and Xan wake up from the Hold, and we actually have to move further away from the door to give them enough room to swing at the hobgoblins too.

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Yeslick takes the last hobgoblin out that we can see.

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The others inside the door also fall to us quickly.

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Then we go to the end of this small room and find the stairway down.

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I look at my companions. Dare we go down there now? I cannot think we would survive. We must rest, re-memorize spells, and prepare. We have to go up.

It is on the way back, when I pull ahead of everyone and realize that I have no idea where I'm going, that I realize I'm almost blind.

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Gameplay note: I don't know if the fog of war effect comes through in the screenshot but I can only see basically one foot on each side of me. That damned Amulet did the opposite of what it said!

It is the Amulet! Gah! I must get it off me! We climb back up the stairs and into the second level of the mines. I try my Stone of Recall. It still doesn't work!

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Gameplay note: After extensive testing I determined that the Stone of Recall doesn't work if you have dead party members in your group. I guess this is a new bug, and a difference between the version of the BWP I started with and the version I reinstalled. I guess I'm going to just have to tough it out.

I don't know what else to do, so I say that we're going to camp here. I hope nobody comes.

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Nobody does.

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Then Yeslick casts the spell to get this damn amulet off me.

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The spell throws the cursed amulet onto the ground.

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I'm also able to determine what the magical axe is - it is another Pole Axe +2: Kilther, just like the other one in the mule.

We are down by two, but we are not out. We travel down to the stairway to the bottom-most level, and it is there that we prepare.

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I cast Resist Fear, Shield, and Invisibility on myself.

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Yeslick drinks Potions of Magic Protection, Stone Giant Strength, Invulnerability, and Clarity.

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Xan drinks Potions of Fortitude, Heroism, Magic Protection, Insulation, Defense, Clarity, and Regeneration.


Gameplay note: Drinking the Potion of Fortitude bumps Xan's CON to 18 and therefore his hit points to 47. Drinking the Potion of Heroism right after gives him another +10%, bumping his hit points up again to 51.

Faldorn can't use any potions but she buffs herself with Resist Fire and Cold and Armor of Faith.

We are ready for whatever comes.

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Edited by Usurper, 24 June 2012 - 07:56 AM.

The Monk is always out to keep a wild mage down. But the Weave, she speaks to me. Together we work our collective will on this brittle, cracking world.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.

#545 Usurper

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Posted 24 June 2012 - 06:25 AM

As soon as we make it down the stairs, Faldorn calls a nymph to our side.

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Then a guard strolls up, unconcerned.

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Posted Image Well we don't, that's not too much of a problem, is it?

The guard immediately goes hostile.

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The nymph Holds him, and he is dead.

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Faldorn decides that now is a great time to call another nymph. I agree.

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Then we advance, and as we do, we hear a voice from the darkness of the end of the hallway.

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Posted Image One name o' ours ye know, at least, mage - Yeslick Orothiar I am, an' it sickens me ta think that ye're goin' ta share the same grave as me kin. Prepare fer the Abyss, Davaeorn!

Posted Image Well, well... the fool escapes, does he? Then let us see whose graves shall be filled!

Posted Image I will slay you for your affront to nature, pale townling!

Posted Image That's a new one, to be sure. But it matters not. You are dead, druid, though I have heard that your ilk gives death little significance.

Posted Image Now that we are introduced, prepare to die!

I feel a familiar flash of magic, as Davaeorn calls up his protections.

Posted Image

He also reveals himself as he throws some Minute Meteors at Faldorn, who is the closest to him. But she is a diversion. A diversion for me. I step forward and cast Spell Thrust on him. It should dispel all his protections.

Posted Image

Uh... that means, that means his spell protections are above 5th level! Crap! I'm starting to get a little worried. My worry continues after Davaeron returns with a Fireball, killing the nymph and greatly injuring me.

Posted Image

But then Yeslick finishes his Dispel Magic, and it evaporates the protections around Davaeron like so much mist in the morning. It is beautiful. I shout CHARGE! and Yeslick and Xan run after the newly-vulnerable Davaeron. Faldorn chooses to begin casting Summon Insects at Davaeron. I try to heal myself but get hit with a Magic Missile from a Battle Horror and lose my spell!

Posted Image

As Xan passes the two branching hallways he notices two Black Talon Elite archers. One of them draws his bow and shoots out an Arrow of Detonation at Xan!

Posted Image

It interrupts Faldorn's spell. She chooses to go after one of the archers instead.

Posted Image

Yeslick and Xan get rearranged by the Teleport Field, which also reveals the presence of a backup mage, Morgan. He casts an Acid Arrow at Yeslick but it doesn't stick.

Posted Image

I notice that Davaeron has managed to give himself some more Mirror Images. I have just the scroll for that. I take it out and cast it - Detect Illusion. The Mirror Images disappear.

Posted Image

Davaeron is reckless and out of control! He casts Cone of Cold at Yeslick, killing one of his own Battle Horrors and the mage Morgan as well!

Posted Image

Xan and Yeslick beat on Davaeron some more, and he looks pretty injured. But then he drinks a potion.

Posted Image

Faldorn had been trying to occupy the Black Talon Elite archers, but they had been slowly winning for some time. Now one of them gets extremely lucky and strikes her down with his sword.

Posted Image

I manage to injure Davaeron with a volley of Random Missiles.

Posted Image

Davaeron casts Sunfire, and greatly damages Yeslick. Xan is immune of course, and apparently all the Battle Horrors are too. I wonder where I can get myself some of those minions as I rush right, past the Black Talon Elite archers, and down the hallway to behind the Teleport Field.

Posted Image

Davaeron tries to run away from me when he sees me, but he's not fast enough. I hit him with another volley of Magic Missiles, and he dies.

Posted Image

Of course, that still leaves 2 Black Talon Elites and two Battle Horrors for us to deal with. I get everyone to retreat into a hallway and do a little Fireball.

Posted Image

We all move faster than our enemies. I call for a regroup at the front room, in order to have a bit of a rest before killing the rest of the bad guys. We rush thre in a moment. But even though the Battle Horrors move slowly, they also teleport around when they need to. Both of them teleport to us and strike me as I'm trying to cast Fireball, ruining my spell!

Posted Image

Also one of the Black Talon Elites show up. I send Yeslik after him to make him think twice.

Posted Image

I manage to cast Mirror Image but the Battle Horror sees through it!

Posted Image

At least Yeslick manages to chunk one of the Black Talon Elites.

Posted Image

And, as I'm running away from the Battle Horrors I see him chunk the other!

Posted Image

These Battle Horrors just do not give up! Even with Yeslick and Xan beating on it, it still comes after me.

Posted Image

I'm reduced to running through the hallways in circles. After endless running around, we FINALLY kill one of them. It explodes in a horrible red light.

Posted Image

Yeslick is happy with that!

Posted Image
Posted Image

Xan and Yeslick together go back to the other Battle Horror and begin to beat on it too.

Posted Image

It also eventually dies.

Posted Image

Then Yeslick heals me up, and we are done.

Posted Image

Another location has been turned into a pile of corpses, some of them ours. I am nothing but walking death.


Gameplay note: And that brings us to Chapter 6! We're speeding along now! Next stop, the titular Baldur's Gate itself! This update has been very long, so I will publish it now. There will be one more update tying up loose ends, and then we will have a new party vote.

Edited by Usurper, 24 June 2012 - 08:18 AM.

The Monk is always out to keep a wild mage down. But the Weave, she speaks to me. Together we work our collective will on this brittle, cracking world.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.

#546 -Daxs-

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Posted 24 June 2012 - 08:58 AM

Yeslick is missing a weapon skill point. He's level 4 fighter, he should have 1 more.

#547 Usurper

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Posted 24 June 2012 - 06:10 PM

Seriously? I didn't change anything about him when I picked him up, I just took him as he was.
The Monk is always out to keep a wild mage down. But the Weave, she speaks to me. Together we work our collective will on this brittle, cracking world.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.

#548 Argumentative

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Posted 24 June 2012 - 08:20 PM

Seriously? I didn't change anything about him when I picked him up, I just took him as he was.


I think they are correct. If memory serves, Multi-class warriors only get warrior Proficiency point and THAC0 progression. So at level 4, he has 4 starter + 1 pip from level three. I am pretty sure Cleric's pips aren't given to him.

#549 Usurper

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Posted 24 June 2012 - 08:31 PM

Is anyone else getting a ton of broken images for this update?
The Monk is always out to keep a wild mage down. But the Weave, she speaks to me. Together we work our collective will on this brittle, cracking world.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.

#550 Justify

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Posted 24 June 2012 - 10:14 PM

Yup, none of the new game play screens are showing up. I'm guessing the new image host didn't work out well?

#551 Usurper

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Posted 24 June 2012 - 10:41 PM

How about now?
The Monk is always out to keep a wild mage down. But the Weave, she speaks to me. Together we work our collective will on this brittle, cracking world.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.

#552 -Guest-

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Posted 24 June 2012 - 11:08 PM


Seriously? I didn't change anything about him when I picked him up, I just took him as he was.


I think they are correct. If memory serves, Multi-class warriors only get warrior Proficiency point and THAC0 progression. So at level 4, he has 4 starter + 1 pip from level three. I am pretty sure Cleric's pips aren't given to him.


They'd be correct if he had 5. He has 2 in Sling and 2 in Hammers and he's a 4/5 Fighter/Cleric.

#553 Sanctifer

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Posted 25 June 2012 - 01:08 AM

They'd be correct if he had 5. He has 2 in Sling and 2 in Hammers and he's a 4/5 Fighter/Cleric.



He has 5, he has 2 in slings and 3 in hammers


EDIT :
And I can perfectly see the images, nothing broken here

Edited by Sanctifer, 25 June 2012 - 01:09 AM.

« Regarde moi ces émincés d'oignons, je voudrais tous les enfiler sur une corde pour m'en faire une parure ! »

#554 Beleg33

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Posted 25 June 2012 - 04:43 AM

Weird that Spell Thrust failed to dispel MGoI. Something wrong with one of them from your install I guess, like setting Spell Thrust abilty power to 3 instead of 4 in vanilla. See here for some details on Secret Word/Spell Thrust oddities.
Random spambot #8434678 said :

you should liquor multiplying great deal supplment your to office apparel predicated copy may possibly be an go through check out this behave as more busy den has an interest in pc


#555 Usurper

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Posted 25 June 2012 - 08:13 AM

I didn't notice that I had a screenshot stating Davaeorn had Minor Globe of Invulnerability specifically. That is odd, since it explicitly states that it does dispel it. I'll check out that link, thanks.
The Monk is always out to keep a wild mage down. But the Weave, she speaks to me. Together we work our collective will on this brittle, cracking world.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.

#556 Usurper

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Posted 25 June 2012 - 09:03 AM

Posted Image

26 Nightal, 1369

Once again I lead a half-dead company. Best not to think of it too much. Best to just clean this place out and get back to civilization.

In the first chest, right by the door, we have...

Posted Image

potions of Healing and Cold Resistance. Those would have been useful during the fight. I'm sad, but Yeslick cannot be stopped. He rips open another chest.

Posted Image

Another healing potion and some money. Then there are some piles for Yeslick to pick up. One pile of Splint Mail +1, Varscona +2, and some Ice Arrows indicates a Black Talon Elite mercenary once stood here before Yeslick hit him into chunks.

Another pile of Studded Leather Armor +2, Fire Arrows, and a Long Sword indicate another merc.

Posted Image

But this merc also has two strange potions on his corpse.

Posted Image

I haven't seen Potions of Acid Burst before. I'll have to try them out. Next we find Faldorn's corpse. We gather her things together solemnly. After that, Yeslick finds a chest he can't open. I will have to memorize a Knock for that one.

Posted Image

Opposite the hall from that room, there is a bookshelf with some very interesting items on it.

Posted Image

The scrolls are of Detect Invisibility and Icebolt, which I stuff away. The book is fancy, but not magical. Finch might be interested in it.

Posted Image

Davaeron's corpse is next. It is a treasure trove. There are scrolls for the spell I know Grease, Shield, Protection from Petrification, Protection from Evil, Remove Magic, and Dimension Door. There are 50 poisoned throwing daggers. There is a green scroll case, and the Key to the River Plug.

Posted Image

There are also three letters from Reiltar to Davaeron.

Posted Image

I've heard this name before, Sarevok. He is Tazok's superior? I've missed killing that guy. Sarevok is also the captain of all the mercenaries I've been killing. I think I might just have to kill him too.

Posted Image

I hate slavers. These guys are real assholes. I'm going to have to check out the western noble estates as soon as possible. Maybe I can burn them all down. That might be fun. And tauting Yeslick through a letter? Man these guys are really chapping my ass.

Posted Image

Well, in case there was any doubt, this letter lays out the entire plan. Poison or control all the iron on the Sword Coast so that the Iron Throne can get rich. Bastards, bastards and bandits and thieves! These guys have been sending tons of mercenaries after me too. I think the only way to get some rest is to kill them all. I need to pay them a visit.

On Davaeron's corpse is also a sling +2, an ioun stone, and a mage robe. I can't identify the last two. We are going to have to rest first.

There is a pile near Davaeron with a magical Cloak, an Amulet of Protection +1, some Boots of Ensured Speed, and a Dagger of Disease. I don't remember anyone matching that description in the fight. There must have been an assassin around that I never saw.


Gameplay note: There was. Her name was Dark Silvia and Davaeron's reckless magic use must have killed her before she did anything to us.

Posted Image

I'm not sure I trust these boots. Why aren't they called Boots of Speed, like I learned in Candlekeep? They might be cursed. I'll try them on after Yeslick memorizes a Remove Curse.

Posted Image

This dagger looks nasty. I don't even want to hold it.

There is a second chest that we cannot open. I will have to memorize a second Knock.

Posted Image

Morgan's corpse is next. I look at it and find some Darts of Stunning +1, a Robe of Fire Resistance, and an unidentifiable Ring, Quarter Staff, and Wand. I must memorize more Identifies.

A third chest defies Yeslick. A third Knock I must memorize.

Posted Image

We find another shrine to Cyric here. These Iron Throne types sure love the Mad God.

Posted Image

The last room in this little compound contains... a mage?!

Posted Image

Posted Image Who are you? What was your role here?

Posted Image I told you, I'm just Davaeorn's apprentice! I studied under him, and that's it! I didn't know anything about anything! Well, I know a little, but just ask and I'll tell you!

Posted Image What was the purpose of this installation?

Posted Image The mine? Um... I... I think they were going to try and look like the saviors of the day, riding in with their stores of iron to equip the troops, or something like that. With the bandit raids and the rumors about Amn, the Iron Throne figured that the Dukes of Baldur's Gate would think they needed arms and ore quickly in case of Amnish attack. They... they figured they could get exorbitant prices, or better yet, sanctions against competitors and an easing of trade laws for themselves only. A quick way to install themselves as an underground power on the coast. That's all I know about it, I swear!

Posted Image The iron shortage! Who is behind it?!

Posted Image Who is behind it? Um... well... the Iron Throne, I guess. Davaeorn ran this place for the regional bosses in Baldur's Gate. They used some strange potion to taint iron already stored, used Mulahey to keep new ore from being mined, and had the bandits raid any incoming trading caravans. It doesn't take long for perceived shortages to embellish real threats. You know all of this if you are the one who killed Mulahey. Can I go now?

Posted Image Get out, you cowardly weasel!

Posted Image Oh thank you thank you thank you! I promise not to get involved with people like this again, no matter how good he fringe benefits are! Yes sir, I'm reasonably sure I will be careful from now on! Thank you; goodbye.

In one bookshelf in this room there are scrolls of Larloch's Minor Drain and Blur. On the other there are scrolls of Horror, True Strike, Orb of Air, and another Larloch's Minor Drain, which I know. Thunderslap and Contagion I do not know.

Posted Image


Gameplay note: Wow, 10 rounds of being stunned is a death sentence for anyone. Too bad this is only on a melee touch attack.

Posted Image

This spell is better cast against players than enemies, since enemies are just going to die soon anyway and another Ice Storm is probably better than using this. But if there's only one extremely strong enemy it might be useful - like against a dragon.

There is a long, dark tunnel at the end of the area, and Yeslick goes down it to see what's there. Turns out there are three closed chests and some sort of ooze.

Posted Image

The jelly is not a threat to us. Yeslick takes it out.

Posted Image

Opening the first chest is impossible, because it's locked. Opening the second chest, however is easy, and a sight for sore eyes.

Posted Image

1000 gold, a scroll of Knock, and a scroll of Anti-Magic Shell!

Posted Image


Gameplay note: Dispel Magic does not remove the spell. This would be perfect to stand in against all manner of magical and bestial foes and just plink arrows at them. I can imagine Imoen will be really excellent standing in an Anti-Magic Shell.

The next chest is another treasure trove of spells.

Posted Image

It has Melf's Minute Meteors, Detect Invisibility, and Globe of Invulnerability. That must be what Davaeorn was using. I know it, I just can't cast it yet. I put those all in my spellbook.

I use the scroll of Knock to open the first chest. Beautiful things are inside.

Posted Image

The most beautiful of which is the Green Bag of Holding!

Posted Image

We desperately need this, for the mule is once again full with the equipment of all our dead compatriots. I shove a couple dozen odds and ends inside right away. After that, we prepare to rest. We need to in order to finish looting this place.

In the night, I dream of blood. When I wake, I have a second Cure Affliction ability.

Posted Image

I turn to my left and cast Knock on our first unbreakable chest.

Posted Image

15 gold? That's it? The othe chest with 1000 gold didn't even have any lock on it, and this unbreakable chest only has 15? BAH I say!

The second chest is more reasonable.

Posted Image

I can deal with 300 gold, no problem.

Posted Image

The last chest has potions of Explosion, Firebreath, and Master Thievery. We pocket them all. Then I turn my attention to the magical equipment I need to identify. The first is the robe. It is the Robe of the Evil Archmagi.

Posted Image

Another nice robe I can't use. Bah. The ioun stone at least I can use.

Posted Image

I decide to check out the staff next, and if I was sitting in a chair I'd have fallen out of it. It's like it's my birthday!

Posted Image

Posted Image

Eagerly, I look through the other equipment, starting with the ring. It isn't as cool though.

Posted Image

There is no such thing as power over fire. I scoff at this ring! I take a look at the cloak next. It is the Cloak of the Assassin.

Posted Image

Nice. Someone is sure going to love that. Last we have the wand.

Posted Image

Is there anything magic can't do? Except I'm not sure who can actually use it. I go through and double-check everything, making sure that we didn't leave any treasure un-looted. Then we take the elevator out.

Posted Image

The Monk is always out to keep a wild mage down. But the Weave, she speaks to me. Together we work our collective will on this brittle, cracking world.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.

#557 Usurper

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Posted 25 June 2012 - 09:03 AM

We stop on the first level of the mines and go talk to that old miner again.

Posted Image

Posted Image Yes, we talked to Rill. You don't have to worry about your friends. They'll all be safe. Here's the key, now let's do it.

Posted Image Well, then I guess that's it then. As soon as I open the plug, we're going to have to run for our lives, 'cause otherwise we'll be washed away just like the Orothiar dwarves. Ready then? Here we go!

We flood the mines and make a run for it.

Posted Image

Posted Image

Posted Image

Posted Image *His arm wraps around your waist, and another slides along your cheek.* Syvishtara, if you only knew how I longed to do this...

Posted Image Why, I know. What you dont know is how I longed to do this... *slip your arm around his waist*

Posted Image We were thinking along the same lines, it seems. But I could not risk it, not if it could hurt you... and myself.

Posted Image *Xan kisses your cheek* I am glad it did not.

We stand like that for a while, until we are interrupted by a gruff voice.

Posted Image
Posted Image

Posted Image That was deftly done, Syvishtara, 'twas.

I can't help but smile. I'm glad to hear a little feedback on the arcane energy-throwing that I do sometimes, ya know? But it looks like Yeslick isn't finished.

Posted Image

Posted Image Nice to be appreciated. I'm glad we got you out when we did.

Posted Image I can only thank ye fer that. I swore I'd hold on fer as long as I could, but... I worried I did not know how long that could be. This old dwarf's not as young as he used ta be. An' if Rieltar's bullies'd had their way, ol' Yeslick'd have gone ta meet his kin with nothin' but sorrow ta give 'em. An' I'll be damned if'n that's gonna happen!

Posted Image Well, you can't ask for a more devoted member of the family.

Posted Image Not jus' me family, Syvishtara... me *clan*. We were one big community, aye? Workin' together an' livin' together. I ain't no human or halfling or flighty elf, as can only remember a meere hundred names in me head or so. I remember 'em *all*. An' if ye asks if I wishes they hadn't o' died, then I'd say 'yea'. *sigh* But that were a good century ago...

Posted Image It was a great tragedy that befell them, Yeslick. I'm sorry.

Posted Image Way o' th' world, boy. Way o'the'world. We dwarves, we stand tall an' proud, unmovin' an' unbreakable as a mountain... but even the mountain'll get rained on, an' tunneled through, an' worn down ta stone-dust in time. 'Tis all we can do ta stand defiant in the face o' fortune... an' take what it gives out.

Posted Image I suppose I can understand that. I've been rained on enough lately.

Posted Image Ye sound as though yer world has fallen in... listen ta me, Syvishtara. Where there's life, there's will, sworn word, an' yer god... an' all three can hold ye ta yer road, no matter how yer heart quakes. Trust in this, boy - there may be no hope, but ol' Yeslick is not goin' ta his grave until his kin rest easy.

Yeslick and Xan need to have long talks together.

Posted Image That's what I must do, too.

Posted Image Death, truly? Even... murder? So young, an' already ye're nursin' a grudge against yer clan?

Posted Image Yes. My foster father was slain... and I want the head of the man who killed him.

Posted Image I'm grieved to learn o' it. I say this ta you, then, Syvishtara. You help me find Rieltar an' his thugs an' let me take payment in his blood, an' I'll swear, in th' name o' Clangeddin Twin-axes, in th' name o' Moradin Soulforger, an' I invoke Lady Truesilver ta witness me blood-oath here, that I'll help ye find this man... an' I'll do everythin' I can ta make sure he does not go unpunished. Deal?

Posted Image Deal.

We shake on it, and then move off through the bailey and into the motte. We should get back to someplace where we can resurrect our companions. Perhaps the druids can do it? I am thinking about our next path, hoping to be able to remember the ways Faldorn brought us here, when I am interrupted by a man's voice.

Posted Image

Posted Image Hey wait a minute what did I do?

Posted Image You lowly city fools! It's bad enough your ilk pollutes the grand forests, a good reason to have you killed, but you killed one of our kin, Miranda, who happens to be my consort.

Posted Image She attacked us first for no reason. If anyone should be taking this personally its us!

Posted Image Well my little fool I could use the old cliche that it's nothing "personal." On the contrary it's very personal and you will suffer greatly for this outrage. May the Great Mother bless us for eradicating Her enemies.

Damnit! I don't really have any good spells prepared either. I decide that now is a good time to run. Screw this guy!

Posted Image

This strategy also works great against spiders.

Posted Image

We make it to the Cloakwood Grove, and to the giant treehouse. It is night, so we take shelter within it and make ready for bed.

The Monk is always out to keep a wild mage down. But the Weave, she speaks to me. Together we work our collective will on this brittle, cracking world.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.

#558 Usurper

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Posted 25 June 2012 - 09:04 AM

Xan approaches me in the firelight.

Posted Image
Posted Image

Posted Image Do you mean my true name? My Elven birth-name? *smile cryptically* Guess.

Posted Image I cannot guess at it, for in a way, I am convinced that I know it. You will probably think me foolish, but in my heart I have called you Estel, which in the High Elven means "hope".

Posted Image Would you love me any less if I did not have a 'special' Elven birth-name?

Posted Image Of course not. I would love you if you were nameless. It is only... Please, do not think me foolish, but in my heart I have called you Estel.

Posted Image If... if you wish, I will make a gift of it. So you can take it as your true name.

Posted Image Thank you, Xan. It is a wonderful gift.

Posted Image Allow me to say the Chant of Naming, and the name will become attached to you... like my heart.

Posted Image Thou art the lodestar between dark clouds,

Posted Image Thou art the wind filling the lifeless sails,

Posted Image Thou art the last thing a man would let go of

Posted Image Thou art the only treasure I wish to possess

Posted Image Estel of the swords

Posted Image Estel of the songs

Posted Image Estel of the stars

Posted Image Estel of calmness

Posted Image Estel'amin... my hope.

Posted Image How strange and wondrous. What is your true name, Xan... if I may ask?

Posted Image *Xan hesitates for a moment, then he covers your palm with his. His fingers tremble: by the look of him, you are participating in an important ritual.*

Posted Image *You look at Xan, savoring the sensation...*

Posted Image My parents called me Tahlimil - 'bonded' or 'promised to the blade.'

Posted Image My father had the gift of foresight. He had a vision of the shining moonblade, lying by the side of the crib the night before I was born. He interpreted it to mean that I would take the blade when he was no more.

Posted Image I hoped for so long that he was mistaken...

Posted Image It is a beautiful name.

Posted Image I would very much like to hear you call me that.

Then we have our first sleep in a real bed in weeks.

Posted Image

In the morning we search for someone who can raise the dead, but we find no one. We have no choice but to make the long journey all the way home.

Posted Image

Along the way dodging spiders,

Posted Image

wyverns,

Posted Image

and ettercaps too.

Posted Image

When we get to the Song of the Morning Temple, resurrecting our three dead party members costs 2000 gold. 800 for Faldorn and Skeezer, and 400 for Kagain. As soon as Faldorn lives again, she starts tearing into Xan.

Posted Image

Posted Image The untimely death awaits all of us, andI am not afraid of it. Wherever it finds me, I am prepared to die. Yet it is foolish to seek one's end actively. The world is doomed as is, why speed up the inevitable?

Posted Image The world is doomed only if corrupted townlings have their dark way with it. The Shadow Druids will not let it happen! Instead of howling at the moon, Xan, you should be helping us!

Posted Image Me joining the cause of barbaric fanatics, who arrogantly believe that they are destined to save the world? Pardon me dearly, Faldorn, but no, I have no desire to partae in such a folly. You and your wild comrades shall perish quicker tahn the rest, thanks to your pointless struggle.

Posted Image If you live long enough to gain any measure of understanding of the nation's history, you will see that Shadow Druids are not the first to claim to be the save-us-all champions, they will not be the last, and they will not succeed.

Posted Image We are trying to preserve the balance, and we are not shy of any means. We are bound to succeed, even if many of us should lose our lives in the process! It's better to die trying than to die crying! Grrr!

Posted Image In my opinion it's better to die later than sooner. And one way to ensure it is to join a less hopeless cause, rather than the more hopeless cause.

Posted Image Why, even the mad enterprise we are engaged in now is less likely to bring our demise upon us, than the most sane of Shadow Druid's schemes.

After everyone is done arguing, I take us back to the Jovial Juggler. Stepping into its truly jovial embrace is like coming back to reality after a long journey in a dream.

The Monk is always out to keep a wild mage down. But the Weave, she speaks to me. Together we work our collective will on this brittle, cracking world.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.

#559 Usurper

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Posted 25 June 2012 - 09:04 AM

I feel myself relaxing in ways that I did not know I had tensed. Xan probably feels the same way, because he approaches me.

Posted Image
Posted Image

Posted Image Tahlimil...

Posted Image I ought to feel exhilarated to hear you say that, I know. But for some odd reason, I feel like I have just been graned the last wish of the condemned. I still do not believe that we have... what we have. How close we are. How did it ever become possible?

Posted Image Because we came to know each other, slowly... and came to love each other.

Posted Image But did we love, or did we come to realize we love? I have been reminiscing, and still I do not know. But never mind; I'd rather speak of more... mundane things tonight.

Posted Image There is a question that has been lingering in the air too long. Though now I am about to utter the words, I feel dizzy, as if in a fever of some kind...

Posted Image ...

Posted Image *grin* If it is another kiss you desire...

Posted Image Oh, there is more to it, I'm afraid.

Posted Image I would share everything with you. My memories, my emotions, my life... or, rather, what little is left of it. I would stay with you... *sigh* yes, until I die. It was easy to guess, wasn't it? But I have to be sure you want it, as well. Will you have me? Will you have my joys and sorrows and give me yours in return? Will you allow me to forge the bond that will unite my world with yours? Will I have you in my arms tonight?


Gameplay note: You have the option here to say yes, play it coy, or reject him outright. If you reject him outright with option 5 then he immediately leaves your party and walks out the door, gone forever.

Posted Image

Posted Image You are doomed, Xan of Evereska, because the answer is "yes"!

Posted Image Syvishtara... you have stunned me into numb disbelief. But no. No more words tonight.


Gameplay note: He says no more words, but there are more words.

Posted Image

Posted Image The lit rectangle of your door is more foreboding and forbidding than a magical portal, leading into the unknown danger.

Posted Image *In three steps, you cross the room and slip your hands around his neck.* No, Xan. There is no danger - only me.

Posted Image *Xan stands still as a statue as you press your face against the open collar of his robes, and only his pulse betrays him, beating wildly underneath the smooth skin of his neck. At last he shifts, very slowly, and kisses you on the corner of the mouth.*

Posted Image If I knew that I would receive such a warm welcome...

Posted Image *His kisses grow more insistent, and whatver was on his mind before is now gone. The door is locked, the candle is blown out, and you are alone with him... and the night.*

Posted Image *Xan lowers his face to yours, and as your lips meet, you get the most peculiar feeling. It is as if the Magicl Weave that envelops every living being on Toril has taken a closer look at the pair of you, and now it is blending Xan and you together in a tight cocoon, breaking mental, spiritual, emotional, and physical barriers between you. A bond is forming, a link that unites your world with his, and as the pleasure builds, you are awashed with confused feelings that are only partly yours. Fear, guilt, grief, anxiety... they explode in your mind, only to disappear, replaced with other, very tender sensations.*

Posted Image *The night is yours, to love and to be loved.*

Then we sleep. In the morning,

Posted Image

Posted Image Oh. I did not... realize... that it was real. You... are here... so close...

Posted Image Surprise!

Posted Image And a beautiful one at that.

Posted Image I woke up and there was no past, no future, no death, no danger - only you, young and asleep and so inconceivably beautiful. But I had been telling you of your beauty endlessly, had I not?

Posted Image I believe I've heard the word once or twice, yes.

Posted Image And now that you are finally in my arms, I would say it again and again.

Posted Image You are beautiful, so beautiful I can barely believe you are here, with me. I would give anything for this to last. Cool tips of your fingers... your hair... your face... I would drink in your image endlessly, if I could. But it is time to move on, isn't it? The dream is over.

Posted Image There will be another night... and another dream.

Posted Image I wish I had your confidence. However... I have you, and that alone is worth a universe. Come, I can guide us through the day.

I feel happier and more at peace with Xan by my side. And now that Faldorn is alive again, I think that we can and should return to Amarande and see if he has anything to say. So we make the trip one last time into the heart of the Cloakwood and to the druid grove, dodging monsters all the way. When we arrive, Amarande is waiting for us.

Posted Image

Posted Image The mines were flooded, Archdruid Amarande.

Posted Image So this blight on Toril's face is gone? A small task, but it can serve as a good example that our efforts are not in vain.

Posted Image If I may, Archdruid...

Posted Image I listen to you.

Posted Image The mines had fallen, but to complete my quest I must go further and enter Baldur's Gate itself, find the lair of the Iron Throne, and exact my vengeance! My companions here are prepared to do just that...

Posted Image You have my permission. Let the new allegiance be forged. As a sign of Shadow Druid's favor, let me bestow this gift upon you.

The gift is a Great Shield called White Oak.

Posted Image

Faldorn is the only one who can use it in our group. It is an impressive shield, true.

Posted Image

She will probably not fall to Black Talon Mercenaries in battle if she wields it. In fact, I think we're going to have to test out this shield on Wendell.

We send Faldorn in alone.

Posted Image

Wendell's Contagion has no effect.

Posted Image

Two of the druids remain neutral as Faldorn chops Wendell hard.

Posted Image

The druid looks stunned, and doesn't move for a few rounds. Faldorn really has him.

Posted Image

Wendell can never harm Faldorn, and she just keeps swinging. He falls.

Posted Image

That's when the other two druids join in on the fight. But they can't do anything either.

Posted Image

The druids try to fight, but they can't hit Faldorn. Then they try to run, but they can't move. Then they don't try anything again because Faldorn has cut them down.

Posted Image

From the corpses of the fallen druids Faldorn gets Potions of Mirrored Eyes, Regeneration, and Strength. She also gets 15 Masterwork Sling Bullets, 3 Slings +1, 50 Fire Bullets, another Stormcloud Kraken's Bane and the Staff of Nature.

Posted Image

And then, after a long and uneventful journey being chased by wyverns and spiders, we are once again back in our favorite haunt, the good old Jovial Juggler.

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Gameplay note: Alright, that wraps up the whole Cloakwood storyline! Also, we finally slept with Xan! And finally, we are ready to go to the city of Baldur's Gate! Nothing on the map is closed to us now, we are free to roam anywhere (except Candlekeep). Feel the freedom, feel the exhilaration! We have to vote now.

We have to vote on two things. The first thing to vote on is the general direction of what we should do now. Should we head straight for Baldur's Gate, or should we faff around in the countryside a bit more? Heading for Baldur's Gate will let us become lost in a million billion sidequests, intrigues, and plots related to the 9 districts of Baldur's Gate. We'd be dealing with the thieves' guild, chasing after dopplegangers, and a million other city-related quests. Faffing about in the countryside some more will have us doing mod content, including wonderfully-titled mods such as the Stone of Askavar, The Grey Clan, the Dark Side of the Sword Coast, and who knows what else? There are also specific locations we can go to that we just haven't yet. There is Ulcaster, the Firewine Bridge, and that little cave on the Song of the Morning Temple map with spiders in it that killed Jaheira so long ago. So, please make your opinion known:

1. Where should we head to now?
A. Baldur's Gate is where it's at, and where we should be too!
B. Lets keep faffing about in the countryside. It is not completely void of enemies yet.

Also, it is time for a new party composition vote! We have way too many potential party members now for me to list them all and their stories, so please refer to the Chapter of the Heroes to remind yourself who to vote for. You have five votes. You can give all your votes to one person, or split them up any way you choose. You can vote positively or negatively. You can vote +3 to Xan and -2 to Bjornin, if you so choose. The higher level NPC will win in a potential tie, which is a change in the rules. Remember, eventually I will bring all of the NPCs I can in an epic, monstrous, final confrontation with the Big Bad at the end of Baldur's Gate. If you want to see your favorite NPC survive, vote for them so that they can get some much-needed training. Don't worry if that NPC is low level. A level 3 Kagain did pretty damn well against the Cloakwood, until near the end. So, tell me:

2. Who should be our 5 party members?
Five people from the Chapter of the Heroes.

Edited by Usurper, 25 June 2012 - 04:00 PM.

The Monk is always out to keep a wild mage down. But the Weave, she speaks to me. Together we work our collective will on this brittle, cracking world.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.

#560 William Imm

William Imm

    Obsessive Penguin Lover

  • Member
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Posted 25 June 2012 - 09:26 AM

B - well, now that Armunor says so...

-5 Faldorn - do you really want to have her with such a blatantly overpowered kit? Chip in and downvote her.

Edited by William Imm, 28 June 2012 - 05:20 AM.

At this point, I'm not really doing much Baldur's Gate related. More focused on Skyrim modding and the Born of Legend tabletop roleplaying game. Don't expect much activity here.