Controversial, but I'm gonna give +4 to Garrick, and +1 to Dynaheir. Come on guys, you can live through this, I believe in you! (Tomes to Syv, I guess). Loving having regular updates again. Thanks for all the hard work

Syvishtar's Journal
#1021
Posted 06 June 2013 - 02:22 PM
#1022
Posted 08 June 2013 - 05:07 AM
Imoen +1 (Because: Archery)
Kivan +1 (Because: Archery)
Coran +1 (Because: Archery)
Viconia +1 (Because: Healer, also Bullets of detonation)
Black Bear +1 (Because: some Tanking is needed)
-All tomes to Syv!
#1023
Posted 08 June 2013 - 08:58 AM
Too Many Xsars
by Seuss of Soubar
Did I ever tell you that old Syvishtar
Had 29 companions, and he called them all Xsar?
Well he did, and that wasn't a smart thing to do
See, when he wants one and he calls out "Yoo-hoo!"
"Come into the company, Xsar!", he doesn't get one
All 29 Xsars of his come right on the run!
And this makes things tricky for old Syvishtar
As you can imagine, with so many Xsars.
And often he wishes that when they met, far and near
He'd named one of them Viconia deVir.
And one of them Rose, and one of them Minsc
And one of them Kiera Silverstring.
And one of them Kagain, and one of them Jaheira
And one of them Imoen, and another one Indira
Another one Branwen, and one Dynaheir
And the oldest one Firebead Elvenhair
And he should have said Mur'Neth, and that's really Coran
And there's Xan and Kivan and Branwen and Bjornin
And one more called Quayle and a cleric called Finch
Heck, even Bub Snikt! That'll do in a pinch!
And one of them Alora, and there you see Gavin
And Faldorn the druid, and the wizard would be Edwin
Another one Khalid, Safana waiting to pounce
And one of them Lady Seafoam Wonderbounce
And one of them Conchobhair Strongblade...
But he didn't! Too late! His bed has been made.
Edited by Usurper, 08 June 2013 - 08:59 AM.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.
#1024
Posted 08 June 2013 - 08:59 AM
Place Name Positive Negative Total Last Time ========================================================================= Imoen 33 -7 25 Finch 19 Edwin 17 Kivan 16 Yeslick 16 Xan 15 -1 14 Branwen 11 Indira 9 Kagain 9 Bjornin 9 Viconia 8 Jet'laya 8 Minsc 7 Safana 6 Alora 5 Xzar 4 Jaheira 4 Will 4 Gavin 2 Tiax 2 Dynaheir 2 Quayle 2 Coran 2 Squirrel 2 Mur'neth 1 Firebead 1 Seafoam 1 Garrick 1 Black Bear 1
I'll keep voting open the rest of the weekend.
Edited by Usurper, 08 June 2013 - 09:00 AM.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.
#1025
Posted 08 June 2013 - 12:12 PM
But... but I gave Garrick +4!
#1026
Posted 08 June 2013 - 06:50 PM
Oh, right. I forgot to count this thread's votes in that summary. That will put Garrick up there with Alora. Sorry. I will make sure to get them for the final tally.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.
#1027
Posted 10 June 2013 - 06:58 PM
Okay, here are the final votes:
Place Name Positive Negative Total Last Time ========================================================================= 1 Xan 45 -16 29 12 2 Yeslick 27 27 3 3 Imoen 32 -7 25 2 4 Finch 20 20 9 5 Kivan 18 18 11 6 Edwin 18 18 7 7 Branwen 16 16 29 8 Will 16 16 22 9 Jet'laya 13 13 21 10 Mur'neth 13 13 19 11 Kagain 12 12 15 12 Alora 11 11 (heisting) 13 Viconia 10 10 16 14 Indira 9 9 6 15 Bjornin 9 9 35 16 Minsc 8 8 8 17 Tiax 7 7 24 18 Safana 6 6 36 19 Xzar 6 6 14 20 Dynaheir 5 5 17 21 Khalid 5 5 13 22 Garrick 5 5 23 23 Jaheira 4 4 5 24 Gavin 3 3 30 25 Coran 3 3 20 26 Quayle 2 2 (on the bridge) 27 Black Bear 2 2 1 28 Squirrel 2 2 10 29 Firebead 2 2 27 30 Seafoam 1 1 (singing in the waves) 31 Bub Snikt 0 0 37 32 Conchobhair 0 0 31 33 Faldorn 0 0 28 34 Ferthgil 0 0 25 35 Rose 0 0 18 36 Skeezer 0 0 32 37 Thorfinn 0 0 34
Looks like our first party is going to be Xan, Yeslick, Imoen, Finch, and Kivan. A solid party. Our backups will be Edwin, Branwen, Will, Jet'laya, and Mur'neth. Interesting set of second-stringers here.
The Shar-Teel Award for Most Controversial Character goes to: Xan!
The Most Meteoric Rise Award goes to: Branwen!
The Greatest Fall Award goes to: Black Bear!
The Nobody Cares Award is an 7-way tie between Bub Snikt, Conchobhair Strongblade, Faldorn, Ferthgil Trollslayer, Rose, Skeezer Lumpkin IV, and Thorfinn Hauskluniff!
Edited by Usurper, 10 June 2013 - 11:54 PM.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.
#1028
Posted 13 June 2013 - 07:03 AM

14 Flamerule, 1370
End of Chapter 6 Cinematic
This mission to go back to Candlekeep makes me contemplative. I wander back to the Elfsong Tavern, my thoughts cast back to days long past. It has been over a year since I left that place. I go to my room alone, sit down, and open this journal. I read my first entry again, from what seems like so long ago. Almost as if it was written by a different person. So young, so full of vim and vigor, so confident in the permanence of the reality around him. So much... so very much Gorion's son.
I take off all my magical equipment - my amulet, my rings, my gloves, even the magical wonder that is my robe - and take a good, long look at myself in the mirror.

Yep, that's me. A little worse for wear, but you can see the sunken, haunted eyes, even if my skin is Weave-kissed and golden. I still feel the loss, you know. The hollow part of me where my familiar used to be. It throbs, right next to the giant, gaping chasm where my father used to be; where my home used to be; where my life used to be.
I now know as much or more about the Weave as any of the learned sages of Candlekeep. But what has it brought me? Ecstasy, wild and free, sure. But also horror beyond my worst nightmares. I've turned beings to ice, and shattered them. I've called efreeti and djinni and elementals to do my bidding. Cacofiends have come at my beck and call, and sometimes without it. I have killed people in more ways than they probably have names for back at Candlekeep. That didn't bother me so much while I was out here, in the wild world, red in tooth and claw. In fact, I... kinda liked it. But after doing all that... to go back? Can I even face my old teachers now, knowing what I've done? What if they've heard of me? What if they scryed on me at just the wrong time? What if they don't understand why I've the things I've done?
I guess there's only one way to find out.
I turn to the Tomes that I have picked up recently. I distract myself from these useless thoughts by reading them thoroughly.


I feel a little better after I've absorbed that knowledge.

I meditate for the night on my newfound knowledge, and my dreams are full of brightness and dancing.

In the morning, I know what I must do. If I'm going to go back to Candlekeep hot in the trail of the leaders of the Iron Throne, I don't want to mess around. I need my closest, most dependable allies for this mission. I need my heart's closest companions, those who will stand with me through the worst this plane of existence has to offer.
Imoen has always been with me from the beginning, and she's staying with me now.



Finch I also met in Candlekeep, what seems like eons ago. Im sure she'll love going back too. She will be a staunch ally in this endeavor.



Kivan has been with me almost as long, and he only gets deadlier every day. I need him behind me, peppering my enemies with his ranged death.



Xan is my bosom companion, my exemplar in the ways of My People and my once and future lover. He and his Moonblade must protect me from those who would cut me down.



And Yeslick, the rock, the ever-ready. One of the best decisions I ever made was rescuing him from that jail cell. I need him on the front lines, anchoring the party in all the chaos to come.



As soon as I get the new crew together, Imoen addresses Xan.








But he follows her advice, and is soon looking normal again.

While he is getting ready, the remainder of the party gets ready as well. Soon we are suited up in our best gear. No playing around this time - we are dressed to kill. Literally.

Gameplay note: I'm as deadly as ever.

Gameplay note: Xan has an AC of -17. MINUS SEVENTEEN. That is insane. He also has a THACO of 0. I think that's a 0 percent chance of missing?

Gameplay note: I opted to go for helms of mental protection and rings of elemental damage resistance this time around, which makes people a little easier to hit but less easy to burn/freeze/melt to death. You can see that here with Yeslick.

Gameplay note: Everyone is hella decked out though. I wouldn't mind taking this party's equipment to the end of BG2.

Gameplay note: Kivan's quiver is completely full with 450 Arrows +2. And he is wielding the +10 damage Strong Arm bow. He also gets to summon wyverns, because those are incredibly useful.

Gameplay note: Imoen has a mix of thiefy and magely equipment. She'll be laying the smack down from the back, with me.
We head out, but before we begin our journey, I do something unusual.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.
#1029
Posted 13 June 2013 - 07:04 AM

Xan kinda bugs me while I am perusing the store, however.



I am happy to find that there are several spells available that I have never heard of before. Great! And I think I can cast them too! I buy Farsight, Secret Word, Protection from Cold, Protection from Fire, Fiery Cloud, Skeleton Guard, and Power Word Blind.

Gameplay note: A good way to complete hard-to-reach areas of the map if you want to see the artwork, or explore without exploring. I hardly ever use it though.

Gameplay note: The phrase "7th level or lower" is key here, because clerics only have 7 levels of spells, and Shield of the Archons is their highest-level spell protection. So with a simple level 4 spell Secret Word, you can negate the entire cleric class. Mwahahahaha.

Gameplay note: 100% cold resistance. With cold-resist items on as well I think that means you get healed by cold damage.

Gameplay note: Same deal here with fire. Level 5 spells are the place to be for protection from individual elements.

Gameplay note: This sounds like a fun cloudkill-esque burnination. I'll have to try it out soon.

Gameplay note: Skeletal Warriors are no joke. They have been responsible for quite a few party deaths. And bad guys have either started off with 4 skeletal warriors or cast this spell at us already in battle. It will be nice to turn the tide, some day.

Gameplay note: Saving Throw: None. Dayum. Also if you're level 6 or less, you're blinded for the rest of your life. Dayum again.
And then, with the leftover money, I buy 25 Potions of Super Healing. We were getting low.
Splurging on insane arcane magic has me in a good mood. I'm practically whistling as I saunter out the front gate of the city and across the bridge. That's how Zernan finds me.















And the bastard teleports away with the book!

Xan swings his moonblade, and blood flies everywhere. One thief is decapitated!

Kivan takes out the last one. They were not really a threat to us.

He said he'd meet at the Arm. He must mean the Friendly Arm Inn. We take off for the place right away.

As we rush down the path to the Friendly Arm, we see our quarry standing right in front of us on the road!


We are rushed by another contingent of thieves, this time with hobgoblin backup.

Kivan begins to flail about as if fighting for his life, and he is. Invisible stalkers attack him and almost kill him!

They also attack me, and I feel my life flashing before my eyes!

Arrows go right through the Invisible Stalkers, so Kivan switches to his spear.

A joint Flamestrike/Lightning Bolt combo doesn't seem to faze one much either.

But with a concentrated attack from Xan, Kivan, myself, and Imoen's Minute Meteors, we manage to take one out.

Xan's Moonblade seems to be hitting the Invisible Stalkers pretty hard, but they hit him pretty hard too.

He drinks down a potion and manages to slice the invisible enemy in half. Then there is only one left.

We all surround it and pound on it, and finally we destroy it. I destroy it!

That was mildly frightening. We burned half our healing potions on this fight alone! And then he said he's going to the mines. It must be the Nashkel mines, because the Cloakwood Mines are flooded. Great... back to Nashkel again?
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.
#1030
Posted 14 June 2013 - 07:24 AM

15 Flamerule, 1370
We arrive in Nashkel after sundown, planning to get a room and go to the mines the next morning.

But just as we cross the bridge,


And before any of us can get a spell off, Zernan turns himself invisible.

Again he throws more minions at us. Again with the Invisible Stalkers!

Imoen and Kivan run to the start of the bridge, Imoen summoning some minions to protect them.

I cast Mirror Image, and then Tenser's Transformation, and wade into melee with one of the Invisible Stalkers. That's when Zernan attacks me!

Finch finds herself between two of the enemies, and hurts for it.

She runs away, and Imoen actually takes our Zernan!

I rush to his body and search it. Three diamonds, 30 magical arrows, a dagger, and a note. NO BOOK!
Finch can't get away from the Invisible Stalker, uh, stalking her, and she keeps running away and bleeding. I throw her some healing potions, and we all attack the enemy going after her. We manage to distract it.

Each stalker requires concentrated effort of 4 of us to take out. I'm so glad Zernon is dead. We won't have to deal with any more of these!

Yeslick calls upon the power of the gods to take them out.

And he does indeed take out the last.

Then we turn to the relatively harmless thieves that popped out of the shadows.

They shouldn't have agreed to this contract.
When we kill them, Xan reveals that his mind was elsewhere.



I almost answer with "You'll die because of us, too," but I stop myself. It is a horribly morbid thing to say, and why would I even think that?
The only thing of worth that we got out of this fight was a note on Zernan.

Ok, carnival outskirts north of the hill. Screw sleeping, I'm going straight there now.
When we arrive, I realize that there are several hills north of the carnival at the outskirts.

It turns out to be the east-most one.




He begins to cast, and I back away, preparing for more Invisible Stalkers. But no, this one summons Stone Golems.

I remember the cure for Stone Golems! Lots of summoned fodder. Imoen and Kivan take care of that.

We back up to allow the minions to do their work. But the Invisible Stalkers show up again! Crap!

Kivan drinks a healing potion and switches to melee. I know what's coming next - I cast Detect Invisibility. HA!

Mysterious Man, you can't fool me twice. To keep him visible for the rest of the fight, I tag him with an Acid Arrow.

Kivan summons a wyvern and takes off, but the stalker follows him. Another backstabs Xan! They're everywhere!

I back off and try to take out the mystery man from afar. But the Weave tells me I should attack him face-to-face.

Fine. I will. But as I go up to touch him with my ghoulish touch, Imoen kills him with a minute meteor.

The invisible stalker slaughtering goes well down south too, and there is only a stone golem left.

Yeslick takes that one out, and I breathe a huge sigh of relief.

There is nothing on the mysterious man's corpse but a +1 sling, some bullets of fire, and two books on the History of the Drow. What?! Where's my tome!
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.
#1031
Posted 14 June 2013 - 07:24 AM
When we get there, I notice that Imoen and Xan have been in a quiet conversation for a while. Both of them seem to be discussing the Invisible Stalkers and how to defeat them. They seem wiser than before - more experienced.


Gameplay note: He now has 4 pips in Long Sword, making him a High Master of Long Swords. That means -1 speed factor added to the other benefits that he has of +2 THAC0, +3 damage, and +1/2 attacks per round.

Gameplay note: You can see now that his THAC0 is -1. Someone in the thread asked for details of Xan's ungodly equipment. Let me break it down. This is Xan with no equipment, not even his moonblade:


Gameplay note: He's got 21 hit points (just leveled) and an 8 AC. Usually naked people have a 10 AC, but he's got high DEX, so he gets a 2 point bonus. And he has a base THAC0 of 15, like every level 6 fighter. I think? Put on his moonblade and his AC drops to 5, while his THAC0 drops to 9.


Gameplay note: His THAC0 drop is because he's got High Mastery in Long Swords, and his moonblade counts as a Long Sword. His moonblade is supposed to give him +1 AC, but it counts as +3. Maybe because of a DEX bonus? Not sure. His Moonblade also gives him 50% Fire Resistance, which is useful.
Gameplay note: Then we put on Elven Chain Mail +1, because he can't use the +3 version. There are only 2 of those, and only Yeslick and Finch can use them. Not sure why. Anyways, the Elven Chain Mail +1 sets his AC to -3.

Gameplay note: Then we put on the Helm of Protection, an item that gives +2 AC bonus and 25% fire resistance. It doesn't have the strange exaggerated effects that the other items have, it just works as advertised:

Gameplay note: Next is his favorite shield, the Medium Shield +2 'Heart of the Dragon'. It gives a +4 AC bonus, increased hit points, and +5% magic resistance. It also increases spellcasting time by 2 but who cares? It's only Xan. He puts it on and gets +2 more AC and +10 hit points. Why +2 and not +4, as advertised? I have no idea.

Gameplay note: Next is the Ring of Protection +3. We only have one of these. Putting it on takes Xan's AC down to -10.

Gameplay note: Normally if you wear one Ring of Protection you can't wear another, but we have a way around that with the Talisman of Protection from the Stone of Askavar quest. It does't conflict with Rings of Protection, so that goes on the other ring slot for another -1 AC.

Gameplay note: Next is the Fast Boots of Protection. They say they give Haste and +1 AC. But when Xan puts them on, they give a +3 bonus. His AC is now -14.

Gameplay note: Then we give him the Cloak of Protection +2, which also doesn't conflict with the Ring of Protection or the Talisman of Protection. It gets his AC up to -16.

Gameplay note: Now all of this equipmen thas been defensive, and has not affected Xan's THAC0. The next item affects both AC and THAC0, however. It is the Bluestone Necklace of Dexterity. It gives +3 DEX and +3 THAC0. Putting it on brings Xan's AC to -17 and his THAC0 to 6.


Gameplay note: We have two other items that give him a damage and/or THAC0 bonus. The first is the Warrior Gloves, which give +3 to damage and +3 to THAC0.

Gameplay note: And the last is the Improved Girdle 'Elves' Bane'. It sets his STR to 22, and gives a +3 AC bonus vs. piercing weapons. Going from 13 STR to 22 STR brings down Xan's THAC0 to -1, because it gives him a +4 to hit and +10 to damage to be that strong.

Gameplay note: So with all this equipment on, Xan is a super-strong, super-dextrous golden god that can slice fools in half with one swing of his moonblade. He still gets knocked over in a light breeze, though. If the light breeze can manage to bypass his armor. But he's just about the elfiest elf that ever elfed. I mean, just LOOK at him!

Gameplay note: And in 2 more levels he can cast spells in that getup. Oh, I forgot something else. Yeslick is carrying the Shield of Falling Stars. That means that allies within 6 feet get an AC bonus. So stick Xan next to Yeslick, and he suddenly has an AC of -21!

Gameplay note: So as long as he sticks next to the dwarf, he should be invincible.
Imoen goes off to contemplate her own role in the scheme of things.



Gameplay note: Ooh, level 5 spells now! I get her to memorize Shadow Door, Phantom Blade, and Summon Monster III.

We all eventually gather around the crackling fireplace, and listen to Finch read the two new volumes of Drow lore that we picked up. I hope there's a clue in there somewhere on what we should do next.

... two cruel deities, Ghaunadaur and Lolth, forced elves, humans, dwarves, and others to ally against them.
Defeated in a series of titanic magical battles, the dark elves fled into underground warrens they had earlier discovered. This event, know as "The Descent," marked the end of the drow as a surface-dwelling race.

...priestess, for rule of their new realm. This all-out war ended amid great magical explosions that brought down the roof of the largest dwarven cavern they had seized, great Bhaerynden. The ceiling collapsed entirely, burying many drow and the shattered dwarven cities. The cavern, now open to the sky, became know as The Great Rift. The surviving drow nobles gathered what people, slaves, and equipment they could seize, and fled into the Underdark in search of places to dwell. "The Scattering" brought about the many rival, self-interested cities where most drow live today.
Why would this mysterious man be researching the Drow? Okay, actually, I think that there is only one explanation. He was dealing with them somehow. There are Drow around here and I am going to have to fight them.
Great.
Sleep well, me! But sleeping well is not to be.
In the night, I dream.
The next morning I wake early, and research Invisible Stalkers. I actually have that spell in my spellbook already, but I just can't cast it reliably yet.

Okay then. I do not know how to counter them better than what we are doing now, which is drinking a ton of healing potions. Maybe Detect Invisibility? Maybe Glyphs of Warding from the priests to hit them and not us? It is worth a shot. We prepare our spellbooks for the strategy, in case we encounter more of them.
I also feel different somehow.

Gameplay note: I have gained the ability Divine Might. It is like Draw Upon Divine Might, but gets better with levels. And, oh, hey, I didn't notice before, but I also have the Scribe Scroll ability. Sweet! Now Firebead Elvenhair doesn't need to stay in my pocket plane anymore.
After thinking about our situation, I feel as though we should check out the mines. Zergan did mention them, after all, and that's the reason that I'm down here. I killed him in Nashkel proper, and his friend at the carnival, but I didn't actually get to the mines yet. Maybe that's where I can find my book. Probably taken by Drow, too.
Damn dark elves! Wish that I could be rid of you forever.
As soon as we get to the mines, we are attacked by a phase spider!

This must be drow work. Xan protects me.

More spiders appear near the mines. We are definitely on the right track.

It really is overkill, what we do to them.

We find even more spiders at the mine entrance!

I find the mine overseer just as I did so very long ago. He's still not happy to see me, and still gives me an insane deadline. But why should he change? I haven't!

LETS DO THIS!!
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.
#1032
Posted 15 June 2013 - 07:12 AM
@Xan's armor discrepancy
That's probably due to him having 2 pips in single weapon proficiency.
Those grant him 2 AC and 5% improved critical chance if he only wields one weapon and nothing else.
As soon as he equips that shield (4 AC bonus) he gets a net bonus of 2 AC as those single weapon proficiency bonuses are no longe in effect.
10th
"I grab his deceased spirit and piledrive it back into his body, duplicating raise dead." - Psyren Oots board
#1033
Posted 22 June 2013 - 11:20 AM

17 Flamerule, 1370
There are, of course, more drow in the deeper levels of the mine.

And teleporting spiders and crazy stalkers too!

We take out the spiders and Yeslick charges the assembled drow.

Finch follows and triggers the traps that I was worried were there.

Xan runs over the traps too, and then runs back to take on the Drow Stalker, triggering them a second time. I start to worry if we'll choke to death on spiderwebs.

I see a stone golem wade into the melee, and I think we need to clear away some of this magic. I try to dispel it, but just bring more monsters in.

I can't even see what is going on, but I do hear the death of the stone golem. Yeslick must have gotten him.
Gameplay note: This is literally true. I really can't see what is going on, but I really did hear the stone golem's death sound.

Kivan manages to make it to the edge of the web cloud, and Yeslick and I are not affected by its magic. So we wade around, trying to cut our way out, and killing the drow we stumble across.

The traps actually work out pretty well for us. We clean up on drow and think the fight is done, when Finch gets backstabbed!

Xan extracts vengeance.

He has been incredibly deadly against his dark brethren. I am actually impressed.
Imoen finds and disabled the traps.

I'm sifting through the detritus when Yeslick starts up a conversation.








May his god answer his prayers. I realize that I have no god save the Weave, and sometimes I dread its answers. Wait, no, I shouldn't say that. The Weave has been good to me.
Yes. Good to me.
Of course.
Our next fight sees Finch hurt.

I try to aid my companions with Haste, and pray that the Weave didn't hear me just now.

No, Weave, I didn't mean it!
The next Haste I cast drops green slime upon me and my target, but it does work.

Thank you, Weave, thank you!
bitch.
There are a ton of stone golems and drow fighters in this area.

But we are speedy enough to finish them off.
I do wince, though, when Finch trips a Fireball trap.

But we do manage to beat them, just after the Haste wears off, with no Company down.

We are bruised, battered, and out of healing spells again. I think Finch and Yeslick need to focus on memorizing more of them and less of the others.
Imoen finds the Fireball traps, but she can't figure out how to disarm them!

I even give her a Potion of Power, but it still doesn't help.

We're going to have to prepare for double fireball traps. Time to rest and re-memorize spells.
In the pocket plane,



I don't know anymore Xan, I really don't.
I have both Finch and Yeslick prepare Resist Fire and Cold spells. Then we fall asleep listening to Finch reading from the History fo Cormyr.

...many years - since Rhigaerd overthrew the last of the border raiders. However, Cormyrean armies have taken part in many actions in nearby regions, recently mustering its forces to face Gondegal, the rebel of Arabel; to occupy Tilverton on the marches of the Dalelands; and to lead a crusade against the great Tuigan horde invading from the east. One wit has noted that "Yes, the land is at peace, but the army has to keep busy." In addition to pursuing major actions, Cormyrean patrols often skirmish with bandits on the roads in the north and west, and are at present battling orcs and other creatures north and east of Cormyr in Tilver's Gap and Shadow Gap. Both of these areas are threatened by raiders who will menace Cormyr itself if they ever overrun Tilverton. Cormyr has built a fortress, Castle Crag, to defend the kingdom from attacks from that quarter, and maintains the High Horn to protect against attacks from the West.
It is comforting to read about lands far away and problems that are not mine. The next morning, we teleport back and get everybody protected.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.
#1034
Posted 22 June 2013 - 11:20 AM

Then we approach the traps. As we do, Imoen seems to realize something. She notices that we can just walk around them.

Oh. Silly us. Well hopefully there will be more fire damage later on that we can resist?
We cross the well-known bridge across the chasm. There are of course drow waiting for us on the other side. And traps.

Again, though, the traps seem to work out better for us than our enemies. The drow are caught in webs and we simply cut them down.
Imoen finds the traps afterwards.

She can't disarm these either, so we just run through them. She is the only one caught. We engage more drow on the other side.

We take them down without much trouble.
The same with the next group.

For some reason, though, this group has magical weapons. They have a Light Crossbow of Speed, and a short sword called Distance.


Imoen immediately grabs the short sword, but pouts as she can't figure out how to use it. Oh well, into the bag with it.
We explore the well-worn halls of this side of the chasm, and eventually find a contingent of drow in the far cavern. This one is led by a priestess, who addresses us.



She can see WHAT?! How could she know what I've done?!
AND OH WEAVE A BASILISK!

No Finch get back get back get back!

I pull everybody back around the corner. Imoen summons more snake-men to try to stem the tide of stone golems and distract the basilisk. I hear the tell-tale sounds of drow stalkers attacking the party, so I cast Detect Invisibility. It is all going according to plan. But then Xan turns around and looks at me with the fey light of understanding in his eyes.

NOW HE KNOWS TOO! They'll all know soon. They'll know and they'll see me for what I am and they'll leave or turn and I'll be alone or dead and oh my weave make it stop make it stop

ok that was thoughtful but xan still means to kill me you have to do something weave you gotta save me save us make it unhappen

ok no explosions are not what we need right now we need to make it stop oh gods why is yeslick dead

fire everywhere how did that happen it hurt imoen oh why doesn't it stop where is the magic the magic to make him forget

it worked IT WORKED it is not going to happen yet he wont know or wont remember today they wont find out everything is going to be okay the weave made it okay

The Weave protects me. The Weave surrounds me. It throws mine enemies into disarray, and it shields me from the stares and the accusations of the innocent.

And I shall never want, and the Weave will give me protection and strength unending, and everything will always be okay forever and ever as long as I never...

as long as I never...

as long as I never Tell.

And no one ever finds out.

I'll be okay.

It will be okay.

Everything will be okay.

I'll never let them know.

Xan seems to look at his own moonblade in a new light.


Gameplay note: His THAC0 is now -2. Crazy.


For the first time ever, Finch sends shivers down my spine. She is writing it all down, isn't she? I especially can't ever let HER know.
As I walk among the bodies of the dead, my sword speaks.

I find it on the leftovers of the drow priestess.

Gameplay note: 33% magic resistance is nothing to sneeze at. It is one less AC of protection than the golden elven chain we are currently all wearing, though. And it wouldn't be the Golden Company if we just wore whatever the hell he wanted to wear. Choices, choices...

Gameplay note: a 5% chance of the wielder getting 6d6 lightning damage? Ok, that's pretty awesome. But nobody we currently have in the party uses maces.
We also FINALLY find the book that we need to get into Candlekeep.

Gameplay note: We already figured out that giving the ancient armor to the ghost of Ulcaster gets us the vampiric sword, but if we hadn't figured it out by now this book description would have been another clue. I think that's a pretty good mod idea.
Then I look at Yeslick's corpse, and tell everyone else to move into the next room. The Weave can fix anything. I just need some space, and some privacy.


I remember what the Sentry does after anything else - Fireballs. So I decide that only a full Resurrection will be enough for Yeslick.

For an unfathomable reason, though, the Sentry simply disappears after resurrecting Yeslick. Huh.

But my buddy is back, and that's all I care about! He doesn't Know, either!
After he gets suited back up, I start wondering what the drow were doing down here. I mean, we got the book back, but we still have no clue what's going on down here. We should find out.

You know, a lot of these drow fighters have been dropping Potions of Speed. Also, I remember a lot of other fighters in Section One dropping them too. I wonder how many I have in my potion case...

Oh, 248! Wow, there is no reason for us to never be not hopped up on Potions of Speed. Okay then!
I am reasonably certain that the drow trapped the exit from this cavern, so I send Imoen up ahead. But she can't find anything.

So we walk boldly on.
We don't find anyone guarding Mulahey's old place.

We don't find anyone in his place either.

I stand in the room where I first found Xan, and call him in here too. I smile at him as I think of how long ago that was, and how mysterious he seemed then.

Now I know more about him than almost anyone else in all of Faerun.
We again don't find anything else on the way out. I am almost diappointed.

I wish I could have figured out what the drow were doing down here. Besides stealing my book, that is. We follow the cave exit and come up once again in the desert.
We are attacked by a horde of wargs and bears. It is no matter.

I remember being ambushed here by amazons. I remember my entire party dying.

I remember how bad I felt about it. I remember thinking how that feeling of guilt and horror is what separated me from a murderer.

I don't feel that anymore.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.
#1035
Posted 24 June 2013 - 06:34 PM

21 Flamerule, 1370
We arrive back at the Elfsong Tavern, and drop Yeslick off to recuperate from his death.

I really think we could use more spellcasters in the party. We don't have nearly enough arcane magic flinging about. I think we should take Edwin.



I see him giving Alora a strange, longing glance as he gets ready to go. Is he going to miss her? I think so! Sometimes I wonder what happens in this tavern while I'm away.
We teleport to the pocket plane, the armory, our storage locker. And I find that we have an unusual problem. The only golden elven chain that we have available is the one that Yeslick was using, and Edwin can't use it! So either he has to wear some other mage robes, or someone has to trade with him.
I decide to put that Underdark Mail to use. I give it to Xan. Can't be too careful with that guy, anyways. I feel like he is almost ready to undergo a transformation. Then I give Xan's golden elven chain to Edwin. And, after issuing him the standard 15 Potions of Speed and 15 Potions of Healing that are part of our group's equipment now, he looks respectable.

He is thinking of other things, though.











The point could also be expanded to include all those I have killed in my own search for the revenge of Gorion's murder. But I haven't been single-minded in this. People have been hunting me down too, and there have been undead and monsters and demons in the way as well. I realize with a start that all the deaths seem to blend together in my mind. I don't really distinguish between them at all. They all feel... right?
I put these thoughts out of my mind by stopping by Sorcerous Sundries to sell the minor loot we have collected and stock up on healing potions again. Then we head out the gate.
The thought of going to Candlekeep bothers me. I think about how with one look the Priestess of Lolth could see a stain on my soul. She Knew, just like that. How many clerics are there in Candlekeep, I wonder? How many of them will look at me and Know? I don't know, and I feel like I don't want to know. Yet.
When we cross the bridge, I don't head south to Candlekeep. Instead I keep following the River Chionthar. We're going on a little vacation.

On the way north, we hear a lot of rumors of the village of Ulgoth's Beard.

You have also heard with certainty that tours of the fabled Tower of Durlag operate from Ulgoth's Beard, and that it is truly a place where adventurers can test their mettle. Perhaps such a test will better prepare you to fight the darkness that threatens to destroy the Sword Coast and you with it.
Yes, this place is going to do just fine. Vacation time!
Of course, for Imoen, the idea of a vacation is talking to everyone and everything.












Not only does he give Imoen wardstones, but he also gives her all of his equipment and jewelry too.

I take a look at both wardstones.


Eh, not a bad haul for 500 gold.
We keep looking around the place. It is pretty relaxing.

Although there seem to be a lot of eccentrics around.

A LOT of them.









We need to finish looking around the place. We find, in our explorations, an impressive-looking tower.

Too bad we can't go inside. Someone should clean this place up.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.
#1036
Posted 24 June 2013 - 06:35 PM













A nice story. He also shows us where it is on our map.

We have a lot of options of things to do now. We decide to take up that Shandalar's offer. He seemed nice enough after all, and it will be a good way to get in with people's good graces here in town.
So we all bed down for the night, and Finch reads to us a fanciful tale - the Last March of the Giants.

... picking up speed, the ball rolled through the titan nation and onward to the south.
Unable to contain his curiosity, the titan king ran off after the bouncing sphere and his devoted followers dutifully followed his tracks. The meteorite rolled on and on until it reached the Great Sea and vanished into the depths. The monarch dove into the sea, and, lemminglike, the entire titan race dove in after him, never to be seen again.
Ashamed at the destruction they had wrought, the powers vowed to keep both curiosity and loyalty firmly in check to avoid such disasters in the future. They have done so to this day, preventing both new ideas from being pursued with any speed and the intelligent races of Toril from ever fully cooperating.
That can't be true. I mean, we have new ideas all the time. What about the Temple of Gond? There's good stuff in there... I go to sleep dreaming of cities powered by golems and ever-flowing water.
The next morning, we talk to Shandalar.



Wait, my release? Where are we going?

Wow, it is cold! And Shandalar didn't say anything about teleportation. I thought this was going to be a simple fetch quest... oh hello polar bear.
I take a look around. There is no way off this rock.

There is only going in the cave at the center. Where the hell are we?
Gameplay note: Funnily enough, even the game doesn't really place where we are. The best it can do is "somewhere far north".

We have no way of knowing what is in this cave. So we cast our spells of blessing and protection and prepare to enter.

We eventually find ourselves in an intricately carved hallway of cold and resilient stone. There are wolves down here.

What do these wolves eat, I wonder?


Thanks Xan.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.
#1037
Posted 24 June 2013 - 06:35 PM





I step in to the conversation.




I pull everyone back to the room, and prepare a little ambush for the overconfident mage. Things are going well until he lands a Confusion into the party.

Great. I reach for the Holy book of Rhialto to fix this problem. It works.

Of course it works too well. Andris comes around the corner and Imoen casts another Dispel Magic at him. It strips off his mirror images, his stoneskin, his fire shield, and who knows what else. Then he casts some spell protections to make up for it.

It is not enough. Finch and Xan burst out of their hiding place and slice into him. Imoen and Kivan let arrows fly. I throw some chaos daggers. Edwin prepares defensive magics. Andris panics, and lets off a contingency. He disappears.

I put everyone back in formation and prepare to take on the next mage. Because Andris had friends. Marcellus is one of them, and comes around the corner next.

He is, unfortunately, not the mage that Andris is, and dies quickly.

We walk down the hall and into the room where Beyn, Andris' third friend, stands waiting for us.

His confusion hits 3 of us.

Xan still attacks Beyn, but Imoen starts to try to kill Finch!

No Finch, don't die!
I rush over and heal her before trying to get her out of there.

That's when Andris comes back into play. He had run away just long enough to heal.

Kivan kills Beyn at that time. Also, it looks like Edwin and Imoen are both wandering away from the fight in different directions, in their confusion. This is the best possible outcome under the circumstances, and I thank the Weave for its guidance.

I breathe a small prayer to the Weave to help us this day, and cast a random spell at Andris. He... becomes protected from magic energy!?

But then, the next spell, two djinnis come to my aid. Ok, I can deal with this. Andris casts Shadow Door in fear of their entrance.

While he is gone, I have a conversation with the djinni.





Ok, that is not what I had in mind...

Gameplay note: In the heat of battle I forgot this was an unwise wish. The entire party has Spell Failure now. Except for the other djinni!

Andris creates more confusion among my party.

Then he hits Finch with a minor sequencer of 2 magic missiles. Ouch!

Thankfully, Finch's helmet prevents confusion, and she is able to down a healing potion.

I try to take stock of the situation. Edwin is drooling in a corner. (typical)

Imoen is drooling in a far corner.

Xan is drooling in a third corner.

Better them separated and doing nothing than fighting amongst themselves.
I have Finch and a djinni beating on Andris, while myself and Kivan stand back and throw or shoot things at him.

But he won't stay still and fight. He teleports over to where Imoen is standing, and we are forced to chase him.

Then Imoen turns to fight, and Xan rushes in from the other room, and Edwin even makes an appearance. They are no longer confused!

He again goes after Finch, this time with a Flame Arrow spell. But she survives.

The spell failure curse wears off, and Imoen casts Minute Meteors. She then begins throwing them at Andris.

When we start to damage Andris, he casts Invisibility.

But that only works for a few seconds. He pops back into view.

I want this to be over, so I shout "Missile Barrage!" Edwin, Imoen, and I all let loose with magic missiles at the same time.

With Xan's help, it is enough to kill.

On his body, I find a Robe of the Abyss, a Staff of the Ancients, and some spell scrolls. They are Grease, Protection from Evil, Remove Magic, Ray of Frost, and Arc of Death. None of the spells are new.

Gameplay note: Holy crap +25% magic resistance, +5 AC, +3 spells for levels 1-5, and +1 spell for levels 6-8?! Also, never needing sleep is a nice touch.

I give Edwin the Ray of Frost scoll, which he copies into his spellbook. He also takes the Robe of the Abyss and puts it on, not even pretending to heed my objections.
Gameplay note: Putting the Robe of the Abyss drops Edwin's HPs down to 17 from 31. But he also has almost as many spell slots as I do. He gets 11 level one slots, 10 level two slots, 9 level three slots, and 8 level four slots.

The black cloak makes Edwin look decidedly sinister.

We also find Andris' Journal.

...mine fingers I must huddle around a dung-fire eating seal fat! The forces behind this place have no respect for my stature, my power! I have slain beasts thrice my size with a glance, and traveled as a bird over oceans! Here my magic is sucked to the earth and I am held, as others are. Some have escaped, and I swear I shall hunt them and take the power they must have. To do what I cannot they must be great indeed. I curse them for leaving, I curse this place, and I curse that I have not the might to follow.
Andris of Iraebor
What an angry, mean little mage.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.
#1038
Posted 24 June 2013 - 06:36 PM


Gameplay note: Including a new pip in Maces.

Gameplay note: Also, since Finch is a cleric of Deneir, she gets Invisibility and Invisibility 10' Radius as spells this level. Nifty!

We take a look at the maze before us. It seems familiar somehow. There are doubtless going to be many traps and bad guys in here. Imoen should search for them first.

She does find a trap, deep within the twisted passages.

She also finds another inmate in this magical prison.



Imoen doesn't appreciate being talked to like that, so she starts out strong with a Lightning Bolt.

Tellan is immune to magical weapons, but he falls easily enough to massive Magic Missile barrages.

He was wearing a Robe of the Evil Archmagi, the Clasp of Bron's Cloak, and a Greenstone Amulet.


We find more winter wolves, which we take out.

Their pelts will be good money in the future.
Just north of that area we find a stairway leading somewhere.

But I feel that there is a lot we are still missing in this area.

So we backtrack and see if there is anything we overlooked. We do find a trap we overlooked.

Which, by a winding way, leads to Cuchol.









Great. Why are there so many insane mages around? and we are still trying to deal with the latest winter wolf we found.

Cuchol also casts Chaos at us. It only affects Xan though. I guess I should have let him keep that Underdark Mail?

Neither Imoen nor Edwin are equipped to deal with Cuchol as he is surrounded by a Globe of Invulnerability. But Imoen can summon some monsters!

We think that the confused Xan can't be too much of a menace, so it is a surprise when he turns to Edwin and decapitates him in one blow.

Kivan, Finch, and two ogre berserkers focus on killing Cuchol, while Imoen runs from a confused Xan.

I finally come upon the scene, and use my Ettin's Wand to freeze Xan in mid-swing. Imoen ducks under his moonblade and is back in the fight.

Cuchol is well-protected against magic, but not physical blows. He becomes quite injured quite quickly.

Cuchol manages to hit Imoen with one volley of magic missiles, and then dies.

A sad end to the Scourge of Lachom and The Ravisher of Surkh. Too bad, so sad, don't let the door hit your ass on the way to the Nine Hells.
Now, we are in a peculiar situation with our dead companion here, Edwin. While we could summon the Vault Keeper and try to get him resurrected, we don't have enough gold to pay for it. We only have 555 gold, and the standard rate for resurrection is 800 at our level. And since we are cut off from civilization, we can't sell any loot to raise enough money to resurrect him. So, for now, he's going to have to stay dead.
I sure hope nobody else dies on this weaveforsaken island. We send Imoen ahead to scout the next room. She finds another person. Does every room of this maze have a complimentary crazy mage in it?



Imoen surprises me with her answer.


What, again? We shouldn't even bother with these guys. Wait a second, are those... ankheg tendrils?

What is this guy the king of ankhegs or something? Imoen strikes one with lightning. It works quite well thank you.

Garan is no slouch in magic. He breaks out the Cone of Cold right on Finch!

I think we need some more muscle. I summon an efreeti to help us.

A second Cone of Cold is equally devastating.

Garan then hits Finch with a minor sequencer magic missile combo and it really stings.

A Xan/Kivan 1/2 punch takes the cold mage out.

He has a few low-level spells and a couple of healing potions on him. Nothing special.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.
#1039
Posted 24 June 2013 - 06:36 PM

I think the efreeti is a little too over-the-top when he Fireballs the bear, but hey it works!
After that, we find that we have explored the entire maze. There is nowhere left for crazed mages to hide on this level.

So we go to the next. I want to get out of here as quickly as possible.

The stairs open up into a cave complex. It looks dangerous.

We find a lot of wolves in the caves.

A whole lot of wolves.

In fact I am starting to think that this whole cave is nothing but wolves, when we find Dezkiel.





Again, I interject.


With a burst of magical energy, Dezkiel is wrapped in protections. Imoen runs to the far wall to draw the inevitable Chaos away from the rest of the party. Then she begins to cast Improved Invisibility to hopefully ruin Dezkiel's spell.

But Dezkiel does not start out with Chaos. He starts with Cone of Cold.

Also, the bear behind Imoen attacks! She tries to retaliate and dodge at the same time. I move into position, and perform Step One: Dispelling Invisibility.

Then I perform Step Two: Unleash Hell.

The Weave asks me a complex set of questions about when to unleash my next spell.

I keep unloading on Dezkiel, and when the Vortex writhes into being I know I am victorious.

Even before the djinni can speak to me, Dezkiel is dead.

On his body is Shandalar's Cloak.

Gameplay note: Wow, no wonder Shandalar wants this back. This is one awesome cloak!
There is also Dezkiel's Scroll.

...but others too. Mystra, goddess of magic, my magical maiden, why do you treat your children so? Do you give the sparkle of magic only so it cannot be used? A lesson in humility for those on the verge of true power? Drop your robes and wands and staves, or forever be trapped with your self-importance and pride? Perhaps, but I will not shed what I have earned just to walk the skies again. I shall profit from this; I will play outside your rules. This place will bring it all to me in time, though I can't take it elsewhere. No, you can't take it with you, but you can stay with it, and hold it tight. Perhaps with outside help? Bah! None but those who have learned can find this place again, and they will not interrupt the teaching. I will not bend; I will snap and strike back in time. Humility is so... humiliating, and I will not suffer more. Power impotent is still preferable to power lost.
Of course, perhaps the walls do not listen to such musings, and my writing is pointless. No matter, for tomorrow I shall wipe this clean and write anew. My verse gets better. One must have hobbies.
One passage rings again and again in my mind. "Mystra, goddess of magic, my magical maiden, why do you treat your children so?" A fair question. Why does she treat her children so, and thus? Should I lay my life so far at her feet?
This area is empty, and nothing else lies within.

We climb back to the surface of the island, the isolated speck in a sea of white.

Before we can even get our bearings, we are ripped away and back to Ulgoth's Beard.




And with that, he teleports away.

Since it is now daytime, and we arrived in the evening, we go back to see if there are other people to talk to. We find a snooty nobleman near the dock.










Sounds like a fascinating, if horrible, place. I think I know how Durlag must feel to see his friends and loved ones falling in death over and over. But to be the hand to do it all - that I do not know. Exactly. Too much. He shouldn't have let it bother him, really. I don't.
Nope, sure don't. I don't have those feelings anymore.
All gone.
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.
#1040
Posted 24 June 2013 - 06:37 PM

















We make our goodbyes and smile our smiles and take off. As soon as we get out of his house, another man approaches us. Well, approaches Imoen. He seems to have eyes for only her.







I can't take this any more. I interject.




I never cease to be amazed at Imoen's ability to adapt to the local slang at the drop of a hat. But we are tired from our adventure far north, so we decide to turn in for the day. When we get to the Inn, I check out the store. It's amazing! The store owner buys bolts, and we can sell all the magical bolts we collected from the drow in the Nashkel Mines!
Gameplay note: This is the first store that I've found that buys magical bolts. Why? I do not know.

After selling those and a few other trinkets, we are up to 14,000 gold!

With that, I am easily able to resurrect Edwin,

and send him on his way.



I don't feel the usual pang of guilt that I remember from other partings. Nope, not there at all. But I try to put on a pained face, so that the others will not see what is not there. I don't want them to Know. Besides, there are other possibilities here in Ulgoth's Beard. I've been eyeing a couple of people in the Inn...
Playing the Big World Project Let's Play both here and on the Something Awful forums.