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Does it bother anyone else that you can't make a half-Orc blackguard but you sure can run into one a few screens into the game, at least in EE?
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Jan 13, 2015 02:30
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You can't make a fighter/thief with 20 dex and three pips in longbows You can't have a character with 20 con who regenerates, thus bypassing one of the early game's biggest issues You can't make a specialist Mage with an extra three spells per level All of those are probably far more game breaking than the glass cannon that is Dorn. (Aerie is illegal too, as is haer'dalis)
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Jan 13, 2015 02:33
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FairGame posted:You can't make a fighter/thief with 20 dex and three pips in longbows What's illegal about Aerie?
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Jan 13, 2015 02:35
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Ginette Reno posted:What's illegal about Aerie? Mage/cleric isn't elf-eligible. I don't see what advantages that gives. 2e had some really weird rules.
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Jan 13, 2015 02:44
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FairGame posted:Mage/cleric isn't elf-eligible. I don't see what advantages that gives. 2e had some really weird rules. Ah, forgot Elves can't be c/m. Well gently caress it I'm going to try this. Gonna go for core rules, no special mods except for maybe the improved TOB fights if those actually work with Bg2ee (I think last time I tried they didn't?). No idea what class yet. I love Wild Mages but that's too risky for an ironman. Might try Sorc...hmmm
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Jan 13, 2015 03:17
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While elves in general are not eligible for cleric/mage, the avariel are. Aerie is legal. Also hello BG & ironman threads regulars, I have also started a run but I won't be posting it until I reach the city.
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Jan 13, 2015 04:43
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Blinston Blighter the Blurd, Priest of Talos So Nashkel. Yet again I lead an assassin out the door and into a mob of guards. After Tarnesh I take no chances.  And it's a good thing too as she got a mass Hold off, but was safely mobbed by then. Rasaad meanwhile snarks about fighting in the streets and then plays Kung Fu Jehovah's Witness. How about no.  I make a sortie into the mines to get whatsherface's ring before Joseph's corpse despawns. Nabbed that, but then Jaheira walks into a pair of traps that Imoen didn't sniff out. Might have been a bad idea to come here with everyone at level 1-2. Mulahey is gonna eat me alive.  I do escape back to town, but we're going to have to go somewhere else first. Maybe the gnoll fortress?
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Jan 13, 2015 06:26
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Tuxedo Ted posted:Good effort Orrfieldmedic. Thanks for giving the wildest of party lineups so many shots. And for documenting the experience for our amusement. Well, I decided to go with blackguard. So meet Iron Blackguard the blackguard.  Did Edwin's quest, and went and killed Murley.  Killed the amazons, then went into the tomb with the three ghasts...  Whelp, there goes Iron Blackguard died to ghasts.
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Jan 13, 2015 06:51
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Cloakwood Mines finished without much issue. Was more concerned about the 3rd floor mage than anything else, since her lightning bolt can travel down those narrow corridors pretty quick. But Coran saw to that.  Before Davaeorn could so much as make his first Dimension Door he was badly wounded and poisoned.  Somehow he got off a lightning bolt which frightened me a little bit, but it turns out he was more of a danger to Team Bad Guys than to my party (though Minsc did get hit, I guess).  I think it's time I do Dorn's quest, so I'll have to boot my good guys out at the Friendly Arm.
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Jan 13, 2015 13:48
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Drouin finished a few more tasks (had some ankheg armor made for Shar-Teel, wandered near the coast a bit and dealt with Shoal) and whoa that's a lot of ogre types... Weird, oh well, not a real big problem... Naskel Mines were uneventful. I forgot there really isn't even any good treasure down there until you get to Mulahey, and I mixed up his encounter with Davaeorn so I was expecting something tough and instead he went down like a chump  I did forget how that encounter is setup but kobolds and a few skeletons weren't enough to really cause a problem. Neither did Nimble  No thanks to Rasaad over there trying to breakdance in Nimble's general direction and then giving me poo poo after the fight. gently caress off. I also dumped Xan right after the fight. Figured I'd at least get him out of the mines but so far my party of 5 is being choosy about their sixth member. And finally, Tranzig goes down easily after pumping him for info. Edwin is finally starting to do some damage with those magic missles but I need to find him some more variety in his spells, especially his second level spell  Next up...well, probably clearing out the countryside before heading to the bandit camp. Basilisks and Sirens are on my list of things to be concerned with but we'll give it a go.
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Jan 13, 2015 16:33
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Who was posting about using skeletons all the time earlier in the thread? What class do you need to be do that? All of these are pretty great, btw. I probably wont actually try an ironman run but reading about them is great.
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Jan 13, 2015 17:57
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Bort Bortles posted:Who was posting about using skeletons all the time earlier in the thread? What class do you need to be do that? Clerics get Animate Dead at level 5 (spell level 3). BGEE changed how it works vs. BG1 proper. You used to get like 4-6 lovely skeletons like the ones that jump you outside of High Hedge. Now you get 1-2 skeletons that get stronger as you level. I've not played BG2EE so I have no idea if you get a proper skeleton warrior at level 15, but at level 7 I think you get a 5 or 7 HD skeleton wielding a magical sword. They last forever (you'll actually need to murder them when you leave an area lest you get hosed up on the summon cap in subsequent areas), are super resistant to missiles, and immune to the debilitating effects the game likes to throw at you--namely fear and hold and poison. They're not going to do you any good in a pitched battle, but they're great for exploring.
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Jan 13, 2015 18:20
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Clerics By the way, Natsume the Kensai has made it to the city of Baldur's Gate and completed Dorn's quest. Mountaineer fucked around with this message at 19:04 on Jan 13, 2015 |
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Jan 13, 2015 18:22
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Mountaineer posted:Clerics and mages/sorcerers can cast Animate Dead as a 3rd level spell, though for mages I don't know where you can find a scroll for it in BG1. I've made great use of them in my evil run. Edwin casts Stinking Cloud at the enemy while Viconia summons skeletons to run in and murder the unconscious enemies. Skeletons are immune to saves vs. death, you see. Mages don't get it until spell level 5, where you barely get any spell slots (Edwin excluded b/c he's absurd, obviously) and you should be using them for much cooler poo poo like Chaos. Speaking of: at this point barring catastrophe vs. the Aec'Lectec I'm pretty sure I'll make it to BG2. Is there any reason at all to not have my neutral cleric of helm party up with evil dudes? Other than Mazzy, I can't think of a single good-aligned person I'd want.
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Jan 13, 2015 18:34
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Thanks for the responses. I have always made good aligned fighters for the BG series and have been considering doing an evil run with a spellcaster, so I may have to do a SKELETONS run.
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Jan 13, 2015 18:36
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Bashi Ironling quick update, no screenshots. I swapped from my home PC to my Macbook Pro and get to play some during my commute. I did the fast round of party gathering, picking up Imoen, Ajantis, Jaheira, Kivan, and Edwin. Got the bag from Neera and had her kill Khalid. Killed Dynaheir, but didn't see that I got the xp from it. Was just clearing overland getting everyone their magic weapons when Kivan whined about the Mines, so quickly knocked that out. Currently slowly clearing Ahnkegs which is taking forever as I can only carry 3 shells at a time. This is the first time in 2 years I'm playing without Dorn's 500 carry. Plan to finish the overlands except for SoA content and knock out Cloakwood. Going to ask in the general thread but figure to ask here. Is there anyway into the EE content without keeping the EE loser characters around for awhile? I *LOVE* the 'cursed' belt from Rasaad's line on a thief, but gently caress having him around long enough for it.
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Jan 13, 2015 18:37
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FairGame posted:Mages don't get it until spell level 5, where you barely get any spell slots (Edwin excluded b/c he's absurd, obviously) and you should be using them for much cooler poo poo like Chaos. Whoops, just assumed mages got it at the same level and didn't double check. If there's one good character worth using, it's Keldorn. Other than that, there's some useful ones but there are equivalent or better evil characters.
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Jan 13, 2015 19:02
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Good-aligned characters in BG2 tend to be better at filling multiple roles, while the evil-aligned ones tend to be single-classed and very focused. (see: Korgan with 5 points in axe proficiency) While filling multiple roles is generally better for screwing around and experimenting with the systems, in an ironman run where you're assumed to know exactly what's coming you generally want absolute top-tier performance all the time.
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Jan 13, 2015 19:10
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Single classes, or single roles as you call them, are great in BG1 where experience is scarce and you really need to get those level ups ASAP. But mid to late BG2 your single classes have already plateaued while your multi-classes keep getting stronger. By Throne of Bhaal, Aerie and Jaheira basically reach godhood, combining two classes into something even greater and leaving space open on the roster for even more roles to be filled for even more firepower. To compete, a single class needs to have extremely strong advantages and minor or easily circumvented penalties. So basically inquisitor, blade (which is essentially a fighter/mage) and possibly monk. You can include wizards/sorcerers as well because of just how strong high level and prestige spells are and how early they get them and how many times they can use them compared to a multiclassed mage (but not a dual classed mage). Fortunately you don't need to take the absolute best. You can skip Aerie and Jaheira. Vanilla BG2/ToB is quite beatable with pretty much any party.
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Jan 13, 2015 19:49
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It's just good old DnD 2.5 bullshit magic, but Aerie's only real crime is not being Edwin. She works perfectly fine as a mage with a couple extra spells on the side; not all clerics need to be smiting murdermachines.
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Jan 13, 2015 19:59
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Beat me to it, but yeah, Animate Skeleton is a level 3 cleric spell and invaluable. Early, relatively powerful, they blow the summon monster and animal pal spells out of the water. In BG1 at least. Delf, my elf stalker, is doing OK. Still just clearing the overworld at a leisurely pace. Been having fun with the stalker's backstab, though the reduced multiplier growth rate is starting to make it feel weak.  I saved the cow this time. Melincamp didn't make it. I dual classed Imoen at level 6 thief rather than 7 this time, I'm gonna give those level 4 mage spells a shot. I usually rely on her level 7 thief abilities to disarm her way through Durlag's and just use a scroll to cast Cloudkill on the rare occasions that I want it. Being able to open up with a Chaos spell for some of the harder fights sounds like a ton of fun, though. Grabbed Safana to be a temp thief for the Nashkel mines, but I plan on dropping her immediately afterwards. Hopefully Imoen can unlock her true mage potential before we need thiefy stuff again. Hm, I wonder who I should pick as my sixth party member? Trying to avoid Coran this time around. Maybe Yeslick, just go whole hog on the divine casters. Tuxedo Ted fucked around with this message at 20:08 on Jan 13, 2015 |
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Jan 13, 2015 20:01
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Suspicious posted:Single classes, or single roles as you call them, are great in BG1 where experience is scarce and you really need to get those level ups ASAP. But mid to late BG2 your single classes have already plateaued while your multi-classes keep getting stronger. By Throne of Bhaal, Aerie and Jaheira basically reach godhood, combining two classes into something even greater and leaving space open on the roster for even more roles to be filled for even more firepower. Yeah, single-class characters definitely get weaker by Throne of Bhaal - there's a reason why Aerie is on the overpowered NPCs list. I was speaking specifically to BG2, especially the early part of BG2, which in my opinion is the most difficult part. Unless you're doing a solo challenge, rescuing Imoen guarantees you a mage and a project image scroll, which is pretty much all you need to crack the rest of the game open like an egg.
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Jan 13, 2015 20:07
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 Its time, time to complete my planned party. Which means I'm off to the gnoll fortress. Specificly the most direct route ( not through a certain village ). Lets illustrate the most interesting events. I underestimate Zal and Vax so my party looks a little like this health wise.  Then instead of being cautious I keep exploring and forgetting Sendai's party is also on the map, so that leads to a bad engagement and the following results:  At least Imoen got a level out of the whole affair. So I trek back to Nashkel, revive the dead party members at the temple, identify the magical items. Even though I already know what they are. Then back to the action. I cleaned up Fire Leaf Forest and Dryad Falls. Then moved to the Fortress, the two idiots on the bridge that try to impose a "toll" are easily dealt with by kiting the one that tries to initiate dialogue back a little away from his partner. After that it was a quick in and out of the Fort itself. I have no desire to clear the part of the map that has respawns like that fort. After that, I did clear up the lower caverns and pick up the Cha Tome. 1 out of 8 Tomes Stopped by Thalantyrs place to identify some items and buy Dynaheir some spells. Then down south again for the Nashkel Mines. Finally. Aside from Dynaheir all my characters are now at least level 4. Killed Greywolf, decided to record this because that bastard gets buffed a little in Stratagems and has murdered me before because of it.  Clearing the rest of the outside and the first 2 levels of the mine was basically a cakewalk. I remember there being more Commando's in those parts ? Maybe I got lucky this run. In the final room of level 2 a critical hit and poison easily downed her Dynaheir. I did not feel like continuing because she needs the experience. So I walked out, dragged her body to the nearest temple and counted out the 200 gold to get her back up. I'm sure Minsc was delighted. Then as I'm leaving Nashkel again I get a random encounter, you know the one, half a dozen archer bandits surrounding the party. Who promptly 2 shot Dynaheir once I unpause. So I pay another 200 gold and finally make my way back to the mine. Oh and murder the poo poo out of Mulahey.  Now the last fight there with Mulahey is a little different in Stratagems. Mulahey summons a group of skeletons and 2 groups of goblins after his dialogue. I just happen to know exactly where. So I carefully move my part up to the north chamber of the cave, then trigger the dialogue and instantly retreat out of vision range. Take out the summoned creatures while carefully avoiding getting back in vision of Mulahey. After clearing it up, I attack Mulahey and his last goblins, casting Hold Person with Viconia for an easy kill. If he had not been Held or otherwise stunned he would have offered surrender at low health. If you accept that surrender. He summons another set of skeletons and goblins. He's evil you see. After that its time to mop up some slimes and take the back exit: 
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Jan 13, 2015 20:36
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The Further Blundering of Blinston Blighter the Blurd So it turns out the good old "Kill Khalid to keep Jaheira" trick also works in reverse. Booting him while Jaheira is dead won't inspire him to carry off her corpse. I revive her once he goes away, then pick up Edwin and head off towards the Gnoll Fortress.  Of which I apparently forget how to get there, as I stumble into killing a Dryad (I'm evil!) and then bumping into Friendly the Gnoll. Well, kind of agree with you there buddy. We'll get there eventually.  Not being able to go west like he said, I go north (it's been so long since I played this that I've forgotten a lot of things) and end up stumbling to the Xvart camp. Nothing big, but there are a lot of them.  Annnnnnnnd I forgot about Ursa the Bear too. Whoops.  He rapidly gets distracted eating Xvarts, I run away, make some distance with Jaheira's Entangle, kill the Xvarts, run back up and Command Ursa to die. Then it's all the way back to Nashkel to try this again. I'd forgotten to buy backup weapons anyway, which would have been super annoying if something broke during the Fort run. Casualties Thus Far: Montaron (Spider poison), Xzar (being terrible), Garrett (being too uppity to join me), Khalid (Not being as useful as his wife's corpse)
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Jan 13, 2015 22:25
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DeathChicken posted:Not being able to go west like he said, I go north (it's been so long since I played this that I've forgotten a lot of things) and end up stumbling to the Xvart camp. Nothing big, but there are a lot of them. You can actually go west there, there is a tiny section in the north corner of the western edge of that map that is not covered in mountains that will let you go to the gnoll stronghold.
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Jan 13, 2015 23:13
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I really need to remember to take screenshots. Gwydion ap Don the Berserker, after meeting up with Khalid and Jaheira, recovered a ring from Hobgoblins and a belt from an ogre. Suitably rewarded, they traveled to Beregost, recruiting Neera, killing Silke and making a general nuisance of themselves. Eventually the Harpers started getting testy, so the crowd went south to Nashkel, where they encountered the Rashemani berserker Minsc. Taking his quest for their own, they headed into the wilds and stormed the gnoll stronghold, only for Dynaheir to be killed by gnolls while scouting out the escape on her own. In order to assuage Minsc's grief, the party went exploring, searching the land north of the stronghold, only to encounter an ultra-civilized bandit and his hobgoblin archer cronies. Our intreped adventurers refused to pay...and the first arrow of the combat punched through both of Gwydion's ears, cleaning out any earwax and, unfortunately, killing him instantly. (In English: first arrow shot was a critical hit for 35 (!!!) damage. G was level 2.) Thus ended the run for Gwydion ap Don in the wilds of the Sword Coast. Taliesyn fucked around with this message at 02:44 on Jan 14, 2015 |
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Jan 14, 2015 00:20
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Taliesyn posted:I really need to remember to take screenshots. What the hell? Even on insane, that's an absurd amount of damage. How?
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Jan 14, 2015 02:27
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Couldn't tell you, but you're right, it was absolutely insane. The fight starts, I hear a bowshot, and my guy's been chunked (he had 22 hp and took 35). My own damned fault for forgetting to put his helm on, but that's still a ridiculous amount of damage for a single arrow from a Hobgoblin Elite. The bandit I spoke with wasn't even in melee range yet.
Taliesyn fucked around with this message at 02:48 on Jan 14, 2015 |
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Jan 14, 2015 02:43
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Were you playing on insane difficulty? An 8 damage arrow x2 for the crit x2 for insane might get there. If you weren't playing on insane I really have no idea how you took so much.
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Jan 14, 2015 03:02
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Cap has survived the iron throne battle and the return to candlekeep. After clearing the mines, I decided it was time to finish the more difficult optional encounters in the wilderness.   The basilisks, Karhk, the thay mages in spiderwoods all are wrapped up.  I finally get a max hp roll from a level. That should help!   I also do basically every quest in the city. I really want to hit my next level before fighting the party in the iron throne, so I also clear the upper floors of durlags tower. Sadly, it's not enough xp. I'll return for the lower levels before I take down Sarevok.  I buff the hell out of the party. Magic blocking, regeneration, invulnerability potions, you name it. I'm able to defeat them without anyone dying.  Candlekeep is cleared without incident. Prat's group falls to a well placed chaos. Tam ends up killing 2 of the other members of his group in the confusion. That guy hits hard.  I've collected every tome! My stats are... still kind of bad. Next time the party takes a vacation in Ulgoth's beard.
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Jan 14, 2015 03:04
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Yes, it was insane difficulty, but even 8 damage base is higher than a hobgoblin elite's shortbow and arrows should be doing. My guess was it was crit + max damage rolls + massive poison roll. It was honestly just one of those random deaths you risk when playing on insane. Now the question is what to reroll as. I was kind of geeked about the whole Fighter dual to cleric bit, planning on eventually dual-wielding Crom Faeyr and the Runehammer as kind of a holy wrecking machine, but now I don't know if I want to try that or something else. Taliesyn fucked around with this message at 03:42 on Jan 14, 2015 |
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Jan 14, 2015 03:40
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So, I discovered today that Jaheira is not restricted to Druid armors, just Druid weapons. Full plate shillelagh here we come!
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Jan 14, 2015 03:54
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Good lord I started off fighting the doomsayer with some good rolls and getting him down to near death and then it was just like bad roll after bad roll until he killed shar-teel. I'm not above rezing party members though, just annoying as poo poo
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Jan 14, 2015 03:58
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FairGame posted:You can't make a fighter/thief with 20 dex and three pips in longbows Anomen is also illegal (Wis is too low to dual-class to cleric), and I think either Minsc's Wis or Int is too low for a ranger.
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Jan 14, 2015 03:58
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Cythereal posted:Anomen is also illegal (Wis is too low to dual-class to cleric), and I think either Minsc's Wis or Int is too low for a ranger. On stat requirements you can fudge that as stats changing later, through magic or injuries or whatever.
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Jan 14, 2015 04:05
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It's been a while since I played BG let alone finished it and I have only ever finished it twice since I started playing it back in the late 90's so this is going to be interesting. To start here is my stats before re-distribution. I am not rerolling anything so what I see is what I get. And 86 is pretty fuckin’ good. Too bad I’m not much of a min-maxer even when I play DnD (Pathfinder superior) for reals so I went to a guide to find out what I need.  And here they are after re-distribution.  By the way I am playing a Dragon Disciple the new Sorcerer kit in Enhanced Edition. Considering that he is most likely going to die before he even gets to Nashkel I have given him a throw away name and portrait:  Meet An Egg Salad Sandwich, I tried to make him as egg sandwich as possible. Here are some more stats.  THUS BEGINS MY ADVENTURE! First things first: I run about Candlekeep doing the odd jobs for everyone to get some Exp and pocket cash.  One Chromatic Orb and a Nat 20  and Carbos dies Shank on the other hand takes a bit longer as we flail at each other stupidly for a while before I clonk him on the head and leave his corpse in the Priests Dorm for them to clean up. I buy a sling and some bullets cause that’s what I specialised in (feel free to chime in and tell me I picked the wrong starting weapon prof for a Sorc, I just went with ranged > melee)  Imoen joins me and I realise I loving forgot to sleep at the Inn to recover my spells for the day and thus have to rest in the wilderness. A Gibberling rocks up and is eventually put down by expending tonnes of ammo. TIME TO LOOT THE BODIES OF THE DEAD!
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Jan 14, 2015 04:06
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I thought Ulgoth's Beard had Improved Invisibility but it does not, the innkeeper does not have it. I looked quite hard because I want to bend this game over backwards. Now I'm wondering if I should agree to fetch the thing for this wizard with the really sinister voice clip. Sword Coast poo poo is all new to me.
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Jan 14, 2015 04:10
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Jenner posted:I thought Ulgoth's Beard had Improved Invisibility but it does not, the innkeeper does not have it. I looked quite hard because I want to bend this game over backwards. It's a rather interesting dungeon and you get some decent loot out of it. It's just once you start you have to finish. Think of it as your DM sending you on a quick, classic dungeon crawl. Monsters, traps and a boss fight.
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Jan 14, 2015 04:17
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Gridlocked posted:It's a rather interesting dungeon and you get some decent loot out of it. It's just once you start you have to finish. Think of it as your DM sending you on a quick, classic dungeon crawl. Monsters, traps and a boss fight. If it doesn't have rot grubs, rust monsters and loot that melts in sunlight, it's not classic enough.
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Jan 14, 2015 04:33
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Pvt.Scott posted:If it doesn't have rot grubs, rust monsters and loot that melts in sunlight, it's not classic enough. Needs at least three green slimes and some door mimics too.
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Jan 14, 2015 04:34
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