New all purpose Baldurs Gate thread - Page 3

Jamski · February 6, 2004, 16:38

Ah, mass summons are the ticket here. Fill the screen with wild dogs and skeletons, then haste everyone

Alternative method - multiple webs/grease/entangle then rain fireballs and arrows of detonation on them.

Come on, you're nearly at the end, use every last trick you have.

-Jam

Marid Audran · February 6, 2004, 17:29

Quote:

Originally posted by Jamski
Ah, mass summons are the ticket here. Fill the screen with wild dogs and skeletons, then haste everyone

Alternative method - multiple webs/grease/entangle then rain fireballs and arrows of detonation on them.

Come on, you're nearly at the end, use every last trick you have.

-Jam

Potions too. Many people neglect them but there are some real juicy ones in the game to help buff fighters and otherwise increase saving throws and magic resistance vs. Semaji's (?) nasty spells.

With the expansion pack installed Sarevok is actually easier because they nerfed his original 100% magic resistance.

Try to kill off Sarevok's cronies one-by-one by luring them in the lower screen so you can focus totally on Sarevok himself when the time comes.

Jamski · February 6, 2004, 17:33

Nah, wall of summons is the trick

Get wands of creature summoning and blow all the charges

-Jam

Drogue · February 7, 2004, 09:58

I don't think there is an Iron Throne group after Sarevok. Do you mean the fight outside the large Cathedral-type building?

Jamski · February 7, 2004, 10:29

They are sent by the Iron Throne to get Saverok for dirtying the name of the Iron Throne. But they try and kill you anyway.
Yes, outside the temple of Bhaal.

-Jam

lord of the mark · February 8, 2004, 15:44

i finished with the iron throne group. Ive got a couple of wands, including wand of sleep, frost and lightning, but not summoning. Im out of money, so unless i go back to the surface for pillaging, monster hunting, etc, thats it.

I'll try luring one at a time - it seems to be the traps in the temple that are nastiest.

Drogue · February 8, 2004, 17:43

Started BGII yesterday, detemined to actually finish it this time.

Party so far:

PC: Male Human Kensai, dueled to a Mage at level 9. Now level 10 mage, level 9 kensai. Duel-wields Katana's, has Dakkon-Zerth's already and will get Celestial Fury soon

Used Shadownkeeper for the sole purpose of changing him to look like a mage, as opposed to a fighter. The robes work better then, and he looks so cool duel wielding with flowing purple, green and yellow robes

Has Xan's pic for BGI.

Yoshi: Had from the begining, did many of the first bits with just these too, until PC got his Kensai abilities back, so I didn't need the XP there too much. He'll leave when I get Imoen back, but until then, I like traps for dragon fighting and he's a good thief.

Jaheira: Didn't take her from the start (was going to have Virconia, but realised it's not a good idea with Keldorn too. Sad, 'cause I like both of them, and Virconia's always my favourite romance) which was stupid, but now have her and romancing her. Have done Ployer quest (but she is still cursed?

Have killed him, have her hair lock, and rested, and still cursed

). As soon as she gets 2 in schimtar she'll rock

Korgan: He's a fighter, and will dual-wield Frostbite and Stonefire axes, until he get's Chrom Fayaer

Then he will be fantastically powerful. Also, with sunblade, I love the crypt quest. Walk into the middle and sunfire, and all the undead die

Keldorn: I want a Paladin, and Inquisitors are the best anyway. True Sight and Dispel Magic are a wonderful combo as magical support

With Holy Avenger, he will rock. At the moment armed with sunblade, which is one of the best swords in the game IMHO. Seriously powerful, being +4 against evil creatures, double damage against undead, and a special that's like a fireball, but that kills most undead, instantaniously.

Use those 5 for quests, as I like to take the quest character with me for roleplay. Will get Edwin just before doing the Shadow Thief Guild quests.

About to do the Keep, have done most little quests (ie. all but stronghold's, and some of those quests too) in Athkatla, but haven't finished a stronghold yet.

Illuminatus · February 8, 2004, 17:47

Quote:

Originally posted by Drogue
Started BGII yesterday, detemined to actually finish it this time.

Party so far:

has Dakkon-Zerth's already

I hate that part in BG2.

lord of the mark · February 8, 2004, 18:10

never mind about advice for final BG1 battle. Done.

Unfortunately only PC and Khaled survived

Final film a tad dissappointing, didnt really clarify end of story

RPG'ed out by now, though i theres a used copy of a certain highly sought after and out of print RPG at the local EB. I should probably go pick it up even if im not about to play it.

Jamski · February 8, 2004, 20:18

Well done! Its kinda funny that KHALID survived the end of BG1

Quote:

Final film a tad dissappointing, didnt really clarify end of story

Its not the end of the story, that's why. Its the end of chapter 1

Now import to BG2 and carry on.

Quote:

Male Human Kensai, dueled to a Mage at level 9

Drogue, you naughty cheeeze nibbler, you

-Jam

Quote:

has Dakkon-Zerth's already

Its Dak'kon's Zerth. Dak'kon is the Gith, and his sword is a Zerth blade.

This is annoying since Zerth blades cannot exist without their owner.
/me likes being pedantic *

Marid Audran · February 8, 2004, 21:07

Quote:

Originally posted by lord of the mark
never mind about advice for final BG1 battle. Done.

Unfortunately only PC and Khaled survived

Final film a tad dissappointing, didnt really clarify end of story

RPG'ed out by now, though i theres a used copy of a certain highly sought after and out of print RPG at the local EB. I should probably go pick it up even if im not about to play it.

What is your personal review of Baldur's Gate I, Lord of the Mark? You played it straight without the expansion pack, correct?

What was the party you finished the game with.

IMHO, BG2 isn't as strong a game as the first. I prefer the original, though I'm very much in the minority. Of course, BG2 is still very much worth playing and a good RPG.

lord of the mark · February 8, 2004, 22:52

Quote:

Originally posted by Marid Audran

What is your personal review of Baldur's Gate I, Lord of the Mark? You played it straight without the expansion pack, correct?

What was the party you finished the game with.

IMHO, BG2 isn't as strong a game as the first. I prefer the original, though I'm very much in the minority. Of course, BG2 is still very much worth playing and a good RPG.

yes, no xpack. Ended with the group i assembled at the beginning - Jaheira, Khaled, Minsc. Dynaheir, Imoen. PC = Human ranger tank.

Im not sure how meaningful my review is. This was my introduction to CRPGs, DnD, etc. Im really a strategy gamer.

It did make me think this is a genre with real potential for immersion and story telling. I liked the settings and art - i enjoyed the medieval atmosphere of the towns in particular. It was certainly addictive. I cant say that is leaves me craving more, at least not right away. If anything, i crave a historical strategy game. I could certainly see playing it again later though, and could see buying another CRPG, in particular another infinity engine game. I lean towards one with a tad more emphasis on story, more dialogue choices, a tad less (and simpler) combat. I think PST might be what im looking for, though I may get BG2 eventually.

lord of the mark · February 8, 2004, 22:57

BTW i was in a wizards of the coast store the other day - was piciking up something not game related with POTM - and i started to glance over the Forgotten realms campaign guide (or whatever they call it) girl at the checkout counter starts telling me what a great campaign setting it is - I tell her im playing BG. She makes a face like shes just swallowed a lemon.

I mean I sorta know there was Anti-CRPG snobbery in the PnP RPG community, but i didnt know it was quite that bad. Of course not being a BG fanatic

my feelings were not hurt

Marid Audran · February 9, 2004, 00:12

Heh, if only Jamski was there to cast "Imprisonment" on the clerk...

Jamski · February 9, 2004, 04:57

She would have got worse than that.
Melf's acid arrow is one of the more painful spells...
Combined with Outikel's Sphere, so noone can help her.

-Jam

Drogue · February 9, 2004, 05:32

Quote:

Originally posted by Jamski
Now import to BG2 and carry on.

Well said

Quote:

Originally posted by Jamski
Drogue, you naughty cheeeze nibbler, you

Why? It's a perfectly legitimate dual. It looks great, it fights well. Although being a normal mage, it doesn't get the extra spell per level, and it isn't a sorceror, which is a wonderful class. I needed another spellcaster, but fancied seeing how well he'd survive. And besides, Dak'kon Zerth was made for a Kensai-Mage

And it looks very very cool.

Quote:

Originally posted by Jamski
Its Dak'kon's Zerth. Dak'kon is the Gith, and his sword is a Zerth blade.

This is annoying since Zerth blades cannot exist without their owner.
* Jamski likes being pedantic *

Either way, soon it will only be in his left hand. Celestial Fury is beautifully evil

BTW: are there any ways to get Reputation down a point or two without using Virconia or the Slayer? Mine's on 18, and I don't want to lose Korgan or Edwin if it goes up any more. I'm True Neutral, but I'm against mindless acts of violence, I'm just Neutral with a purpose, so killing civilians for the sake of it is out of the questions.

Am now halfway through De'Anisie's (sp) Keep. Should be a Lord by tomorrow

Jamski · February 9, 2004, 05:43

You should be rude to the servant and the Lady in the Keep then Drogue. That lowers your reputation.

-Jam

Drogue · February 9, 2004, 06:25

Sadly I've already done that, and held my tongue

How much does stealing take down?

I would have thought a Neutral Evil person, who believes only in doing what's best for them, would like the idea if having a high rep and getting weapons cheaply. It's best for them, and it's selfish

If you kill Lady Delia in the keep, does she count as an innocent?

Jamski · February 9, 2004, 06:50

Yes

In that case, you can lower your rep by giving Ned's head to the magistrate in the Government Area.

Or just go into Jan's house and kill some gnomes, for god's sake.

Wiping out the Order of the Most Radiant Arse gives you lower rep - and a BIG bag of EXP too

-Jam

duke o' york · February 9, 2004, 06:59

I didn't have the best initiation to the Forgotten Realms. I installed BG, but something went wrong when I was about 97% of the way through and it stopped. Unfortunately, the uninstall file was missing, so I couldn't get it off my system in order to reinstall it. After fiddling about and trying various different ruses to get around this problem, I had to reformat my system and go back to a previous incarnation with the Accessories-System Tools menu. This meant that I didn't have Civ 2 installed any more - which would be unforgivable (

!!!!!), and lots of other things I had put on, which will all have to be replaced this evening.
I tried to install BG again, and it worked, but I was left with very little time to actually play the game.

My PC is an elf (or half-elf?) ranger, with some fairly decent stats, a bastard sword and small shield, and a short bow. I chose skeletons as her racial enemy, having remembered trouble with them in previous RPGs, and hoping that this would regain some of the damage usually lost when I forget to use blunt weapons on them.

I did all the little jobs in Candlekeep and spoke to everyone. I don't understand what the point of having the Protect from evil spell cast on you by the codger in the inn was, as by the time you get outside and Gorion kicks the bucket, it has lost its effect by then.

I got outside Candlekeep and Imoen joined me, and went to collect the stuff from Gorion's body (though how the PC manages to make it from the site of the attack to where you start the game without seeing any of the terrain is beyond me). We splatted a little goblin type thing and collected the loot. I saved, and then went to look for the road to the Friendly Arms. Fortunately for me, I had saved, because a wolf managed to kill Imoen with only one hit, and although I spiked it quite easily, I don't fancy continuing with only one party member. Might be time for a reload.

Should I have bought Imoen leather armour while I was at Candlekeep, or should I just try to keep her out of the way while my character does all the fighting and she fires arrows in? This will work as long as we only fight single enemies, but once two arrive then we're in trouble. Is there any point in saving the magic scrolls I took from Gorion, or can I use them when I want?

Jamski · February 9, 2004, 07:21

Just go straight to the FA inn and buy her some armour there. Or let Monty join, take his armour and kick him out

Oh, and use Imoen from a distance ALWAYS, unless you like her to die all the time.

Save the scrolls to scribe them into a mage's spell book.

And the Prot from Evil spell is just "flavour"

On the "Imoen" map there's a halfling called Monty and a Necromancer, both of whom will join you. 4 characters is a bit safer, yes?

-Jam

duke o' york · February 9, 2004, 07:29

True, but I've got to go and track the buggers down now.
I noticed in the manual (bloody pdf one, so I couldn't read it in bed before playing as I generally like to do

) that you can assign the F keys to do things that might not normally occur, like when you want to beat the hell out of a neutral NPC.

Is it possible to do this to party members while they're in the party? I think that would be loads of fun, so you can just kill your party members off when you want a new one, rather than having to dump them.

Drogue · February 9, 2004, 07:43

Quote:

Originally posted by Jamski
In that case, you can lower your rep by giving Ned's head to the magistrate in the Government Area.

Have done, that raises it one, for turning him in.

Quote:

Originally posted by Jamski
Or just go into Jan's house and kill some gnomes, for god's sake.

Arrrggg! I refuse to go anywhere near him. I specifically walk the long way round the Government District so I never have to meet him. Most anoying character ever. He's worse than Noober.

Quote:

Originally posted by Jamski
Wiping out the Order of the Most Radiant Arse gives you lower rep - and a BIG bag of EXP too

With Keldorn in the party?

Besides, have to do Fallen Paladin's first.

Jamski · February 9, 2004, 07:47

Kill the gnomes, Drogue. Do it! Embrace the joys of Chaotic Evil

Quote:

I noticed in the manual (bloody pdf one, so I couldn't read it in bed before playing as I generally like to do ) that you can assign the F keys to do things that might not normally occur, like when you want to beat the hell out of a neutral NPC. Is it possible to do this to party members while they're in the party? I think that would be loads of fun, so you can just kill your party members off when you want a new one, rather than having to dump them.

Sure. Just press f2 and click on the NPC you want dead. But then they are dead.

-Jam

duke o' york · February 9, 2004, 07:59

Why isn't there a muhaha smiley any more?

Will there be anything in Candlekeep that I've missed the first time round? I fetched the guard his crossbow bolts and he paid me far less than they cost at the shop. I was tempted to skewer him there and then, but may wait until I can return to Candlekeep with a posh book before getting my revenge.
Do you actually get XP from the fights in the training room? I did a few of them because it was my first time around, but I'm not sure whether I got XP for them or not. If you do then great, but otherwise I don't think I'll bother with them in future. Can you get into the mines from that room later in the game?

Drogue · February 9, 2004, 08:04

Quote:

Originally posted by duke o' york
Will there be anything in Candlekeep that I've missed the first time round?

Hull's longsword? Phylis' (sp?) book? Nevin's cow?

Quote:

Originally posted by duke o' york
I fetched the guard his crossbow bolts and he paid me far less than they cost at the shop. I was tempted to skewer him there and then, but may wait until I can return to Candlekeep with a posh book before getting my revenge.

Have you low charisma? He gave me a dagger+1.

Quote:

Originally posted by duke o' york
Do you actually get XP from the fights in the training room?

Nope, it's the tutorial.

Quote:

Originally posted by duke o' york
Can you get into the mines from that room later in the game?

Not that I know of.

Jamski · February 9, 2004, 08:05

You not only get no EXP from the training fights, but you can never re-enter the room either

-Jam

duke o' york · February 9, 2004, 08:35

Ooh!
What's the deal with the cow then?

My charisma's not too dreadful - definitely in double figures - and my reputation's fine too. I can't remember the exact figure but I may write down my stats and post them tomorrow.

Drogue · February 9, 2004, 08:42

Ah, mine was 18. Always made sure it was 18 for the first, saves much money.

I'm not a big ranger fan either. They go up levels slower, and can't get more than 2 points in each weapon. In BGII it's not a big deal, but in BGI 5 points in a weapon gives you an awful lot. However an elven ranger with sword and bow is a nice combination.

For the cow, talk to Nevin, and he says his cow is sick. You have to find an antidote for it

duke o' york · February 9, 2004, 08:54

Who is Nevin? I got the antidote from the chest when I retrieved the sword. This had better be worthwhile, because I'm certain to find myself poisoned sooner or later and in dire need of that antidote.

Don't worry about telling me what you get for it, but knowing who Nevin is would be nice. Maybe I just forgot I'd spoken to him.

What would you suggest beginning with then? Something with an enormous sword?

Or someone who can use magic straightaway?