|
2 x Syv draws first blood 3 x Imoen dies by trap
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2013 23:29
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 13:55 |
|
|
fong posted:Hate to say it but I think this betting pool thing is kinda needlessly complicated and a bit dumb~ Yeah, I may have overcomplicated things, but its an optional activity and people have already participated so I'll see it through to the end of Durlags. utonium posted:Yeah, I'm having trouble following it, but also I'm not seeing the point. If party votes and voting for Tomes = the Voices in Syvishtar's head, then I don't see what them betting on someone's death could possibly be telling him. The voices in Syv's head are starting to make a game out of his companions' inevitable deaths. This is in stark contrast to the seriousness he's taken it to be so far. Cythereal posted:Yeah, I think I may have gone a bit overboard with the roll of the dead thing. I do keep track of who is killed and by what for posterity's sake, but I wasn't expecting this. I don't think the Roll of the Dead is overboard. I think its a really great part of the thread! Golden Company Death Pool This is an entirely optional activity for anyone who cares to participate. In between Party Composition Voting Sessions you can place bets on the Golden Company Death Pool using your Party Composition Votes. Everyone who visits the thread starts off with 5 votes. You can place one or more votes as bets on who will die. You can also add more qualifiers to double, triple, or quadruple your payout if you win. For instance, if you bet 2 votes that Imoen will die, you have a normal chance of winning. But if you vote that Imoen will die next to a trap, you have a chance of getting 3 times your normal cut of the winnings, if that happens. That's THREE HUNDRED PERCENT more votes! All winnings will be truncated to the nearest whole number, and the fractions will go into the Pity Pool. Periodically the poor losers who foolishly gambled away all their votes will be awarded additional votes from the Pity Pool, because I don't want to completely cut people off from participating in the thread. So step right up fellas, and place your bets on the death of our loved ones and faithful companions! code:code:Vorgen fucked around with this message at 09:32 on Jul 17, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2013 00:46
|
|
|
 12 Eleint, 1370 Well, so far, except for the succubus, this place has been a disappointment. I was expecting madness, danger, and death, and so far I've only gotten mild titillation. Where are the mountains of treasure? Where is Durlag's insanity on full display? We'll just climb back down the tower I guess and...  Oh, hey, a stairway leading down. Probably into a basement. We should check it out.  We see a couple of other figures down here. The ghast needs to die.  Rushing into the room with the ghasts sets off a cloud-based trap. I hope nobody chokes on it!  Xavia does get overcome briefly, but we still kill all the ghasts. Funnily enough, that Staff of Striking only had 1 charge, and disintegrates in Imoen's hand. Huh. Crazy. I give her back the Elemental Staff of Fire. We look around and find a couple of gems, some gold, and a magical mace. Turns out to be the Mace +3 Defiler.  Finch won't use it, so in the bag it goes. Then Imoen goes and talks to the stranger standing to the south.   Who might you be? I did not expect to see others here. You should expect to see many more things that you did not expect. Heheh... oww... don't make me laugh. I've a dart in me gullet doing some nasty things. My name is Bayard, and me friends and I came here just as you did. It looks a rewarding place, but I have decided it is beyond my ability. We will fare better, I am sure. I have a keen eye for traps and the like, and we've fought many a dastardly creature in the past. If you live long enough to fight the creatures that call this place home count yourself lucky. The very walls within will conspire to keep you at bay. Mere traps test only your dexterity, but this place is more than a simple doorknocker. Durlag was a sick, sick man, and I tell you that he meant to kill those that entered, not just hinder. Sure there be traps, triggered by wire or step or sound, but there are TESTS as well, tests he made to find friend or foe. You will need more than your agile fingers to escape what comes. Some traps give no second chance. Attention must be paid, or death will easily take you. You seem quite certain this place is dangerous. What makes you so sure, and why have you abandoned your friends to it? I have not abandoned my friends. Young they may be, but they are old enough to make up their own minds. I will not baby-sit anyone who can take up the sword to defend themselves. I say the risk, and if they wish to continue it is their own fate they decide. Me, I be thinking that it is better to live. This place is death. It is in the air, and it gets in your clothes. My friends, they say, 'by the gods, what is that stench?' And I tell them; it's the stink of death, citizens. So the Tower is well trapped and has monsters running about in it. Sounds like every other dungeon I've been in. I have seen nothing to make me think otherwise. You have even less reason to believe it is NOT as dangerous as I say. There is a reason that no one has breached this place to any significant degree in over three hundred years. You have heard the history or you would not be here. Durlag was a disturbed man; his spirit was broken by the deaths of those around. This place reflects what happened to him and he seems to demand you understand him before you are allowed passage. This place is not a ruin, it is not open to the ages; this place was designed to keep people out... or kill them. Even the simplest of doors seems locked with ward stones. If you enter here you had best be prepared to succeed or die. Ahh, you have inspired a lecture from me, but your life is yours to do with what you will. I must go. Good luck to you, I do wish you well.And with that, he leaves.  So this place smells of death and was created by a man driven mad by the death of his closest companions. No wonder I feel at home here. ... I hope I didn't say that out loud. To the north we see a secret door, and also a curving hallway.  The hallways is also filled with ghasts.  I idly comment to Finch that there seem to be a lot of ghasts around. She replies by saying that anyone killed by a ghoul or ghast rises the next night as one of them. I get chills down my spine. What additional hundreds of horror stories have transpired here to create so many ghasts? At the end of the hallway, Imoen finds some trapped, sunken chests.  Only one of them turns out to be real. It has some good loot!  The boots are Nirel's Boots of Protection.  Wait... first Nirel's mace, then Nirel's boots? I bet we know where Nirel died (hehehehe)! No one here can stand to look at the boots, so we put them away as well. Then, this first basement level cleaned out, we head through the secret door and deeper into the fortress.  The room we find ourselves in is quite beautiful, if stark.  There's a raised platform with a table on it, some other tables, a hallway to the left, a hallway to the right, and a lowered area ahead.  Bayard's warnings make me very cautious. I decide to explore the left hallway first. Well, let Imoen explore it I mean. She doesn't get halfway down the hallway when she hears a moan, some groans, and the brush of cloth on stone. She sees a freakin Mummy!  The mummy does something to her and she is frozen in her tracks.  But we rush the undead beastie and knock it to pieces before it can hurt her.  Gameplay note: The mummy stunned Imoen and gave her Hopelessness. Nasty.  We think about exploring the room while waiting for Imoen to get herself back together, when she shouts out "NO!" The whole place is trapped.  We find some potions and gems, but the magical sword is another copy of that katana from Werewolf Island - El Tel'lerian. Weird. I thought it was unique. Beyond this room is a forge area, also a little bit trapped.  The notable thing in here is a Heavy Crossbow of Accuracy +1.  Jaheira would love it. We send Imoen out ahead again to scout. She finds another mummy, this time as shocking as the previous.  Again, though, everyone manages to beat it down without a death.  This time we know better than to proceed without Imoen. When she gets back in the game, she finds a trap and also points out two hidden doors.  In the trapped nightstand are only a couple of potions. She opens the first secret door. Behind it are a few unfortunate corpses, a trap, and another secret door.  Looks like some guys got caught in here and starved to death. My Weave. Horrible way to go! Imoen opens the second secret door, and finds that it opens out into the central area. She steps through and sees a dwarf-like figure in the center of the room.  She motions us to follow, and we cautiously enter the central area. There are what look like four dwarven warders surrounding what may be a well? A mine? And... oh gods above, beyond them is a pile of corpses!  I tell Imoen to get back behind the warriors. Then I approach the closest Warder.   Yet I hunger... Feed me that which glitters beyond all else.The warrior becomes a slave to glittering things. I look at the members of the Golden Company.  Are we already ensnared? After thinking a moment, I know the answer. None of them could drop all that they have and walk away. We depend on those things to survive. We are indeed caught already, enslaved. I don't know what to make of that. So I just speak to the second Warder, the shining one. The one that looks like me.   Yet I lack the proper honor... Raise me up in glory. Through the chronicles of my deeds, pride shall be honored. Through the passing of knowledge my sword shall display its glory. Then you shall know that I am well pleased.What does that even mean? Do I need to find a shiny sword? I'll have to think on this more. I skirt around the pile of corpses, and speak to the third Warder. The red one.   Yet I thirst for more... Give me the sweet crimson drink of laughter and passion.The words strike a chord in my soul. It is as if I wanted to articulate those words, and yet could not form them. Trust and respect slows a blade, steals away bloodlust. Trust and respect offers softer emotions. Trust and respect leaves you vulnerable (weak!). Yes. Yes it does. There is only one more Warder. I look to him last.   Yet I sleep... Awaken Me.I stare in shock and horror at the Warder. It just spoke of the darkness of my soul. It Knows my trembling and weeping. It Knows I am powerless in my own defense. And it says "Yet I sleep... Awaken Me." Those words do not fall on my ears, they go through them. They do not enter my mind, they pass through it. They go somewhere deep, deep deep down into I know not what. Yet I sleep - Awaken Me. I do not know how long I stand there. I only stir again when Finch pipes up with one of her sayings.  Shhhhh, let us use our quiet voices here.Yes, my quiet voice. (Yet I sleep - Awaken Me) I will use it. Imoen casually suggests that we go back to the rooms we were in and look for the thing that glitters above all others. My lip curls into a sneer momentarily (of course a slave would say that), but I take a deep breath and smooth my face. That's Imoen. I won't think badly of her. I smile, agree, and we go back. We open up the second secret door and head down a long tunnel.  There are more corpses here (death is all around). It seems fitting.  We walk down the hallway in standard formation. But Mulgore trips a trap! In an instant, Xan is dead.  I don't... I didn't... I should have (the weak always perish) been more careful! I summon the Vault Sentry to bring Xan back.  It costs 800 gold, as usual. We are left with 666.  As soon as we finish this level of the fortress, I'm giving him a break (He's too weak to help anyway). He deserves it. After that grisly interruption, Imoen opens the secret door at the end of the hall.  Another mummy prompts another rush from the melee crew.  They take him out again, no problem.  Behind us I see an ominous statue.  Imoen goes to investigate.  She finds a Throwing Axe +2!  Gameplay note: This axe can be used both for melee and for ranged attacks. Pretty awesome! One of our dwarves is going to love it. Imoen explores further south and comes into a circular room. It looks like a reading room. She approaches the first open book, and reads aloud from it.  Thousands? Really? I'm not so sure about that... Imoen continues reading from the second book.  So he slew a dragon, eh? Well, so have I! Probably a young, newborn dragon like the one I did.  Where's the Great Rift anyways? And killing a demon? Psh. I've killed demons in my day (and summoned them too oh yes). They aren't so hot. This Aec'Letec is probably just some jumped-up lemure. Imoen reads the fourth and final book.  Now this I can understand. Dwarves killing trolls is just about as normal as the tide coming in and going out. As Imoen reads out the final book, though...  She goes across the hall to investigate.  We all go into the room and take a look at Durlag's Pride.  Is this enough to satisfy the Warder? We'll have to go back and see. Imoen finds another secret door.  There are a disturbing number of dead bodies in this room, and a loose mustard jelly.  We kill the first, and go after the second.  The fight eventually leads into another room, where a skeleton warrior sneaks up on us!  The melee team takes him out, though.  Imoen disarms the trapped wardrobe in this room.  But there is nothing in it, or the other wardrobe, but broken weapons, potions, and ammo.  Imoen goes ahead to scout once again, and she thinks she figured out why there are so many dead here.  An insanely large number of traps in the main hallway could do it, yep! (they deserved death) Imoen disables all the traps she sees, but then stays still and surveys the area further. She finds EVEN MORE.  Then, when we all get back into the central room, I speak once again to the glowing warder.  And the warder disappears. So, Pride. It was Durlag's curse? Something to think of (our curse too). Imoen checks out the central mineshaft, or whatever it is. She tries to figure out how it works, but she can't.  I think I need to take Xan back to the Elfsong Tavern before I get him killed twice. Let's take this opportunity to go.     The whole vibe of Durlag's Tower has gotten to me. I am not in any sort of mood.  Xan! Not now, please. *He immediately withdraws.*  When we get to the city I look around in wonder at all the cityfolk. They're so... normal. They walk around in their lives and do not know or care what lies in the depths of dungeons not two days' journey from here.  How can they be so content, so happy, so... unconcerned, when death and evil are everywhere?  After saying goodbye to Xan, I take a look around the Elfsong. If we're going to survive this descent into madness, I think we're going to need more healing. We're going to need Branwen!  That is a fine idea. We simply could not do without your fighting spirit. A triumphant day, indeed! I welcome your company once again!
Vorgen fucked around with this message at 16:40 on Nov 30, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2013 09:33
|
|
|
Oh dear. Down a Xan, up a Branwen. Does she even have as much HP as Xan? I can't remember what her level was when we last used her.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2013 09:44
|
|
|
So it looks like we already have some winners! First, we have AJ_Impy, who bet 2 votes on Xan dying. He is a winner in the 1-factor pool and could potentially win 22 votes at the end of Durlag's Tower! The second is Maugrim, who is a winner in the 2-factor pool by betting Xan dies first. He could potentially win 33 votes at the end of Durlag's Tower! Unfortunately we also already have some losers. Quarter Past Ten has lost 2 votes for betting that Xan was going to be killed by an enemy. He was killed by a trap. The Iron Rose loses 4 votes for betting on Syvishtar being the first to kill someone. And Tithin Melias loses 4 votes for betting Imoen being the first to die. So here's how things stand now: code:
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2013 09:50
|
|
|
Geez, how close was Xan to that last stupid level before his class starts working? The dude with 30 hp and -14 ac doesn't mean much when traps tend to auto-hit, anyway. A predictable end from running the party down a corridor in a dungeon.
|
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2013 11:42
|
|
|
Always bet on the squishy ones dying.  Pity we won't see him get to the spellcasting ranks just yet. Still, Durlag's is no place for the easily killed.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2013 12:22
|
|
|
Oh dear. Both to my failure, and to the new voices going through Syvs head.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2013 15:29
|
|
|
5 votes for Imoen dying. Good luck!
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 01:58
|
|
|
I just wanted to take a moment to say how much I love this thread. <-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------> Much. Thank you, Vorgen 
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2013 12:21
|
|
|
Well... just read this all these last couple of days, and it prompted me to register here . VERY, very fun so far, though i must admit that the last few dozens updates have been largely lacking in a lot of the earlier tone that made this so fun at first. The character went from 'Chaotic neutral' to "Insane whiny", and i got to agree with Jaheira: Xan should have been eradicated by a stray missile way back in the Nashkel mines, because has infected Siv with Hopelessness. Now, I LOVE the way Siv follow the will of the weave (though i am very sad he has kinda stopped there) both in gameplay and in inner thoughts. I must say, i was pretty sad during the very long middle levels where you suddenly stopped using the level 1 wild surge spell (i spent all of cloackwood looking at that spell not being used and so so sad), so you going back to using it again was a welcome addition. I was VERY amused at how Siv went back to being a male. Also, i got to say, a lot of the non-recent Siv inner thoughts were hilarious as all hell. I spent hours giggling while reading this. As i have never previously finished the game, stuff like that mage being backstabbed by the thief in Baldur's gate is a excellent example of recent awesome inner thoughts, too Gameplay wise, i love how you have been cycling through the characters (though i am in despair whenver Imoen gets shuffled off), though i think that you should STILL have reloaded when you got 1s during level ups- have something like 4 1s to Xan is pretty much why he is a unplayable character, sadly. I was also a bit sad whenever Siv got 1s equivalent (with with her const so high). When your character will die from a single magic missile spell, well... his AC doesn't matter. A few things that have me wincing while you are playing: *You never use either the good luck spell or the level 7 shield chaos spell- with both of them on, you have something like a 90% chance that the right spell will be cast for level 9 spells iirc, so i can get why you -don't- use it, but it has made me grit my teeth (is it on purpose or not?). *Never using protections against chaos. Seriously, by now your clerics should be full of those. Likewise, did you try death ward spells against the banshee? *Can non-MC get familiars with all those mods? you have scribe spell now, so all your other mages could potentially get non-negligible +12 or so to HP (that could actually make Xan viable again). *Likewise, can non-wild mage learn some of those spells from THE HOLY RHIALTO (lol i love that guy)? i think it should be worth trying. Same with the Dweomer/chaos shield. *Your armor/weapon selection. Maybe it's on purpose, but sometimes stuff like giving the half-orc four halberds and no bows???? is a bit disconcerting. Of course, you probably wanted him to be utterly unable to not be in melee, but i would have appreciated a 'gameplay note'. *Speaking of 'gameplay note', sometimes i am actually unsure what you have tried or not: for example, i never saw you try to steal the talismans from that girl and that beggar (i missed it?). I whine, i whine, but only because i spent the last 3/4 days thinking only about this. I really loved it, and i LOVE how you are using the Big world project in a way that make gameplay (or at least watching it) so much fun. Speaking of, i do hope you manage to straighten out the bugs!
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2013 12:51
|
|
|
Since the lurkers are coming out of the woodwork, I might as well chime in. I've been following this LP since pretty much the beginning, but only recently registered. Obviously I enjoy it very much to have stuck with it for the 22 months it's been going (Holy poo poo, almost two years! And it synchronizes pretty well with the in-game time as well). I feel you've done a very good job fleshing out Syvishtar/a's character. I was wary after the first few posts that they might get too far into the zany territory, but fortunately you abandoned that gimmick early on. The ironman style also turned out very well, especially with the fleshed out battle commentary and all. Screenshot LP's rarely get exciting for obvious reasons, but here, things can get pretty intense seeing someone's health depleting from picture to picture. Aside from Vorgen's narration, one aspect that surprised me is the quality of the mod content. There are  mod characters and overuse of That One Cave Map, but on the whole the new side-quests seem pretty well done. The new dialogue seems pretty high-quality too, for most of it I really can't tell the difference between Bioware-written text and new content. (This applies only for the banter stuff, though. The romance mods can go straight to hell.) Pity the conversations seem rarer lately. I guess it's harder to write stuff for the later part of the game, when there are so many possible character combinations.BTW. I do agree with Arkeus that you seem to be pushing Syv too far off the deep end lately. Is this a part of a Master Plan, or did it just end up that way?
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 00:08
|
|
|
Pizdec posted:Pity the conversations seem rarer lately. I guess it's harder to write stuff for the later part of the game, when there are so many possible character combinations. Speaking as someone who's written a BG1 Tutu/Trilogy NPC mod (no, it's not in this LP - finished after this LP started), what you're [not] seeing is a combination of three things. One: not all NPC mods come from the same source. The BG1 NPC Project NPCs all banter with each other, and I believe that Gavin, Finch, and two BG1 NPC mods not in this LP all have banters with the Bioware bunch with the BG1 NPC Project in mind. Others, like Mulgore & Xavia, and the DSotSC cast, come from completely different mods and have few to no interactions with the Bioware bunch. There is also no BG1 Crossmod Banter Pack at present, as Finch's author has disappeared, leaving just Gavin and the two ladies not in the LP as good, modern NPC mods. Two, this LP has gone on for a long time and has seen a wide range of party combinations. There's only so much content in a given mod, and this LP has run through most of the mods' content bar stuff that Vorgen didn't/couldn't do. Three, in the BG1 NPC Project, NPC interjections and plot-related commentary drops off sharply around the time you hit Baldur's Gate. They simply ran out of time/effort, but bear in mind point two. We're almost at the end of the game.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 02:09
|
|
|
Shei-kun posted:Oh dear. Down a Xan, up a Branwen. She's still level 5, and she has 31 hit points. Don't worry, everybody has more hit points than Xan, even Squirrel. Ramc posted:Geez, how close was Xan to that last stupid level before his class starts working? He was about 30K xp from leveling. I'm frustrated with that too. Especially since last time I played the Big World Project I made him a Bladesinger and he was casting spells before we even got to Baldur's Gate. Ghostwoods posted:I just wanted to take a moment to say how much I love this thread. You're welcome man! It is always good to get nice feedback. Arkeus posted:The character went from 'Chaotic neutral' to "Insane whiny", and i got to agree with Jaheira: Xan should have been eradicated by a stray missile way back in the Nashkel mines, because has infected Siv with Hopelessness. Pizdec posted:BTW. I do agree with Arkeus that you seem to be pushing Syv too far off the deep end lately. Is this a part of a Master Plan, or did it just end up that way? Yeah... the tone has changed a lot since the beginning. And I am doing it somewhat on purpose, even though it is not exactly something that I had in mind straightaway. I pretty much got the idea from just how many people were dying around Syvishtar. I am pushing the story on purpose to go the insane mage route, both because it makes sense and also because there are so very many insane mages in the Forgotten Realms that it seems almost inevitable that it would happen to Syvishtar too. But I also have a plan to get him back to sanity. I do NOT plan to have him be "insane whiny" for the rest of the game. Based on all the other little subplots that you see with mages in this game, they all seem to go through a period of being mad with power (or because of it), and if they manage to survive that period then they become a more mature archmage after doing their best to make things right. If they don't, then they usually get killed by a protagonist. If you want more details, I plan to have him break into peak insanity when he finds out he is a Child of Bhaal, and get back to sanity after being tortured for months by Irenicus. And I am trying to play the game so that those two events are as close together as possible.. Arkeus posted:*You never use either the good luck spell or the level 7 shield chaos spell- with both of them on, you have something like a 90% chance that the right spell will be cast for level 9 spells iirc, so i can get why you -don't- use it, but it has made me grit my teeth (is it on purpose or not?). Well, it is sort of on purpose. Chaos Shield is a level 2 spell, and Improved Chaos Shield is level 7. I think I do have the level 2 version memorized, I just don't often use it. And I can't cast level 7 spells yet reliably, so I don't try for Improved Chaos Shield very much. The good luck spell, Paithan's Lucky Streak, is a level 5 spell. And I have all of my level 5 slots filled with Random Spell III that produces a random level 6th or 7th level spell. I'm just embracing the randomness. Also, these days in the game my own character can pretty much blow every encounter away if he opens up, but he'll probably blow his companions away too, so I sit on his powers and try to let the rest of the party get a workout. It is the first step on the road to mature magery, and a glimmer of hope that Syvishtar will make it past mage puberty. He will eventually have a handle on this whole wild magic thing, especially when he gets the Staff of the Wild Mage and the Robe of the Wild Mage. Arkeus posted:*Never using protections against chaos. Seriously, by now your clerics should be full of those. Likewise, did you try death ward spells against the banshee? Chaotic Commands is what we need to protect against Chaos and Confusion, and none of our clerics are high enough level to cast it. It is a level 5 spell (the same level as Raise Dead) and we've never had a cleric get that high. Jet'laya is the closest, but nobody likes her. They prefer to run with level 5 clerics like Branwen, heh  .Death Ward is the key to defeating banshees and also those crazy witches on the second floor of the Jovial Juggler, but only Finch, Jet'laya, Quayle, and Yeslick can cast it, because it is a fourth level spell. We'd also need one spell for each member of the party, but Finch can only cast 1 fourth level spell, Yeslick can only cast 2, and Jet'laya and Quayle can only cast 3. We would literally need both Jet'laya and Quayle in the party and the only thing they could memorize for their highest level spell slot would be Death Ward before taking on a banshee and/or those witches legitimately. Arkeus posted:*Can non-MC get familiars with all those mods? you have scribe spell now, so all your other mages could potentially get non-negligible +12 or so to HP (that could actually make Xan viable again). No, sadly enough. I've looked into familiar mods but familiars are hard-coded something fierce and only work on the protagonist. Maybe in BGEE? Arkeus posted:*Likewise, can non-wild mage learn some of those spells from THE HOLY RHIALTO (lol i love that guy)? i think it should be worth trying. Same with the Dweomer/chaos shield. Nope. Those spells just don't show up on the Scribe Scroll list. And I think it makes sense, since these spells are supposed to be of the Wild Magic school, which no traditional mage studies. Arkeus posted:*Your armor/weapon selection. Maybe it's on purpose, but sometimes stuff like giving the half-orc four halberds and no bows???? is a bit disconcerting. Of course, you probably wanted him to be utterly unable to not be in melee, but i would have appreciated a 'gameplay note'. Well, he's a barbarian with over 100 hit points wearing boots of speed and with 15 Oils of Speed on his belt. I couldn't imagine a situation in which he would not be in melee, heh. But yeah, putting that in a gameplay note would make sense. Arkeus posted:*Speaking of 'gameplay note', sometimes i am actually unsure what you have tried or not: for example, i never saw you try to steal the talismans from that girl and that beggar (i missed it?). Everything that I do I write down in the thread, except for the parts where I die. And those usually show up in those alternate reality updates sooner or later. I don't often try to pickpocket things because honestly I just forget about pickpocketing a lot. Also Imoen's no good with it. Alora is pretty good but not great. I just don't think thiefy very much. I guess I'm just a mage by habit. Pizdec posted:The new dialogue seems pretty high-quality too, for most of it I really can't tell the difference between Bioware-written text and new content. (This applies only for the banter stuff, though. The romance mods can go straight to hell.) Pity the conversations seem rarer lately. Rarer conversations is also a product of the way the conversation timer works and how long it takes me to play an update. You might remember way back in the day when Branwen fell in love with Syv - the entire romance took place before we even finished the Restenford mod. This is because I take a few hours to play each update, and conversation timers are tied to a real-time timer. I guess this is designed to give the player a steady and not overwhelming diet of conversations. But since I play the game and make the update at the same time, leaving the game paused a lot while I'm typing up some inner monologue or cropping a photo or whatever, from the view of the thread the conversations seem to trigger more often. At this point in the game, when we're almost done, we're just simply out of dialogue. We've seen it all. Characters will probably make comments at plot-specific points from now on, but there probably won't be much more banter unless we do unusual character combinations, like picking up Quayle and having him in the party all the time.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 02:55
|
|
|
Vorgen posted:[Branwen]'s still level 5, and she has 31 hit points. Don't worry, everybody has more hit points than Xan, even Squirrel.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 03:20
|
|
|
Shei-kun posted:That... that's actually rather sad. No wonder he's so depressing. Xan has something like 20HP at level 7 or so- i think he got '1hp" for 3/4 levels. Each time it happened i winced something fierce. The poor guy just had rotten, rotten luck. Seriously, just use Indra :V
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 03:42
|
|
|
Arkeus posted:Xan has something like 20HP at level 7 or so- i think he got '1hp" for 3/4 levels. Each time it happened i winced something fierce. The poor guy just had rotten, rotten luck. It's actually rather fitting, his constant preoccupation with death is very well founded as he could be killed by a stiff breeze (relative to the mod's content).
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 03:46
|
|
|
Thaddius the Large posted:It's actually rather fitting, his constant preoccupation with death is very well founded as he could be killed by a stiff breeze (relative to the mod's content). Not sure of his HP, but i -think- he can be killed by a single magic missile spell. When that's the case, no amount of AC can save you.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 03:53
|
|
|
Vorgen posted:At this point in the game, when we're almost done, we're just simply out of dialogue. We've seen it all.  It's a pity, because the updates felt livelier with those interactions and how Vorgen wrote them into Syv's narrative. Now it's more of a one-man show. I was even going to suggest voting on getting rid of mod characters like Mur'neth and Bub like we did with Eldoth to let the better developed characters breathe, but from what you and Cythereal wrote, it wouldn't make much of a difference anyway.Also, I kinda regret reading the spoiler, because it made me look forward to something we'll probably have to wait another year for. Vorgen posted:everybody has more hit points than Xan, even Squirrel.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 04:02
|
|
|
Just an idea but might be worth doing a new thread for Baldur's gate 2 when that time rolls around.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 08:00
|
|
|
Hundreds Dead, But We Have A Squirrel: Let's Play the Big World Project for Baldur's Gate II and Throne of Bhaal
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 09:28
|
|
|
Tithin Melias posted:Just an idea but might be worth doing a new thread for Baldur's gate 2 when that time rolls around. You could reserve the whole first page for the massive information dumps.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 09:41
|
|
|
Eh, I don't want to start a new thread. I want to some day be able to read the entire thing right here, from beginning to glorious end. I could go for a thread title change tho. How do you do that?
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 11:14
|
|
|
Vorgen posted:Eh, I don't want to start a new thread. I want to some day be able to read the entire thing right here, from beginning to glorious end. I could go for a thread title change tho. How do you do that? Just a matter of PMing/emailing a mod with the title you want a link to the thread if I remember correctly.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 12:44
|
|
|
So i tried to install the Big World Project. And Oh God so many error messages. It ended up in an unholy thing where the icons for the menus are all the same and something like two dozen mods derped on me, including the widescreen mod. That was pretty impressive.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 20:53
|
|
|
Arkeus posted:So i tried to install the Big World Project. And Oh God so many error messages. This is why you don't use BWP unless you know exactly what you are doing. For 90+% of players, it's not what they want or need.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 21:17
|
|
|
Cythereal posted:This is why you don't use BWP unless you know exactly what you are doing. For 90+% of players, it's not what they want or need. Heh, i am just going to try again- i like tinkering with stuff. I am pretty sure of what i did wrong, though i'll see. It's just that given it takes like 8hrs to install, it's a bit of a pain to do it again.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 21:20
|
|
|
Cythereal posted:This is why you don't use BWP unless you know exactly what you are doing. For 90+% of players, it's not what they want or need. I know what I'm doing and it still took me about five tries to get it to work. It's very finicky.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 23:38
|
|
|
Cythereal posted:Speaking as someone who's written a BG1 Tutu/Trilogy NPC mod (no, it's not in this LP - finished after this LP started), Hey dude, what's your mod called?
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2013 06:37
|
|
|
Vorgen posted:Hey dude, what's your mod called? Sent you an answer through other means. Goons being goons, I'd rather not out myself publicly.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2013 14:20
|
|
|
Cythereal posted:Sent you an answer through other means. Goons being goons, I'd rather not out myself publicly. Don't be so tempestuous, Cythereal, your name isn't difficult to suss out 
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2013 15:08
|
|
|
Tithin Melias posted:Don't be so tempestuous, Cythereal, your name isn't difficult to suss out Fine. I wrote the Valerie mod for BG1 Tutu/Trilogy and am working on her BG2 component. I also wrote the Darian mod for BG2 and ToB, which I believe is included in the Big World Project and we will therefore see in the BG2 part of this LP. I also know that there's at least one other modder on Something Awful, though I don't recall seeing her post in this thread.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2013 15:13
|
|
|
Cythereal posted:Fine. I wrote the Valerie mod for BG1 Tutu/Trilogy and am working on her BG2 component. I also wrote the Darian mod for BG2 and ToB, which I believe is included in the Big World Project and we will therefore see in the BG2 part of this LP. I also know that there's at least one other modder on Something Awful, though I don't recall seeing her post in this thread. Sorry dude, I was only poking fun at you, nothing serious. I crashed at a BG2EE employees place for PAX and he mentioned your name was all. (he also mentioned some details on bg2ee that I am absolutely sworn to secrecy on, but I can tell you this much, when you hear about it, you will crack a rib laughing)
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2013 00:04
|
|
|
Tithin Melias posted:Sorry dude, I was only poking fun at you, nothing serious. I'm pretty sure I know who you're talking about. As it is, I try to keep my accounts on different sites separate if possible. But now that the cat is out of the bag and I'm outed as a fully fledged modder, I can field questions people have, about modding and about the modding community in general. I haven't been around forever and am not privy to some details, and I will protect folks' privacy when possible.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2013 00:52
|
|
|
Oh man! I titled my next update Goeth Before Destruction, and then the Warder of Pride kills me. I can't post it because, well, I died, but its just so perfect!
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2013 02:48
|
|
|
 17 Eleint, 1370 Branwen ends up using most of Xan's discarded gear.  The notable exception is that she chooses to wield the Ice Hammer +2, a cold-enchanted weapon that we have not previously seen on the battlefield. She is looking forward to seeing how it works. I kindof am as well (smash the bodies, crush the bones!).  She is unfazed when we take her down into the depths of Durlag's Tower.  I am proud to stand among such strong warriors!I have to admit, it makes me feel better to have Branwen with me in this place. She is absolutely fearless, and we shared something special once. Her emotions affect me as well. Plus, of course, she's a cleric. You can't go wrong there!  Ha! (yes, slay them all, slay them all and again) This time we decide to take the left hallway. Imoen of course leads.  We wait eagerly for loot news from Imoen, but there is only junk. So we move on.  What kind of a nightmare would this place be without a thief? I shudder at the thought. Imoen shouts "Aha!" as she loots one of the bookshelves. She finds a couple of low-level spell scrolls, some books we've already read, and a magic book! I recognize it as a Manual of Gainful Exercise. Sweet!  Better pack that away for later. Imoen explores further down a side hallway and spies another enemy.  One becomes three, and three become ten!  We rush past her as she runs screaming down the hallway, horror in her eyes.  The attacks of the greater doppleganger seem to infect the victim with confusion. It hits Imoen and Branwen too.  I take him out with a Blade Shower.  We kill the remaining dopplegangers and go wait in the small library for Branwen to become unconfused. Imoen decides to pass the time with Finch.  I could have remained there the rest of my days, had I the luxury. No life with responsibilities is so simple, I am afraid. Responsibilities, nuthin'. You were lucky to scram when you did, else you may not have run into Syvishtar and me again. If I'd missed out on this adventure, I know I'd have been a sad sack! But isn't there anything about Candlekeep you miss? You grew up there! Like you're achin' to skip back to Waterdeep, huh? When you put it like that... Nah, I don't miss makin' beds at Winthrop's. There were laughs enough while I was there, but I'm not missin' out. I've got Syvishtar to remind me o the musty old place, kinda like you've got your books!Did she just compare me to a book? Or a set of books? What am I, an encyclopedia? When Branwen gets back to normal, we loot the far room. We find another Suryrus's Blade (I think that's 3 now), some more books we've already read, some merely excellent weapons, a Heavy Crossbow +1, and a mallet head. Huh.  I keep it, just in case. I was expecting a long expanse of hallways and interconnected corridors on this side of the level like before, but there's just this room. So we go back to the central area and Imoen finds another secret door.  Another secret door lies behind it.  Imoen looks around for traps, finds nothing, and goes forward to get struck by a column of fire!  The trap of holy fire must be guarding something important, something so special that only the divine magic of a god is worthy of making sure nobody... a winepress?  An old winepress. Any chance of being able to make this thing work again? I could use a drink. We start looking around, cautiously, for something to make that happen.  From out of the darkness we hear the pained groan of a flesh golem!  I tell the party to stay here, and let the golem come to us. It does, and we kill it no problem.  But when Imoen goes to check the room ahead, she finds that it had friends.  She manages to entangle the skeleton warrior with her bow.  And with the help of Mulgore, she takes it out.  I look around. What is this, some kind of... bed... pole... room?  Gameplay note: It is actually a gym with a boxing ring. There's barbells, some rings, an archery target with a crossbow... this room is pretty cool. We find another mummy around the corner. We take it out without incident.  I wonder how mummies got in here? Another flesh golem further down the passage falls to our onslaught.  In the next room, Imoen disables the traps and finds some potions and spell scrolls. One is Feeblemind, which I have not actually heard of before.  Gameplay note: Duration permanent. Do you want to negate a mage? Use this! Imoen has some trouble with the nightstand next to the bed. She just can't get it open.  So she moves to what she thinks is a safer location - the closet. It also proves to be trapped, though.  What kind of psychopath would trap a closet? (Good idea.) Behind the traps is a spell scroll that I can't use - Mental Domination.  Gameplay note: So in gameplay terms, absolutely no difference between this spell and Domination. I again get the feeling of wrongness. Why is there magical power in the universe that I can't utilize? I hand it over to Branwen reluctantly. Imoen also finds a new book for Finch, the History of Dambrath! And she finds some grapes.  Wait, let me guess. Magical glowing grapes go in the winepress, right? And I wonder if the power for the winepress is behind that door we passed earlier?  But as soon as we step in the door, we see TWO MUMMIES!  Mulgore chunks one mummy, as the other tears into Branwen.  But she just laughs in glee and keeps fighting until it falls. She seems more confident than ever!    Then I take a look around the room. This place looks like it is some sort of steam engine. I read about them before in Candlekeep.  But I don't know how to turn this one on. There doesn't seem to be a switch or anything... so for now, we press on.  And on.  And OH MY WEAVE PILES OF TREASURE UP TO OUR WAISTS!  There are jewels and gems, 2,000 gold, and an odd-looking key!  In the other pile there is another Shield of the Falling Stars +1!  Gameplay note: Of all the magical items to get two of, this one is incredibly useful. A tower shield that protects not only its wielder, but people within 10 feet, plus gives a hit point bonus. It is the most powerful shield I've ever heard of in my life, and now we have two. This is a great find. We all celebrate for a moment, throwing money around and rolling in the treasure. I end up taking a closer look at one jewel in particular.  Oh. This must be the thing that glitters above all else. This must be one of Durlag's banes. My good mood deflates. I am a slave. We are all slaves. I send Imoen around to make sure everything is explored. She finds another lightning trap.  Ouch! She also tries the odd-looking key on the bedstand lock, and it finally opens.  In our excitment to see what she's found, we all try to find our way into the room where she is in. But that doesn't work out so great for Xavia.  Why didn't she... how could she... great. I barely know her and she's already dead. (She deserved it.) Imoen makes sure the trap is disarmed this time.  In the bedstand, we find some more gems and gold, a few potions and scrolls of no importance, and what looks like a switch for an engine.  I'm actually not feeling too broke up about Xavia's death. I guess because I barely knew her, and she did something really stupid. It's almost as if she deserved what she got. I go to the room with the gigantic steam engine in it. I see what looks like some kind of control panel on the north wall.  I place the switch in the panel and flip it. The machine begins to run.  Which means that the winepress probably now works. I go check it out.  I take a closer look at the wine that I have collected in the bottle. It is a deep, dark red, and smells of...  Oh Shar-teel, Shar-teel, why did your strength and grace leave me so? And Xan, why is he not strong enough to stand by my side? And Branwen... why does Branwen no longer choose to love me? I only move again when Imoen puts her hand on my forearm. She squeezes it gently and I stir myself. I show her the bottle. She just nods, and leads me by the hand back to the central room. My funk is momentarily dispelled when we get ambushed by the undead!  Well, maybe more like the other way around.  After the fight, I notice a barrel that I have not yet looted. Inside I find more cash.  And also a mallet handle.  If only I had a way to put the mallet head and handle together. Wait, this is a Dwarf Fortress, there has GOT to be a forge around here somewhere. Actually, didn't we loot one earlier?  Yep, sure did! It doesn't take much to repair the mallet.  And now we just need a gong to test this mallet out on!  The gong doesn't make a sound, but I stagger back in pain and sensations I do not know how to describe. Something... something stirs within my mind. (it knows they know) I feel a renewed sense of caution (they all Know and they Look and they See). All of the worst parts of the past few weeks crowd in my mind at once (they die and do it for you but they won't after they Know). I find myself kneeling on the floor clutching the frame of the gong tightly. But if they come and they see then they will know and they'll go and I must stand up so they won't Suspect. A few deep breaths, and I feel like I can continue to pretend to be normal. I think I may have done enough to satisfy the Warders. Let us get this horrible trial behind us. I approach the second warder. I hold out the Glittering Beljuril.  When the warder takes the Glittering Beljuril Gemstone away from me, it seems to tear something physical out of my palm. I wince. I guess I really am a slave to wealth. So am I truly doomed in this place? The hair on the back of my neck stands up. Hesitantly, I go to the next Warder. I hand it the mallet.  No! Say it isn't so! Please, by the weave, let me leave this place alive! Don't let them Find out! After a time, I steel myself for what the last Warder will say. The red one. But there is nothing else to do, so I approach him as well. I give him the wine of grief and loss.  The horrifying words that this Warder speaks physically rock me back on my heels. No. Do I have to? What kind of evil would ... surely that is not possible? Is it? Primal screams of Fear, Avarice, Pride, and Love get me moving. What the hell is going on?!  I call out a quick retreat, a hasty fall back. We must get out of this cloud of death. Fear is the first to catch up with us (Of course, I am ALWAYS with you).  But the others are not far behind.  I stand still in shock, only able to witness what seems to be the torments of my soul played out before my eyes. Love is the first to fall, slain by the barbarian.  Branwen enters into a fierce battle rage as she stands against Fear. I watch her intently.  Imoen, strangely enough, takes out Avarice.  But wouldn't the thief be the one to join Avarice's side? I find myself contemplating these events even as they unfold. Fear seems too strong for Branwen, and she looks almost dead.  In the end, she retreats from Fear, but Mulgore slays it.  So, Mulgore kills both Love and Fear? The strong beast overcomes both emotions. Gameplay note: I tried hard to let Branwen be the one to kill Fear, but she was simply outmatched, and could not outpace Fear's regeneration. Only a combined arms attack could take Fear down. Branwen comes down off of her enraged state, and Finch cares for her.  Only Pride is left. Only Pride remains undefeated (as it should be). We look everywhere for him, but do not find him.  Did Pride survive? Did Pride.. go deeper?  Yes. Yes it did.  Pride is strong. Pride does not go down easily.  Pride is filled with the might of the divine. Pride almost kills Imoen.  In the end, Mulgore is the one to kill Pride as well.  I feel that these events are significant somehow, that they are clouded glimpses of the future. But I do not understand them. I must think on them during the journey back. We do find a Girdle of Hill Giant Strength on Pride. And a generic Battle Axe +2.  Then I finally turn my attention to the corpse of Xavia. She must be attended to.  Resurrecting her costs us half our gold!  drat woman is dragging the group down! And now we have to travel all the way back to Baldur's Gate again to pick up another replacement. Geez. (that's kind of rude)  Durlag has claimed two of the lives of the Golden Company so far.  But we are penetrating his secrets! He will not remain a mystery forever.  No, truly I will know the mind of Durlag.  I will understand his ways.  And I will defeat him! When we get back to the Elfsong Tavern, I try to explain to Xavia and Mulgore our policy on resting after death.  Xavia gets it, but Mulgore doesn't seem to understand that he can stay with us if he wants. He follows Xavia as she takes an empty place at a table. Oh well, I don't mind. I don't trust having that orc in my party by himself anyways. You know what this party needs? This party needs music!  Is your offer still up-to-date? I will gladly see you in action... You come back to join me again? I can't deny, you could be useful again... So I am.Gameplay note: Oh my god we are taking a level 1 Troubadour into Durlag's Tower.  But not only music, this party needs more divine power. We need Jet'laya!  Your company was missed by all. Welcome back to the group. Ah, old friends made new again. A pairing that cannot be beaten.Then we begin our journey back. Gameplay note: Ok, so who should get the Manual of Gainful Exercise? Let's vote! Vorgen fucked around with this message at 05:56 on Jul 25, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2013 16:37
|
|
|
ALL TOMES TO SYV!
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2013 17:17
|
|
|
Syv goddammit
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2013 17:19
|
|
|
At the place we are at, no one but Syv would benefit from such a tome. If it was a int tome i might be tempted to give it to Imoen (because dammit she only has 17), but none of the current NPC are sure to really help us with one more Str. Also, seems fourth time is the charm for my Big World Project install. This one was perfect install (over 13hundreds mods), with only one error: Widescreen mod -_-.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2013 17:52
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 13:55 |
|
|
Syv needs strength to overcome Durlag's trials. He shall read the tome. But first, you need to return to where you picked up Will and get his gear out of hock! He won't survive otherwise! (he won't survive anyway).
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2013 17:54
|
|
