1504 replies to this topic

[Tzarnal]

Don't you have enough hilariously overpowered spells already?

Also, C.

Look, at this point we've taken the concept of balance, taken it out back, shot it in the head, cracked its pine on our knee, thrown it in the blender and worked it into a sorbet, "tactical" encounters are the new challenging at this point, one more game breaking spell isn't going to do anything of note.

[hook71]

I'm for C. Feywarden of Corellon as well.

[AmyAE]

Those guys are like grown-up versions of my bunnies though!

When you put it that way, I kind of hope you can use the spell.

[Justify]

I vote C.

And I have not seen a modded Phoenix Guard spell in any of my playthroughs.... which is pretty surprising, now that I think about it.

[Lurker of the north]

D

[Beleg33]

C

[Usurper]

Alright, here are the final votes:

What class should Jet'laya be?

A. Healer ..
B. Silverstar of Selune ..
C. Feywarden of Corellon ..............
D. Heartwarder of Sune  .....
E. Morninglord of Lathander .....

Strong showing for Feywarden of Corellon. I'll finish this next update and have it up in half a minute or so.

Edited by Usurper, 23 September 2012 - 10:05 AM.

[Usurper]

2 Ches, 1370

We agree to help out this beautiful elven maiden named Jet'laya. We add her to the party and then teleport to the Armory in order to outfit her with more appropriate garb. Once there, Gavin begins speaking to Yeslick.



Thanks, laddie. Did the old heart good to be strikin' those that wronged me clan. Not that they dinae have it comin', anyways, wi' all the harm they done others besides me an' mine.

True enough, my friend. Your clan was just one of the casualties of that lot.

An' I must say, 'tis good to be travelin' wi' another man o' faith, even if ye be a mite long in the shanks. Why, if we had a few more o' the like about, we could clean up this mess right quick.

The company would be most welcome, but I hope we'll manage well enough on our own, if we need to. I have to admit, we are making progress.

Aye, laddie, I hope you're right. Too much stompin' about, though. Not that I'm complainin', mind ye! Dwarves are made for endurance. But some o' them less hardy folk seem ta flag a bit.

Hmmm. We do need to keep our strength up. Let's make sure we keep an eye on everyone, make sure they're holding up all right.

Was that just... just a subtle dig at female clerics? Those two guys know that Finch and Jet'laya are standing RIGHT THERE, don't they? It is now that I realize I'm traveling with four clerics. If anybody dies it will be entirely from stupidity.

We set about the task of equipping Jet'laya with good equipment. She is actually outfitted pretty well already, though.

Gameplay note: Jet'laya is a Feywarden of Corellon, as we voted.



She's got some pretty good equipment too.



She's already at -4 AC! Not too shabby. Let's look at each piece of eq.



A +3 weapon with bonuses against undead and extra attacks. And since Feywardens of Corellon get 2 pips in weapons, I 've given her 2 in maces. So she is not going to be bad in melee. She should go on the front line.



She's also got her own chainmail. It's no platemail, so we'll probably replace this with some.



Not a bad amulet, especially since we have no others to give her.



She's got her own custom shield too, with a bonus to hit against undead. A shield that gives a bonus to hit? Pretty crazy.



She's got a blue cloak to match her character portrait, one that gives her electrical resistance. Rare in a cloak. Only usable by her.



This is an unremovable ring. I guess it is there to either provide for some quest triggers or as an attempt to balance her out a bit. She's also got a belt, but it is a mundane belt, nothing special, and removable.

We are able to help her out with some additional equipment. We give her a Full Plate Mail +2, a Helm of Glory, the Small Shield of Divinity, a Ring of Protection, a Girdle of Bluntness, some Gnomish Boots, and a sling.



Now she's at -11 AC, better than any other cleric. Huh. I guess she definitely goes on the front line.

Jet'laya, as a Feywarden of Corellon, has one spell that nobody else has shown yet. It is Alicorn Lance.



Hitting people with unicorn horns. What will they think of next? Jet'laya is also high enough level to cast Level 4 cleric spells. She has 8 of them.





This is ok if you want low-level monsters to not bother your cleric. But it only lasts 1 round every 2 levels, so at Jet'laya's level it only lasts 3 rounds. Best to cast it after she's in trouble and she needs some space.



The next level of healing spells. It can heal a maximum of 52 hit points, which is enough to heal half of Yeslick's current total, almost all of my 57 and Jet'laya's 58, and will be slight overkill for everyone else.



Death Ward becomes an essential spell later on, one that is necessary to protect against the large number of death spells headed our way. But we haven't seen that many of them and probably won't until we go up against the type of powerful mages we haven't even dreamed of yet.



This is a pretty sweet spell, and can be very useful. I'm tempted to have Jet'laya memorize one of these, because she's got the best AC out of the whole group and increased attacks already from her mace.



This spell reveals the fog of war that maps usually have in places you aren't. This has happened to me a few times already as a wild surge. It is quite frightening when it happens in combat because you are taken to the area map screen and can't get back into combat until you click on an area to spy on. But if you have it memorized and cast it normally out of combat, you can see what's in an area before going there. But, the question becomes... why not just go there?



This is great when going up against enemies that will try to hinder your movement. The only problem is that it makes you immune to Haste as well. If we go up against spiders again some day, we will need to use this.



Lesser Restoration is an after-battle spell. When going up against vampires it becomes an essential spell to have. Oh my god is it essential.



It neutralizes any poison, protects against future poisons, and even protects against Cloudkill! Should be memorized by every enemy mage so that players don't exploit their stupid AI via invisible cloudkill shenanigans.

After we get done with equipping Jet'laya, it is time to sleep. We decide to sleep at the Friendly Arm. It is much more sociable than sleeping in the pocket plane.



I also want to speak with Thorengrim Hammerfist, to see if he can upgrade anything we've got.



Well Thorengrim can you forge anything that we have? Maybe make it stronger?

Well then Syvishtara lets see what ye have. I kin only forge certain items ye know.

Sure, go ahead and take a look.

Anything you can do with the Ring of Fire Resistance?

Hmm I kin make it a more powerful ring, but I need a few things to do that. A scroll of fire protection, a potion of fire resistance, plus 8,000 gold pieces and I kin enhance its protection properties. How about it?

No, not right now.

How about the Girdle of Piercing? Can you do anything with this?

The Girdle of Piercing? I could combine this with a potion of fire giant strength which would give ye that incredible strength. But this will cost you dearly. Such a powerful item nay come cheap. I be needin' 10,000 gold fer this work. How about it?

No, not right now.

How about this wyvern head? Can you do anything with this?

Ahh ye have a wyvern head. With 6,000 gold pieces and this head I kin make a very powerful helm from it. How about it?

No, not right now.

Well come back when ye change yer mind.

We also stop by to take a look at what Bentley Mirrorshade has to sell. Finch finds a new book, History of the Unicorn Run. She begs me to buy it, so I do. It is only 9 gold after all. Then, later that evening, as we are all relaxing by the fire, she reads it to us.

Regardless of the truth, the elves, korreds, and halflings all agree that the Unicorn Run is sacred to life and a site of incredible purity. As a result, all three races have strong taboos about extended trips up the Run, for if the river is ever fouled, then no new races will ever be born on Toril again.

We sleep. The next morning, I am awakened by what can only be called a delegation. Yeslick, Finch, Jet'laya, and Gavin form a half-circle facing me. Imoen follows them too, smiling sheepishly.



The clerics calmly and rationally explain to me that we are going to go save Gullykin from its ogre invasion. They say that they understand that I am sometimes distracted, and that I have a lot on my mind. But Gullykin needs protection and we are the only ones to do it. I really see no choice here - if 2/3rds of my party wants to go back to Gullykin, I guess we're going back to Gullykin.



When we arrive, we are immediately assaulted by ogres.

[Usurper]

Finch blesses us and we are in combat.



Finch is injured first.



She pops a healing potion. Then Jet'laya is pounded down almost to death.



She does the same thing. Yeslick calls down a Holy Smite on the group.



We keep fighting. Finch is injured yet again. What is up with these ogres? They are like supermen of their kind.



And just when we think we're done, a second group comes up to our position as we finish killing the first group.



After we finish slaying these reinforcements, Imoen says a long, drawn-out OOOOoooohhhhhhh! She must have realized something important about magic.







Gameplay note: I guess getting your first class back is based on level, not xp?

We try to move a little closer to Gullykin, but we are assaulted by a pack of dread wolves. Is everything out to kill us today?



We meet more ogres again at the entrance to the village. Where are they all coming from?



We are doing okay with those, but then more come from behind! We are surrounded!



I try to pull of some more Minute Meteors when I see something strange, over there.



Eh, its just a ghost.



I call for a regroup inside the village. Thankfully everyone is able to squeeze around the slow-moving ogres and get into position. Then, when we do, we unleash a magical barrage.



But just as I cast Emotion: Despair on our enemies, an ogre mage behind us casts Sleep!



I turn to cast Remove Magic, and it goes off, but in my haste I targeted the actual Ogre Mage, and the spell removes the magical despair from all our enemies as well.



Plus, three of us are down from the Sleep! Imoen retreats from the battle and casts Dispel Magic at the whole tangle. Our allies get up again.



Then the ogre mage does us a favor. She casts Color Spray into the crowd, and mostly hits her own men. At the same time Imoen summons her pet wyvern, and it makes ready to feast!



But we do not get a break. More ogres come from behind us... again!



We reverse direction and try to retreat again. This time the wyvern runs interference for us so we again manage to make it, although Jet'laya was stuck in the tangle for a bit. This calls for an extreme measure. This calls for a Glyph of Wild Magic.



Absolute chaos breaks over the heads of the ogres.



I do not even know how to begin to describe what is happening in there.



And it just... keeps going.



But more ogres come. I let loose another fireball.



And it is also not enough. More and more come.



I don't know what to do. I don't know how we can defeat this never-ending horde. So, I teleport us away.



Gavin acts like nothing is wrong.



Reckon someone somewhere'll need a stout hammer for the good.

You wouldn't think about settling down?

Nah. What would I do that fer? Nothin' left, nohow. Clan's gone, an' all.

Nah, son, no quiet retirement fer this old dwarf. I'll be fightin' the good fight as long as I've got room ta swing me hammer. But I'm not denyin' I might rest a bit afore goin' out ta find it.

*smile* Sounds good, Yeslick.

I think for a moment about what we should do, and count our resources. I make a plan and tell it to the others. Then, after a deep breath and plenty of prayers to various gods, we go back.

Imoen summons another wyvern, and then we run back to the way we came.



Yep, that was the plan. Strong we may be, but we are not prepared for such an extended siege, and such a grinding assault. We will have to come back later. We should do something simple, like save Jet'laya's sister.



When we arrive at the Wood of Sharp Teeth, we are greeted by a tribe of orcs. I give them a Fireball.



We kill their fighters with little trouble, and then send their archers on a wild run.



We sleep in the Armory overnight, and get ready to explore the area come morning. We find another group of orcs. The fight goes pretty normally, with fighters in the front and ranged casters behind.



I tell Gavin to wade into melee in this fight, and he seems to do much better with his morningstar than Finch with her flail.



I ask them to switch places. Gavin finds the whole experience eye-opening.







Gameplay note: Especially now with his 10 hit point gain he has 2 more hit points than Finch!

We next find a group of kobolds.



They all explode quickly. Later, a skeleton dies almost before we see it.



Gavin gets medieval on a group of orcs, freezing them and spraying chunks of orc-ice everywhere.



He even manages to do it to the last one, all stylish-like.

[Usurper]

The next war party we meet is a little more dangerous.



But I drop a Fireball on them. They don't like that.



I can see how much they don't like it, so I do it again when they Hold Yeslick.



When they Hold Jet'laya too, I cast Dispel Magic at the group.



And Imoen drops a wyvern on them.



The orc mage does something clever. It casts Aganazzar's Scorcher at just the right time to hit a lot of people.



But then we back off and just let the wyvern take care of things.



Everything goes well until a few groups of orcs later, one of them manages to take out the wyvern.



We take its head and move on, until we find a new kind of monster we hadn't seen before - an Orog.



We don't kill it easily, but when we do we find that it was wearing platemail. No wonder it was so hard to kill. After that, there isn't much else to do. We discover the entire area and learn it well.



Then, Jet'laya leads us further into the forest to.... nowhere.



Four hours later, we come to an interesting area that looks like it might have something significant in it. At least Jet'laya says so. I can't tell which part of this oppressive forest we're in.



I think when Jet'laya said interesting, she meant undead. We find some ghasts.



We beat them down quickly.



More exploration brings more ghasts.



And more...



Jet'laya seems quite surprised that I can heal diseases. We find a few more undead, some skeletons and the like, and beat them down rather easily.



I notice that Jet'laya is leading us around in a circle, ignoring the center of the area. I ask her why and she says that powerful undead are there. I tell her that my momma said to never, ever leave powerful undead alive. She looks at me, and then the others, and then nods. She says they are skeleton lords and that they will start by casting Lightning Bolt all at the same person. We have to be ready for that. So we prepare. I cast Protection from Magic on Gavin and he walks in, stalwart.

The Skeleton Lords unleash their lightning furies at Gavin, but he is protected.



Then we unleash our furies upon the skeleton lords, and Gavin turns to avoid their swords. Holy Smites from Jet'laya, Yeslick, and Finch fall in a blinding white rain.



And one of Finch's bullets takes out the first Skeleton Lord.



I let loose a fireball that is only resisted by one.



Everyone begins to throw ranged weapons, including Yeslick and Jet'laya, who use Spiritual Hammers. I throw another Fireball.



Then as Yeslick knocks down another Skeleton Lord, Imoen summons her wyvern.



The wyvern immediately makes itself useful by killing one of the skeleton lords.



And then the last one too.



Gameplay note: I only learned to do this strategy via total party wiping several times. Ouch.

They have magical two-handed swords and gems, but one of them has a spell scroll - Summon Nishruu.



Once again I fear that Firebead cannot copy out these for the entire party, so I simply add it to my own spellbook. Then we keep walking around. Later on that same night, I try to create more Minute Meteors and almost end up killing myself.



As night rolls in, we find a little lake. North of the lake we see an eerie sight. There are phantoms here, and they are constantly fighting each other.



We also find, near the western edge of the pond, a creepy abandoned shack.



But other than watching the phantoms make eternal war on each other, there is nothing left to do here. Jet'laya says the trail goes north. So we follow.



We follow her to... the Forest of Forgotten Souls.



As we arrive, it begins to rain. Bad sign.



But Jet'laya looks increasingly concerned, so we press on. The undead are here too, in very large numbers.



But our cleric strike team takes them out no problem.



Then we decide to enter the little cabin we find.



It's nice, but there's a Shadow. I let the clerics take care of it.



In one of the chests there is over 500 gold and some magic items!



First, the spell scrolls. There is Phantom Blade, Control Undead, and Heal. I am exceedingly shocked to see that the Heal spell is something that I understand.



Phantom Blade is the right level for Firebead to copy out for us, so I save it for him. But Control Undead is too high level, so I copy it down.





Gameplay note: Wow, a 9th level spell that a mage can use to heal. I've never seen this before.

I have finally learned my first level 9 spell!



The other item in the chest is an Apprentice's Ring.



This reminds me of a cursed ring I've seen before, so I hesitate to put it on. Instead I give it to Imoen. But it works!

[Usurper]

Imoen and I share a grin, before Yeslick speaks up.



Studying? Me? What an odd thing to study!

You needn't ruffle yer feathers, girl. I mean ye no ill will. I considered upon the notion -- I got pretty good with the ruminating in my cell -- and I see ye aren't the stranger to hard work.

Ye furrow yer brow, grit yer teeth, squint for all yer worth, and ye wield that quill with a vengeance. Pity the effort is wasted on flimsy paper and blots of ink.

Wasted? What do you mean, Yeslick? Surely you understand I make more than scratchings on parchment. I record ideas! I propagate knowledge!

But there be nothing solid in it. Not like rock and iron -- ye build with bricks, not words. Ye forge with metal, not ideas.

But someone who hasn't a shred of skill building with bricks or metal, and no one to guide them, they rely on words and ideas to make a start!

And that is where ye've earned my credit, girl. There's little of substance to yer worship, but ye make a start.

The other chest is locked, so Imoen has to take care of that.



It only has a couple of healing potions and one of magic protection. Then we go out and explore the area some more. There are more undead, of course.



We encounter a vampiric wolf later on, and it drains a little of Jet'laya's vitality.



But it is only temporary. There are just undead all over this place.



The name of this forest is starting to make sense.



Finch curses them all, though, so they won't be able to kill us.



On a body underneath a tree, we find a hundred gold, a healing potion, and a Protection from Undead scroll.





I think this might come in handy later. After all, there is just so much undead!



A little later on, I get a Spell Shield spell scroll.



It is outside of the purview of Firebead, so I copy it down into my spellbook. And, as dawn begins to break in the Forest of Forgotten Souls, we stumble across yet another undead. But this one speaks to us.



Ferium... Is that you? What happened tae ye? It can't be... yer hate has all but consumed ye. Why sister? Why?

If we are here tae bring me back home, yer too late! I hate it there, I hate everything about it, especially that bastard Ken'lan! May he rot in the nine hells! I hope he meets a slow and painful end! Now leave me be Jet'laya... this is where I'm stayin'.

But, ye aren't yerself. We can get help tae ye. There has tae be a way tae...

Enough! There is no way to do anything! Now go or I will be forced to do tae ye what has been done tae me!

You leave me no choice my sister! If ye won't let me help ye then... I will have to place your unquiet soul to rest. I never thought I would have tae... kill me own sister. But I can't let you exist in this undead shell of yer former self. Friends, I know this is more than ye bargained for and if ye wish tae leave now - I - I will understand. This is just something that I have tae do.

We're behind you Jet'laya. It would not be the honorable thing to do to leave you to face this alone.

Fools! You all shall die!

Gameplay note: Ferium isn't joking around. As a banshee, Jet'laya's sister has the level 9 spell Wail of the Banshee as an innate ability. It is a save-or-die spell, and since we are a party of low-level adventurers, we die. Ferium insta-killed myself and most of the party on many successive reloads in the first or second rounds. I tried a lot of things that didn't work. I tried using Protection from Undead, which I think has been changed by a mod. Now it just gives Negative Plane Protection instead of making the target invisible to undead as it did before. I tried the kamikaze tactic of sending everyone in to cast their most powerful spell at her - she casts faster. I tried using out-of-range castings of Fireball - she's got magic resistance. I tried using a Control Undead scroll - again her casting is faster. I tried sending only Gavin in with Boon of Lathander - it was not boon enough. Each time she cast a spell, an invisible AoE effect centered on her target would rip the souls of 3 or 4 of my party from their bodies. One of those ripped souls was always mine. She was a tough nut to crack.

A banshee! I call everybody back. We have to devise a plan, a strategy. A banshee could kill us all in an instant. There is absolutely nothing we can do to protect ourselves from it. So what we need is a proxy, a patsy. We need to call in something else that can handle a banshee. I think I know just the thing, and if the Weave cooperates we will be okay. I do what I can to prepare.



Then I tell everybody to back off. I tell them to back way off. I walk, carefully, until I am just within spellcasting distance of the banshee. And whispering a prayer of utmost devotion to the Weave, I call forth my proxy.



It works! By all the schools of magic it works!

Gameplay note: It worked on the first try. There was no reload magic involved. Let the record show that Syvishtara summoned her first Glabrezu on 2 Ches, 1370, as a level 8 Wild Mage!

I retreat from the opening Hell Gate and go back to my party. But curiosity overcomes me. I must see what happens. I cast Improved Invisibility.



Then I go back to see how a demon from hell destroys a banshee.



Yes, yes, Mirror Image. A good beginning.



Strong, solid hits the glabrezu brings. Also Power Word: Stun, but that doesn't help. My spine tingles at the thought of that hitting me or my party.



Two more hits and the evil undead is down. But now there is an evil demon standing where she was. Hmmm, I may have detected a flaw in this plan.



HOLY SHIT IT SEES ME IT SEES ME!



I shout out to everyone to run, run, for the love of life RUN! We all run north, as fast as we can, but the demon begins to catch up to us.



Additionally, there is really nowhere else to run.



We have to turn and run to the east but that just gives the horrible beast more time to catch up to us further. I feel its footsteps shaking the ground beneath us.



Is this really necessary?

Yes Gavin it's a fucking Glabrezu now will you shut up and run?

Gameplay note: You might notice Gavin is in the leader position and that's one of the things he says when you give him orders.

The demon casts another lightning bolt, and it slowly inches towards Imoen. I know the demon is laughing as we run.



Imoen downs a Potion of Magic Resistance just as the lightning bolt reaches her. I also grab the Rod of Refuge and scream the activation word.



It works. We are safe. I can barely talk. Barely think. That was a close one. But still, we manage to sleep for 16 hours.





In the morning, I can't believe my memory. Did I really pull that off? Did I really summon a Glabrezu from the deepest pits of hell? I wonder what his name was. I notice the clerics aren't really looking at me or talking to me today. Only Imoen looks at me, and gives me a weak smile. I guess they don't approve? Huh.

Gameplay note: I ran the numbers on the chances of getting a Spell Cast Normally roll on a wild surge when using Nahal's Reckless Dweomer. The base chance is 1%. But with a level bonus of 8 and a Chaos Shield bonus of 15, I have a total chance of 24%. And not only for summoning demons - I have a 24% chance to cast any spell I know correctly!

When we teleport back it is night again. We kill our way through more weak undead.



And make it way to the scene of the banshee's demise.





Well, mission accomplished, I guess. Too bad about the banshee being Jet'laya's sister though. Nearby we see the entrance to a small cave.



I think I should say a small entrance to a large cave. This place is not like other caves I've known.



And yet it does remind me of one or two...



Gavin shouts out during the fight, saying that his essence has been sucked out by the wraith.



And he's not wrong.

Edited by Usurper, 23 September 2012 - 03:19 PM.

[Usurper]

Some of these undead are really starting to freak me out.



But all the clerics are stalwart and unyielding in their attacks, so that calms me a little.



A stash in a nearby wall yields some scrolls of Protection from Electricity, Domination, Monster Summoning I, and Cure Critical Wounds.



Gameplay note: We could have used this against the Glabrezu!



Gameplay note: No options for release. This spell has the same duration as the level 3 spell Dire Charm, but ALL creatures can be affected by Domination, whereas Dire Charm has the limitation of only humanoids. Ogres cannot be Dire Charmed, but they can be Dominated.



Gameplay note: Some modder spelled out the effects of this spell in more detail. Hobgoblin archers seem like they could be useful, I suppose.



Gameplay note: This is a scroll for clerics only. They can use them to cast spells without having them prepared. Good to have around.

Since these are level 5 spells, something that Firebead can write out for all of us, I stuff them into my backpack and plan to give them to him next time I see him. We decide to keep exploring the caves. As we round the next turn, I apologize to Gavin.



Looks like he gets over his spider phobia really fast, though.



The other undead simply do not bother us.



One of them drops another Invisible Stalker spell scroll. I will keep that for future use. It may be more safe to use than a glabrezu. We explore the entire area and exterminate all of the undead we see. This cave is clear... at least for now.



Then we leave the cave, and finish patrolling the rest of the Forest of Forgotten Souls. There are a few undead, but nothing big, and especially nothing as big as a banshee. This area is also temporarily safe.



Then we set off on the long, lonely road back to civilization.



As we head off, I realize that instead of saving everyone, as I had originally planned to do, we actually saved no one. No one at all.

Except myself.

From a demon.

That I summoned.

Heh.

[Beleg33]

My Banshee strategy :
Death Ward on as many as possible and maul her ASAP or she disappears until next night. BTW all she does is Wail of the Banshee and Ethereal Form in between, really annoying.

Sorry for telling you to visit Gullykin so early

[Usurper]

10 Ches, 1370

When we arrive at our next point on the journey, I teleport us all to the Armory and we get ready to bed down. Even though there is no crackling fire here, we all do want to hear Finch read another story. This time it is the History of Amn.

...from father to son tend to support the theory that Amn has been a trade center for at least 800 years. Unfortunately, written records are difficult to find and often incomplete. It would seem the typical Amnish citizen was too busy trying to fill their coffers to write down events of the day.

Amn has always been more interested in the present and the future than the past, and this makes an accurate history difficult. The best records, the business papers of the oldest trading companies, are jealously guarded. The fear of revealing "trade secrets" is stronger than the call of history, so the average citizen knows very little about Amn's past.

It appears that the Amn of 100 years ago was very much like the Calimshan of today. Each major city was basically an independent entity, banding together for defense when necessary, and fighting for control of territory and profitable trade routes the rest of the time. A particularly brutal trade war began 24 years ago, with each city exacting prohibitive tariffs on goods imported from the others. The trade war escalated, and city troops began to raid caravans sponsored by other cities. In a matter of months commerce was brought to a halt, a number of cities were under siege, and war threatened to engulf the entire region.

Into the breach stepped a young merchant named Thayze Selemchant. Thayze was smart, charismatic, and very well connected (the Selemchant trading house was one of the oldest and richest in Athkatla.) He secretly contacted representatives of the five other richest merchant houses in Amn, and started to plan.

The first part of the plan involved the careful sprinkling of rumors about outside threats. One involved a pirate invasion from the Nelanther, another was about a massing of orcs just on the other side of the Cloud Peaks. Thayze even started a rumor about an elf army in the Forest of Tethir, ready to pounce on a divided Amn. None of the rumors were true, but they began to turn people's thoughts toward unity, not war.

Thayze knew that if he and the other members of his council were to take control of Amn, they would need broad-based popular support. Tensions between cities and merchant houses were still high, so to get that support, Selemchant and the others agreed to drop their family names and never use them again.

When news of a "Council of Six" spread throughout the land, many people accepted their rule. A group that would unite Amn under one rule, governing for the benefit of all instead of one city or trading company over another, was indeed a welcome change. The Council raised an army (at great personal expense) to quell the few pockets of resistance that remained, and have been in total control of Amn for the past 22 years.

When she is done, I think I have a better understanding of those rumors flying between Amn and Baldur's Gate, about how each side wants to take over the other, and blaming each side for the iron crisis. I'm sure both powers in Amn and Baldur's Gate help spread these rumors, to help spread the fear behind them, and keep people unified. The Iron Throne understands this, and makes both nations work for them. Sinister!

Then we sleep, and wake, as always. Jet'laya is able to restore Gavin with her own divine power! She is surely a powerful cleric.





Then we teleport back to no-mans-land and prepare to take on the day. When we do, one of those phantoms from the eternal war approaches us and actually speaks to us!



Help you? How?

Releassse Ussss!

I don't understand. I don't control you... you are just a phantom, a mere apparition.

Noooo... Releasssse usss, from hissss hold!

Who?

The Dark One...

Who is the Dark One?

The Dark One is he who hasss trapped my party here for mooorrrree years than I know... uhhhhhhh... Pleasssse you musst hellllp!

Can you please be more specific? I don't understand... Where can we find him?

He is near... He is always near... He takes great pleasure in watching usss... the friends he betrayed... fight amongst ourselvesss for all eternity...

Can you be a bit less cryptic? Where is this "Dark One?"

Look to the west... you will find him there... aahhhhh!

What must we do to get him to release you and your companions?

He has trapped our souls in six magically sealed vials. You musssst deestroy him and bring us the vials... then and only then will we be free to die...

Six vials huh? I have a feeling this is not going to be easy...

So, look to the west. To the west is the creepy old shack!



We start heading over there. We notice that the phantom is following us. This does not make me feel better about the situation.



As we near the cabin, we cast our preparatory spells.



We don't find anything right away, but when we head lakeside, we find him.



Gameplay note: This guy has distorted voice acting. It sounds pretty cool.

We have come to force you to release your hold on that group of adventurers to the east of here.

Ha, ha, ha... Fools, you shall force nothing... wait! Ah, but of course... you are the pathetic mortals who just destroyed the latest addition to my pets... she came to me lost, and I gave her eternity... and now you have taken that from her. Now I shall add you to my collection to take her place! You have no idea of the fate you face!

You... you were the one who did that to Ferium? Then we have no choice but to destroy you as well.

It is you who will be destroyed... I am your worst nightmare!

He may be right... a thing that can create banshees is pretty much my worst nightmare. He had better be undead because we are about to open up a can of undeath whoop-ass on him. Gavin rushes in, while the rest of us stand back. But he is repulsed by a wave of fear.



Jet'laya rushes in next and engages the Dark One. He summons skeletons to protect him.



Yeslick calls down a Holy Smite and does some damage.



The Dark One calls down a Flamestrike on Jet'laya and follows it up with Larloch's Minor Drain. She is almost dead.



Thankfully I manage to summon an Invisible Stalker via scroll for the Dark One to pick on while Jet'laya goes off to heal herself.



She downs a healing potion, but then fear grips her. She is lost to us.



My invisible stalker gets distracted from the Dark One and begins assassinating skeletons. I try to put it back on the right path.



I cast Dispel Magic at the Dark One, and I think it did something, because next Imoen scores an excellent hit on the Dark One with her magical arrows.



I see my chance, and try to cast Blade Shower at him, but he teleports away from us. Curses!



We know where he goes, because he throws another spell at us from his new location. But he also casts a lot of Spell Traps. I both admire his strategy and worry about how to get through it.



We destroy the skeletons left near us, and then take a breather.



As we wait for Gavin and Jet'laya to stop being frightened, I use another scroll to summon some cannon fodder.



I send in the advance troops, and laugh as the Dark One gets hit with one of his own Skull Traps.



Then we advance. We come across the Dark One trying his best to destroy my Invisible Stalker. Hehe. Divine Hammers, Minute Meteors, and arrows go flying.



But it is the Invisible Stalker who gets the final blow. I love that guy! Wow, that was pretty easy!

[Usurper]

The phantom cuts our celebrations short with a few hisses.



What evil is this? Why does he not die?

The only way to destroy him is to find his phylactery and gain possession of it.

His phy... phyl... what?

It issss a vessel that contains his life force. He placed it there himself. It is how Koroval Na'Krugen, once an adventuring mage and companion of ours... he participated in a nefarious ritual and became a lich... thusss becoming the "Dark One." As long as his phylactery remains safely hidden, he cannot be destroyed.

Why didn't you tell us this detail before? Where does he keep this... uh... vessel?

You did not ask before. It is kept inside that abandoned cabin. The cabin has protective magic placed upon it that prevents us from entering, but you should be able to enter and gain possession of the phylactery.

I was afraid you were going to say that.

I knew the phantom was doing the accent on purpose. And a lich. Great. Why do I have to get mixed up with a lich? And if he's a lich, does that mean he has resurrected himself alrea...



Yes, yes he has. Crap! I lead my team of people around back the other way. I hope to surround the Dark One and attack from two directions. But while we are going behind the cabin we see in the sky a rain of fire. He has called down a Fire Storm!



He killed Stalky! Noooooooooo! We advance far enough to see ground zero for the Fire Storm. We also hear the bellows of skeleton warriors and the cries of frightened hobgoblins. I can empathize with them a little more now that I summoned them than back when I was killing them.



I'm just going to sit here and wait out the Fire Storm. Then we can try to find some way into the cabin. I hear the telltale sounds of a Dimension Door being cast.



And the other telltale sound of the Dark One stepping on yet another of his own Skull Traps. Hah!



When we get to the cabin door, there is nothing guarding it. Excellent.



We go inside. Of course, inside is full of evil.



The spiders all attack Jet'laya. I don't know why. She has to down a healing potion right away. I hit one with a lightning bolt.



Since everyone still has their divine hammers, melee combat is very hard. Everybody keeps getting hit and poisoned.



We use up all of our healing elixirs and almost all of our antidotes. Yeslick calls down a Holy Smite to try to take these spiders out.



Jet'laya barely saves Gavin from certain death as he pops an antidote.



Finally there is only one astral phase spider to gang up on, and the combat goes our way.



And Yeslick has the final word.



Finch has memorized the spell Find Traps, so she casts it here.



There don't seem to be any, but both chests are locked. Imoen casts Knock on both of them, and then I open the first one. There is no phylactery, but there is the jawbone of an ass.



If only we knew someone who used clubs. The other chest holds the goods. First, we find the Phylactery of Koroval Na'Krugen.



Ah ha! That evil thing is ours now!

Gameplay note: The Phylactery has a Drink Potion button on it.



Purely for research reasons, I saved the game to see what drinking someone else's phylactery does to you. Sorry to report that it does nothing. It doesn't disappear and doesn't create any effects. I chugged that sucker 10 times at least and nothing. It must be filled with the purest spring water.

We also find spell scrolls of Geas, Insanity, and Magic Missile.



Gameplay note: It seems like an even higher-level Domination. "The targets include all known creatures upon the land." I wonder if the modder meant to exclude sahuagin, drow, svirfneblin, avariel, etc., or if he just words things poorly.



Gameplay note: PERMANENT confusion effect. Damn. Only a 50% chance to work but imagine if it does! Imagine some great mage, his mind permanently destroyed, ceasing to be a threat to our party. A great spell indeed.

We also find a few potions and a magical cutlass.



Gameplay note: This cutlass is a scimitar. d3 damage? 8-18 damage at any rate. Not a bad scimitar.

But what is most interesting is that we find a Bronze Bag of Holding, and it is not empty!



In it are some gems, rings, and other treasure; some Bullets +2; a Sling +1; and two spell scrolls. The scrolls are Wizard Eye and Sphere of Dissipation.



Gameplay note: I'm not sure why we don't have this in our spellbook yet. It is a great way to direct summoned creatures in combat. Just don't cast it near basilisks.



Gameplay note: This sounds like it is going to save my ass more than once. The spell description is quite vague, though. We will have to look into it more when we have the ability to cast level 7 spells.

I copy Sphere of Dissipation into my spellbook and pack away Wizard Eye for Firebead. Then we turn to the door. We have to kill this guy one more time. I hesitate to go outside, but I know we have to.



We call upon our remaining magic to enhance us.





I know we could really use some more throwaway minions to take the hits from the Dark One, so I ask the Weave for some.



I get berries instead. I try again.



It's fine. I meant to do that. I was going to walk them up there.



I try to call more. This time I think the Weave catches on to what I'm doing, and helps me out!



I send them up too. The Dark One, though, seems to realize what we're doing. He sends down his own skeleton warrior, and tries to outright slay us with a spell.



Jet'laya brushes the spell off. 'Atta girl! I get my army to take out the small distraction first, the skeleton warrior. The Weave seems to smile on me further today.



We are all of us healed!



The skeleton warrior takes out two of my gnoll elites before it goes down. But with Gavin's help they destroy the skeleton warrior. Now they are free to distract the Dark One properly.



He falls for the trap.



The Dark One falls back to his oldest trick - fear.



But I dispel it.



I also dispel whatever was making the Dark One untargetable, because he becomes vulnerable to our spells. We all cast something.



Finch casts a Holy Smite, and it does more damage to my gnolls than to the Dark One.



I try for one of my old tricks - Corporeal Instability.



He goes for Horror again, scaring my gnolls.



But he looks pretty bad. I cast one more spell, and throw my Chaos Blades at him. He explodes in a fiery conflagration.

[Usurper]

Gameplay note: we got 10750 xp for defeating the Dark One. Sweet!

Finch is out chasing down Gavin, and as she heals him from some of his injuries, he stops being frightened.



I call them both back to the main group, but advise them to avoid the skull trap remaining. I try to loot the body of the Dark One, but all I find are Fire Seeds.



I still have a couple gnolls left, so I send one to disarm the final skull trap.



Then, with nothing left to do or loot, I decide to get the hells out of this godsforsaken forest of the dead. Time to meet Jet'laya's uncle back at the Jovial Juggler.



We arrive without incident.



I must say, I approve of this man's choice of accommodation. We go inside and find him having a drink with Bub Snikt.



Yeah we found her alright. But she had become a freakin' banshee... so we had to kill her!

You... ah... she, I see... and I see you have returned with her amulet... I... well, I suppose you had to do what was necessary... Here, take this letter to Otho, a dwarven master weaponsmith in the Thunderhammer smithy. He is a very good friend of mine and he will make a weapon for you that will have very great importance in the near future. I need to leave now, good bye!

I guess he didn't take that so well. But dude's gotta know we killed that banshee and it was hard! The letter he gives us is nice enough.



We head on over to talk to this Otho.



Actually, I believe we are here to see you. I was told to bring this letter to Otho Truehammer, the master smithy. That's you isn't it?

Why, yes it is. Let me take a look at that letter if ya please... Oh yes, it's from my good friend Lennan. He told me that a group of adventurers would be stopping by to see me. I owe my elven friend a favor, so I agreed to make this weapon for you. I don't really know the reason behind it, but Lennan was very specific that it was to be a finely balanced mace crafted from the finest iron that I could find. Sometimes Lennan knows about things that will happen, before they happen... if ye understand my meaning. Heh... elves, Lennan is a good friend but sometimes I don't understand all that hocus pocus... gives me the hebeejebeez... no sir, I'd take a well crafted hammer or mace over magic any day... But enough of that, ye didn't come here to listen to me go on all day. I'll get started on yer weapon right away. It should be ready in five days time. I'll have it fer ye then.

Well let's see. Today is 12 Ches, so we should go check back with this guy on 17 Ches. We walk out of the smithy and prepare to go relax at the Inn.



Yes, it is. How can I help you?

It's me, Dawn Priest Blane, from the Song of the Morning Temple. One of the Morninglords from the Temple wishes to speak with you. He's waiting for you at the Burning Wizard.

Why does he need to talk to me?

I don't really know, I just clean the floors at the Temple and run a small supply depot there.

Okay, I guess we will go see him.

We head to the Burning Wizard.



Inside, Morninglord Jarent of Lathander approaches us.



Yes, that we are. How may we help you?

I am Jarent, Morninglord of Lathander, and I seek your help in taking care of a problem. You see a young Forest Dragon has recently been on the move south of here. This dragon attacked several villages south of the Cloudpeak Mountains and began moving north. I raided one of our temples during one of these attacks. Among the temple valuables it carried away with it was a most holy relic. It is very important that this relic be returned and that is what I am asking of you. Will you help?

A dragon? A DRAGON?!

Noble as the cause may be, I must ask if there is some reward for this?

A true hero would ask no payment for his help. I am sure that the hoard of the dragon will provide you with more than enough.

True heroes eh? Bah, what would he know of them? Still, a dragon's hoard may contain a lot of spells...

You may be right. We will slay this dragon for you.

In the name of Lathander, I thank you! The dragon was last seen in the mountain area to the east of the Nashkel Mines and moving this way. I dare say that if it makes it to Nashkel or Beregost the circumstances would be devastating. It must be stopped. As I said, it's a young dragon, but dangerous none the less. I will be here when you return.

A DRAGON?!

We slowly make our way outside, pondering how we will ever be able to slay a dragon. I almost bump into Lord Norby Boozluck.



Near Nashkel, or in Nashkel? I suppose I'll have to check it out. First stop Nashkel, and then go east. But you know what? If there's one guy I need with me when fighting dragons, it is Bjornin the Dragon Slayer! And seeing as how Gavin has been through so much lately, and still has much improvement to go in the skills department, we let him go.



Yes, Gavin, you should go.

I am sorry to leave you, but I must respect your judgment. Should our paths cross again one day, I would be happy to lend my hammer and my faith to your cause.

I do not want to part ways with your forever, Gavin, but our paths have to separate right now. Just wait here for me. I shall return when I need your help again.

Very well.

And then I walk across the room to the left side, where a small minority sits, talking quietly.



Back to the party, I need your help.

A paladin of few words, this Bjornin.

Gameplay note: When last we used him, Bjornin was several levels higher than the rest of the party. Now he fits right in as a normal member, and has even less xp than I do.



Bjornin has been studying how to kill dragons his whole life.



He knows exactly what he needs to do, and what he wants to wield is spears. We give him a choice selection in the Armory. He wields The Stunner Halberd +3, and also the Dragon Scepter Spear +3, just in case. He borrows a lot of items from Yeslick, including the Full Plate Mail +2, the Gauntlets of Power Attacks, the Helm of the Flame, the Cloak of Displacement, and the Boots of Health. He wears the Girdle of Defense too. His rings are the Unfailing Missile Deflector and the Ring of Energy, because nobody else is wearing it. Altogether he strikes a fearsome silhouette, and I am more than happy to have him in the party.



I'm tempted to wait the five days for this new totally awesome weapon Otho is supposedly making for us. But what if the dragon makes it to Nashkel or Beregost by then? I guess I can't really delay. So we set off for Nashkel right away.



We are attacked by wild dogs for some reason. We put them down.



When we get there, a child approaches us as we cross the bridge.



Yes I am, and what's your name?

None of your beeeezwax. I'm just wonderin' cause some guy inside the Nashkel Inn told me he would give me a gold piece if I would watch for you and tell you that he was waiting for you.

Why does he need to talk to me?

How should I know... What do I look like? I'm just a kid!

Well yeah, true. I guess there's no dragon here yet. There isn't nearly enough screaming and crying. We enter the Nashkel Inn to see who wants to talk to us.

[Usurper]

But if it's another mercenary I'm going to be real pissed at that kid.



How may we help you?

Well I was just getting to that. The mayor is very busy and he asked me to find you and ask of you a favor. I mean after everything you did with the mines and all, well you are a local hero around here. Yes sir, you took care of those mines good. Everyone around here is talking about you. Anyway, as I was saying, I need a favor from you. You see we have just heard that a... well... um... a dddddragon is headed this way, and well with everything you have done for us so far, we were hoping that you could help us this once more... I mean it's pretty scary, I've never seen a dragon and I don't really care to either. Will you help?

Noble as the cause may be, I must ask if there is some reward for this?

I seem to be repeating myself.

Well I was told to offer you 2,500gp... but the mayor doesn't watch the money like I do and the town is getting really low on funds. I mean, maybe you could just take what the dragon has as payment. Don't dragons have lots of treasure and such? I'm sure you'll find a king's ransom.

Again they're waving the dragon's hoard in my face. How long have I scrimped and saved, just barely made it by, killing countless bad guys and horrible monsters from beyond imagining, and I'M. STILL. BROKE. I just killed a lich, A LICH, and all I got to show for it was a few Fire Seeds. And some magic. But still. I wanna go shopping! It's in my blood.

No way... we will not risk our necks for nothing. You don't even know if the dragon has a hoard! Pay, or find others to do the job.

Alright, I suppose I'll have to pay the 2,500 gp. Just please hurry! It's moving this way!!

But we have just traveled a long way, so I decide that we should rest. I ask Finch if she's got anything in that bookbag of hers about dragons. She says she has the History of the Dragon Coast. We ask her to read it. Maybe there will be something in there to help us.

... pirate, the rogue, and the hired killer. It has been the place where those seeking to skirt the laws of more civilized nations to the north make landfall. It is here that the Red Wizards gain their access to the Western Heartlands, and where the Cult of the Dragon launches its plots to the south. And it is here that independent secret societies and assassin guilds have their greatest power.

The last semblance of organized resistance to this trend was the reign of Verovan, last of the kings of Westgate. The monarchy of Westgate had long worked closely with the various mercantile and pirate factions, but Verovan attempted to stem the growing power of the merchant houses and petty lords. His sudden and mysterious death without acceptable heirs in 1248 DR opened the door for much of what now is commonplace in the Dragon Coast - corruption and treachery.

It should be noted that while Verovan's name is still venerated in these lands, better known is Immurk, the greatest of the Inner Sea Pirates, a brash and flamboyant rogue who united a pirate fleet beneath him and ruled from 1164 DR to his death in 1201 DR. Such it is in the Dragon Coast, that good people are venerated, but the power of darker rogues is imitated.

That... that doesn't help at all. Finch just shrugs. Then she fidgets. She rummages around in her bookbag. She plays with her hair. I can tell she is nervous. Does she not want to slay a dragon? Hmmm...

Then a man approaches us from the back rooms of the Inn. He introduces himself.



No, but we have to do something and it would seem that there is no one else.

Then ye should join up with me. More than one dragon has felt the sting of my blade. I mean to take this one as well. Allow me to introduce myself, Conchobhair Strongblade at your service!

The offer is well met friend. We could use another, eh... strong blade in our group.

Then let us not tarry here further. That vile creature is just not going to wait for us. We must proceed at once to its lair.

I graciously accept. But how is this going to work out? I turn to ask my party if someone is willing to bow out for Conchobhair here, but before I even form the words on my lips Finch's hand shoots up. She says a dragon is too much for her and quite frankly she thinks she'll just be trampled underfoot fighting it. She isn't ashamed to admit that she'd like a bit of a vacation from adventuring at all. She says she needs to catch up on her writing anyway. I can only agree. I will miss the plucky little gnome, but this Strongblade here is a professional. We could use his expertise.



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.

Certainly! I have several days worth of reading that I should be catching up with. I do look forward to when we can travel together again, though!

Then it is time to look at our newest companion, Conchobhair Strongblade.

Gameplay note: Dude is a paladin and comes loaded for bear.



He wears a normal platemail and a normal helmet, but his two-handed sword is built for dragonslaying.



He comes as a normal, vanilla paladin.



But he doesn't have to be, of course. He could be totally obsessed with his blade as a Holy Swordsman. He could be totally obsessed with TWO swords as a Saurial Paladin and just carrying that one around for show. He could just be obsessed with combat in general, and wanting to get some good practice in as a Militarist. Or, he could be a Mystic Fire sent by the Lady of Magic herself as her strong right arm to aid me against the dragon. Of course, he could be another Cavalier just like Ajantis was back in the day. Or he could have even been an old classmate of Bjornin's back in Dragonslayer school.

So what's it going to be?

A. Holy Swordsman - Two-handed swords are awesome.
B. Saurial Paladin - Dual-wielding paladin? Sign me up!
C. Militarist - Battlefield virtuosos are so dreamy! Let's smite some infidels!
D. Mystic Fire - We are the Avatar of the Weave and deserve divine protection, and damn the spelling mistakes.
E. Cavalier - They are not all stuck-up pansyboys that quit after one arrow to the eye.
F. Dragonslayer - Syvishtara is of the opinion that two Dragonslayers are better than one; when slaying dragons especially.

[hook71]

I have to go with F. Dragonslayer for this one.

[Aumanor]

E. Cavalier- probably best for dragonslaying, those remove fears will probably save your ass. Just one question: I probably missed something, but weren't there other paladin subclasses in BGII? Inquisitor and Undead Slayer, I believe? Not that any of them would be any good against a dragon, but I just wondered why they weren't among the choices. BTW, you have an amazing pace with those updates, hope you'll keep it up. And just for all the people raising cries of outrage at this "imbalanced" character kit and that "overpowered" item or spell: this game's about to throw an effin' dragon at us, before any char in our party's even lvl 10. Balance this.