Here we go again. A Baldur's Gate full saga roleplay run, take 2.
Everything I said here applies, with one significant change.
Just to be on the nose (as our hero will be “Dame Beatrix the Pure”, a paladin/cavalier) it will be a “purist" run in that I will be playing the original Baldur's Gate (GOG version) without EasyTutu. I do have Dorner's fixpack and Unfinished Business installed, though. There is an integrous reason for this. That is, playing through BG1 with the BG2 engine (and as a cavalier) provides a rather significant edge. The poison/fear immunity and numerous remove fear castings trivializes a lot of encounters and the elemental resistances make it even easier to manage elemental attacks. The demon/dragon damage bonuses only come into play for one fight, but that fight is a doozy. On top of that, companions may have access to spells that were added with BG2, Rangers (and really any martial class) can get decent TWF. The only real advantage to BG1's system is that weapon proficiencies have more generalized categories. However, I won't be taking advantage of that and characters will only be using weapons in line with what they will have in BG2. That being said, I will be using Shadowkeeper to correct the canon party in BG2 to what they had at the end of BG1 and will note it when it happens.
Also, I'm not entirely sure if this is a no/low reload run. I don't really notice these things. I mean, I don't expect I'm a PW:Reload player. As long as the party survives, there's no point. I don't steal or pickpocket. I probably have reloaded with the occasional NPC death, but really, there's more than enough money in the game to hit a temple and raise dead. I would assume I reload more with a main character this is on point than one tucked safely in the back. I'll be keeping track of my reloads on this run just to see where I stand. The numbers are probably higher than I think.
Lastly, I am going to make an attempt to not use any storage in game. I have a nasty habit of stashing extra potions, ammo, etc. in the dresser at Borland's. By mid-game, his house is pretty much a fully stocked armory. I'm hoping this will not just up the challenge slightly, but also keep me from hoarding consumables for a "rainy day", of which I'm notorious.
And who will be our hero this time around?
Beatrix and Imoen were not just the best of friends but also the heroes of many imaginary adventures in Candlekeep. Most others would have just called these exploits mischief. Beatrix's wayward gallantry adjusted to a straighter course the day she met Priam Agrivar. This was her first meeting with an epic hero from the books she had read. She recited to the paladin his history as if he did not know an evil extraplanar creature deprived him of the use of his arms, yet he still eventually defeated the beast and restored his natural physique. Beatrix informed Priam that she and her best friend were planning to be legends as well and asked for advice on how to be as powerful and heroic as the knight himself. Priam then put down the little red book he was reading and gave Beatrix the words she would carry for the rest of her days. He said, “Heroes are just as frail as anyone else. But, being a hero is about recognizing your flaws and still choosing to do the right thing. Even when you fail or fall, a hero is someone who picks themselves up and puts themselves back on track, one day at a time.”
Her foster father, Gorion, was both surprised and elated when she declared that she would walk the virtuous path of the paladin. He supported Beatrix's training and studies in any way he could. With the Watchers to show her martial basics and the great library to provide needed wisdom, Beatrix shed mischief for diligence and was affectionately dubbed "Dame Beatrix the Pure" by the library's denizens. It would be almost a year after her chance meeting with Priam Agrivar when Beatrix would be heading off on her fateful journey with Gorion.
Name
I was first won over on the name “Beatrix” with the character of the same name from Final Fantasy IX (which is my personal favorite game from the series). I also looked up the name and found that it was a Latin name meaning “voyager or traveler”. That seems appropriate for this character's story.
Gender
I chose female for pretty much only one reason: to keep romances from starting (I won't be taking Anomen, at least not for long, and will be picking up Jaheira). I think romances in video games range from meh to cringey in terms of the writing and appropriateness. I'd rather do without.
Class
Paladin, of course. She will kit to a Cavalier in BG2. For story reasons, I was a little tossed between a Cavalier and Inquisitor. The latter would make sense for someone who kits at the very beginning of BG2 since Irenicus can be the trigger for that choice. However, I went with the Cavalier as contending with her bloodline and fighting demons (within and without) seems more essential to the character.
Race and Alignment
Human and Lawful Good. The obvious and only choices for a paladin. I don't play Lawful Good as what is commonly referred to as "Lawful Stupid". Morality gets a little complex and grey, especially in the second game. This will be a factor in how she plays and the choices she makes.
Abilities
This was a sticky wicket. In (tabletop) D&D, I'm a pretty big fan of 3d6 down the line and make what you can with it. However, that won't work here as the odds of getting a roll that can produce at least the bare minimum for a paladin is less than 1% (0.13%, to be exact). The in-game dice roller will give you a paladin on the first roll, but likely still with crappy stats. Especially since this character is a front-liner, and it's game over if she dies, she needs to be made of hardier stock. So, just to have some kind of logic and fairness to it, I limited myself to one minute of re-rolling, and had to stop if I rolled a character at least as good as Imoen (87 points). I know I didn't need to max Cha, but it's required to get the good dialogue from Hull and Fuller, which is more in line with her backstory. I wouldn't have minded an extra 10hp, though.
Weapon Proficiencies
Beatrix's heart is in the right place, but she is still quite the novice and has never even seen any real action. As such, she isn't starting with any specializations. That's for more seasoned folk. Instead, I just put one pip each in four weapon groups that make sense for the background. Large Sword (long sword) is the favored weapon of Tyr (albeit in 3e D&D, but it's something with which to work) who is her (and Priam's, for that matter) patron. Fun fact, the Gatewarden is the only character in the prologue with pips in Large Sword, and he only has one. The next pip went into Small Sword (daggers) as an homage to Beatrix's more rogueish capers with Imoen. Not that she has ever stabbed anyone, of course. But, Deder could have showed her and Imoen a few tricks and Fuller will be giving her a magical dagger to get her started. Then we have Blunt Weapons (staff). It's the natural choice as it's not only the starting weapon, and the weapon referenced in Jondalar's training, but also the weapon in which the Watchers are the most trained (Hull and Fuller are even specialized). Finally, we have Axes (axe, obviously). We can thank Reevor and his "rigorous" martial training for that. Additionally, Arkanis also happens to be an axe specialist.
A female warrior wearing nothing but a leotard and boots. Yeah, that tracks. Welcome to 90s rpg gaming, folks.
The perplexed paladin stood outside Winthrop's and pondered a small pouch of gold in her hand. The instruction from her foster father was to prepare for a long journey, destination unknown. Beatrix leaned on her walking stick to consider the possibilities. Was he finally bringing her to the Order of the Radiant Heart to be inducted into the Radiant Heart Auxiliary? If so, she must be presentable. She entered Winthrop's and purchased the finest armor and blade he had to offer and then made the rounds to say her farewells.
Her first stop was Firebead, visitor and mage. He entrusted her with a simple quest to retrieve a scroll from Tethtoril, which she completed with haste. She then proceeded to bend his ear about the world outside the keep's walls, what he knew of the order, and anything else of interest. Beatrix must have carried on a bit too long as the wizard gifted her with a tidy sum and urged her to continue her journey.
Beatrix stopped by the rectory to say her goodbyes to her divinity tutor. Before she could knock, she noticed that he was attending to the temple down the path and met him there. She used Firebead's donation to purchase a healing potion and two antidotes, just to be safe. She knew not what to expect from travel, but wanted to be as ready as possible.
She passed by the bunkhouse and quickly peeked through a window. It was a little dark, but obviously empty. It appeared all her Watcher friends were on duty or attending to other matters.
As mentioned in my other run, even on a completionist run, if it's also a roleplay run, I usually contrive a reason to skip the assassin encounters. This is partly because these two assassins inexplicably show up again in BG2.
Beatrix said goodbye to all her favorite people, and provided some last minute help where she could. Fuller even seemed a little choked up and gave her a fine dagger as a parting gift. It was not necessarily a weapon befitting a knight like herself, but still a thoughtful gift for which she was grateful.
Imoen seemed pretty keen on coming with her best friend. Beatrix thought it only right to have her closest friend bear witness to her induction, so she offered to talk Gorion into bringing her along. However, the rogue balked at the notion and seemed to know more than she was letting on, as was often her way.
Beatrix finally met with her father, now uncharacteristically nervous. When she probed, he made vague remarks about their safety and would say no more. Perhaps this was not a trip to the Order. She opted not to tarry further and so they departed. Gorion gave Beatrix final instructions to head to the Friendly Arm Inn should they lose each other. Beatrix's anticipation gave way to dread as they left Candlekeep.
The pair traveled secretly at night, off the road, and through the forest. Yet a villainous gang still intercepted their clandestine crossing. Brief words led quickly into mortal combat. Gorion cast his spells while ordering Beatrix to run. The paladin intended to stay and defend her father, but her legs followed other orders. As the sounds of battle faded behind her, she commanded her legs to end their treason. They could not be dissuaded and led her straight into the belly of a thicket. This rebellion between body and mind overwhelmed Beatrix's senses and her consciousness escaped with all the commotion.
Beatrix was roused the next morning by none other than Imoen. The precocious rogue stole her way out of the keep after Beatrix and Gorion left, catching up long after Gorion's sacrifice and Beatrix's cowardice faded into the dawn. Beatrix wondered how her friend managed to find her and then remembered the underbrush by Dreppin's barn where they two of them used to camp while on one of their imaginary quests. She was glad to see her friend, but neither could return to Candlekeep and Imoen's sacrifice weighed heavy on the paladin.
Beatrix returned to the scene of the crime with Imoen in tow. Gorion's robes were singed and the body beneath was magically burned to ash. He was not just to be slain, but also prohibited from being raised. Why? She remembered it was her the enemy wanted. Beatrix's rage prayed to Tyr demanding justice for this heinous act. She collected what spoils were worth collecting, including a letter from a mysterious “E” directing her father to the Friendly Arm Inn. There was nothing to do for Gorion; the wind would handle his final arrangements.
The path of the righteous [wo]man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men.
An old man met the pair on the road. He had a quiet confidence in their course. Beatrix found it vaguely off-putting.
The literal crossroad turned figurative as Beatrix thought of the old man's words and wondered how the enemy met them in the middle of a wood. If Gorion's course to the inn was direct, then the enemy must have come from that direction to find them. Not to mention, he likely would have seen the letter in Gorion's remains. Is that why the armored villain did not chase Beatrix? Did arrogance advise him that she would unwittingly walk into a trap set at the inn? Resolve welled up inside the errant knight. She could not save Gorion, but she could spare Imoen the same fate. Beatrix would meet her enemy again, on her terms, not his. He expects her to go north? Then their course leads south.
I love that you're doing this in original BG1! I think it has a lot of charm to it that got lost in all the changes through the years.
A couple of things that you probably haven't forgotten, but just to remind you: Plan your quickslots and fast weapon slots carefully, because no pausing in inventory. You might as well not have an antidote that's stuck in your bag during that spider attack.
Arrow stack limits of 20 can cause some interesting inventory decisions to have to be made, and also has some potential to be a theme in a role-played story. I think the stack size was originally meant to place a check on the over-powered nature of archery in the early game.
Your paladin Detect Evil will show which enemies are nearby on the map by listing them in the combat log, which can be used for scouting and for roleplay. "Imoen, wait - I'm detecting a group of gnolls just around that bend ahead."
I really thought the dated interface would drive me nuts, but it's actually fine and the nostalgia makes it even better. I'm kinda wishing I could play through the whole saga like this.
Also, EasyTutu keeps to the stacks of 20, as well. In this run, it will be especially interesting since I won't be using static storage. Use it or lose it.
Your paladin Detect Evil will show which enemies are nearby on the map by listing them in the combat log, which can be used for scouting and for roleplay. "Imoen, wait - I'm detecting a group of gnolls just around that bend ahead."
I hadn't thought of this. I presumed Detect Evil is LoS so I figured I couldn't scout with it. However, the wiki seems to indicate you can scout entire maps with it. I would almost consider this cheesy except it's hardly an OP tactic and really just adds more flavor than anything.
Somewhere on the road to Beregost, Dame Beatrix the Pure and her sidekick, Imoen, were replaced with Bree and Imo Nessa. These twin sisters were itinerant sellswords traveling the Sword Coast to find fame and fortune, or at least just fortune. An enemy looking for an orphaned paladin is likely to overlook mercenary siblings. Once in town, Beatrix burned Gorion's letter and then traded in her sword for a more vulgar axe to help sell the ruse. When everything was sorted out, the duo had just over a hundred gold between them. This would support a humble lifestyle for quite a while.
"Bree" and "Imo" explored the town to establish their presence and learn the lay of the land. There were four taverns in town, though two were reputed to be shady so the women avoided them. They rubbed elbows with many a local and learned of the tensions between the Sword Coast and Amn over this iron crisis. Walking the town, they found the road west was barely a path but would lead to a reclusive magical merchant. A temple to Lathander stood to the east, serviced by Beregost's own mayor. The Coast Way continued south to the Amnish village of Nashkel.
When Firebead returned, they called on the trustworthy Elf and explained the story so far. Firebead empathized, but had little work to offer. Instead, he provided additional funds to keep them afloat and advised they look for work around town.
Their first solicitation sent them to survey the southern road. It only was a stone's throw from the town where the duo found a missing message in the mitts of a pair of ogrillons. Though their task was complete, Beatrix thought they should continue south and clear the road of any riff-raff as a humble service to any travelers. She may be a paladin undercover, but she was still a paladin.
The road ended just outside the village of Nashkel. They had not intended to travel this far. With tensions between Amn and the Sword Coast, Beatrix thought it unwise to enter. Still, this was a tactical opportunity she did not want to let got to waste. At Beatrix's request, Imoen clumsily skulked around the village and inwards to collect intelligence in the event it was needed.
Distraction took hold on the outskirts of the town when Imoen met a ranger with an unusual animal companion. Not the wolf or bear she expected, the woodsman was consorting with a mere hamster. He offered them adventure to rescue his female companion and Imoen accepted on their behalf. She returned to Beatrix offering the poorly equipped ranger and giant miniaturized space hamster but had very little to say about the town itself. Beatrix took a moment and studied Minsc carefully. He was imposing and peculiar on the surface, for sure. Underneath, though, Beatrix sensed a good heart. “One cannot have too many friends,” she said as she lead the party out of town.
I would have much preferred putting Minsc off until much later. However, once you hit level 3, his proficiencies get a little wonky. Large Sword++ (2h sword), Spiked Weapons+, Axe+ is his initial build and seems far more inline with his character than his later build where Spiked Weapons and Axes are dropped for Bows and Small Swords.
None of the trio were familiar with the region, and neither rogue nor ranger were capable scouts (Stealth 30 and 25, respectively). They wandered westward and not surprisingly into a xvart village. The xvarts were no trouble, but their cave bear required teamwork.
My first death. I was hoping the cave bear in the xvart village cave would follow me out and then we could kite it. This must be an EasyTutu thing as the bear would not come out. I tried to zip around the bear but it was too close and downed Beatrix with a single swipe. #Level1Problems. On the second attempt, I sent Minsc in stealthed, then he re-stealthed at the mouth of the cave, skulked over to the treasure trove, grabbed the loot, and ran.
A second death, this one from a random encounter going from the xvart village to dryad woods. I wasn't even planning to fight. I tried to flee a winter wolf and died from the first frost attack as I passed. I don't think it was avoidable.
While traveling, Beatrix had the strangest of dreams. She saw an unwell Gorion who advised her to look forward instead of back, and that the true path would not be the easy path. When she awoke, Beatrix had developed a new healing ability, much like Gorion's. Could he be helping from the hereafter?
The extra heal is going to be pretty handy since I won't have a cleric. I think I'll be able to finagle picking up Ajantis, though, so two lay on hands plus a cure light isn't bad.
Minsc's strength exceeded his steel and his blade shattered against a gnoll's hide, leaving him unarmed. After the battle, Beatrix graciously passed Minsc her axe and then drew Fuller's knife. Perhaps it was a knightly weapon after all.
I'm a long way from a magical two handed sword (that won't break). But I know I picked up a +1 flail from the xvart cave. He'll take a second pip in that at level 3 and be all set.
Arriving at the fortress, the party was greeted by ogrillon bridgekeepers. Fortunately, they procured a flail from a bandit in their travels, so Beatrix had her axe back. The ogrillons were dispatched and the party collected their generous spoils. Beatrix sadly realized that these possessions likely belonged to the ogrillons' past victims. She prayed to Tyr commemorating the justice that was served today.
The trio was well into the fortress when Imoen found her quiver empty. Not having the prowess for melee combat, but not wanting to be left out, she proceeded to cheer on her companions from behind. As Beatrix fought, she thought about how Imoen should have been a bard and smiled.
I think I would have liked Imoen better as a bard, come to think of it. I'd have a spellcaster who can sing between spells. Or, better yet, Dynaheir as a bard as then I can dual Imoen to a thief mage and not have to take an additional permanent thief NPC.
In one of the gnolls' pits, the party found Minsc's companion, Dynaheir. She was a mage with a comport of austerity. Beatrix repeated what she said as Minsc joined them, “One cannot have too many friends."
Though the rescue was complete, the party was not ready to depart. It was a long trip to the stronghold and they would need to rest up before their return. They found a comfortable site to camp by the river tucked away from the mountain paths. Minsc and Dynaheir told stories about their homeland, Rashemen, until the Nessa twins fell asleep. As Beatrix drifted off to sleep listening to their tales, she had an ever so slight feeling of being back in Candlekeep. Her eyes closed and a single tear escaped tumbling past her temple toward the ground.
The next morning, the party explored the paths around the cliff face and found a number of caves. One cave was the den of a pack of xvarts. Another had xvarts guarding a trove of treasure, which the party liberated. The final cave contained xvarts along with a carrion crawler. The beast immobilized the warriors instantly and Imoen and Dynaheir stepped into action casting magic missiles to slay the beast. After she recovered, Beatrix asked Imoen where she learned magic. Imoen presented the wand she smuggled from Candlekeep. Beatrix should have chastised her for stealing, but that act probably saved their lives.
Both Beatrix and Minsc were rather battered, but their quest was complete and they could return to Beregost.
The Gnoll Stronghold was actually cake at level 1, except for the carrion crawler. I think I forgot that the opposition scales with level. I was expecting squads of 4-5 higher ranked gnolls and xvarts numbering a half-dozen. Instead it was 1-2 basic gnolls (mostly) and maybe three xvarts at a time. I really thought the protection from evil would save Beatrix from the crawler long enough to take it down. That totally didn't work and I had to throw Minsc in (with worse saves and only studded leather armor) to buy some time for the magic missiles.
The trip back to Beregost gave the quartet more than a few days to get to know each other better. This was all that the astute and wise Dynaheir needed to see through the ruse of the “twins”. Beatrix's protection prayer against the carrion crawler, the holy symbol of Tyr seen during Beatrix's nightly prayers, and even her general carriage suggested the young mercenary was more than just a simple sellsword. Beatrix had no choice but to confess to their current predicament. Dynaheir, still an ally, admitted that she had been hunted by evil forces as well, and gave advice to the paladin as to how she can better maintain her cover.
Back in Beregost, the party's first order of business was to deliver the letter that started them on this journey. Beatrix apologized for the delay, but the villager was grateful nonetheless and rewarded the party with a ring of protection.
Afterwards, the party retired to Feldepost's to celebrate their victory over a round of Berduskan Dark wine. Taking stock, they had over two thousand gold to their name and a rucksack of magical items that still needed identification. Discussing their options, they agreed the best course was to outfit Minsc a little better and purchase some spells for Dynaheir's spellbook.
On the way to the reclusive wizard's estate, the party crossed paths with an Elven ranger who had a bone to pick with the bandits of the land. Beatrix sensed a good person underneath his grim manner and so he was invited to travel along.
From the wizard, they picked up a number of scrolls for Dynaheir to study. The next few days were spent lounging around Feldepost's with Dynaheir working on her spellbook and identifying the haul from their recent venture. Almost all of it was of some use to the party and the rest was sold.
For their next venture, the party decided to explore the nearby wilderness. With any luck, they would capture a bandit and get a lead on Kivan's quarry. Unfortunately, if any of the bandits they met were associated with Tazok, they were not talking.
What was talking was a rather peculiar chicken. Beatrix promised to return him to his master on their way back to town.
While they did not find the Bandit Leader they were seeking, they did stumble across the fugitive, Bassilus. Beatrix tutted before they made their approach. “This is what consorting with evil gods gets you,” she muttered. She took point and attempted to talk down the cleric. Her words were compelling enough to disband his gang of undead, but the cleric himself would not be taken alive.
The first go resulted in Dynaheir going down pretty quick (a couple skeletons got around the front line and targeted her) followed by Beatrix being taken down by the undead near the end. I can never remember the right dialogue to take out the undead before the fight, so everyone was in the mix. It was actually going pretty well, at first. Bassilus was blinded and killed, then Beatrix and Minsc started mopping up the undead. However, near the end, a couple of skeletons got in some lucky shots with their crossbows and took out Beatrix before she could even drink a potion. I got the dialogue right the second time around.
At six against one, the cleric could not even get off a spell, even with two castings of blindness by Dynaheir missing their mark.
On their way back to Beregost, they returned the chicken apprentice to High Hedge. With the party's help, Thalantyr was able to restore Melicamp to his proper form.
Ok, so I burned a reload on this one. As much of a prat as Melicamp is, his story ending as an exploding chicken is just too heartbreaking for me. So sue me.
The party collected a sizeable reward for Bassilus and added it to their spoils. After spending some of it on company outfitting, a round of Westgate Ruby wine was in order to celebrate. Kivan, having proven himself, was also informed of Beatrix and Imoen's plight. The Elf could relate to her tragedy and promised to keep her secret safe.
After their revelry, Kivan still wanted to hunt bandits, and Beatrix was happy to oblige. They learned of a fishing village to the north, and east of that was the Wood of Sharp Teeth. It was a dense wood with many places for bandit gangs to hide. The party set out the next day.
In truth, I just need a reason to pick up Ajantis. If I wait even another level, his build starts putting pips into (useless, for him) Small Swords. I'd rather put the next pip into blunt weapon specialization. I'll probably have him do maces over hammers since I've already sold off Ashideena and a Mace +1 is cheaper with the same average damage.
Their first encounter was with Ajantis, a knight initiate on a quest to prove himself to the Order of the Radiant Heart. Beatrix was elated to meet such a paladin, instantly inviting him into their company. She immediately explained her and Imoen's predicament. The knight sympathized and vowed to Helm that he would aid them in bringing the villain to justice, should he be found.
I found a weird bug in this village. There's a spawn point in the lower left by the actual village where bandits appear. There should only be a team of about six that might respawn in time if you return to map. However, if the spawn point was out of site, they kept coming while we were on the map. They're a wandering mob, too, so just avoiding the spawn area often wasn't good enough. The party easily killed more than a dozen while on the map.
The party was detoured by a plea for help from some local fishermen. Somehow, they landed on the evil Umberlee's bad side. The paladins gladly offered to investigate. The child priestess resided to the north. She claimed the fishermen tortured and murdered her mother for the secrets to her summoning bowl, which they stole. Neither Beatrix nor Ajantis harbored any love for the evil gods, but that did not make them fair game for theft and murder.
Reload 5. Rolled in a little too heavy and accidentally killed the priestess. On the second go, I just had Kivan fire a single arrow.
They returned to the fishermen who confessed. While the priestess was evil, the fishermen's actions were unjust. The party demanded the stolen bowl and returned it to the priestess.
Also in need of aid, a local farmer's son was missing and the paladins offered their assistance again. Ankhegs had migrated to the surface to mate and the party found a sinkhole to their nest. They discovered a child's body in a pile of debris with some other valuables. Returning to the farmer, he confirmed that this was his son.
All Beatrix could do was to give the poor farmer some gold to help him manage going forward. It was a sad tale, indeed.
Finally, the party assisted a ranger who wanted to cull ankheg overpopulation. Afterwards, Beatrix reflected on the fighting and the creature's tough shells. This gave her an idea. She had the rangers harvest a shell, which Minsc effortlessly carried in his pack.
There was a wood to the east of the village, but it did not have sharp teeth. Beatrix suspected that the river running along the village was the Chionthar. If so, she knew from her studies that they were too far north to catch the wood to the east. Kivan was frustrated over the bad directions they received. All the party could do was return to Beregost and regroup.
Beatrix was already injured when she received the death blow from the Ankheg. I thought she could survive one more hit, should that happen. I was wrong.
In retrospect, rushing Ajantis wasn't remotely necessary. The pips in Small Swords would have given him daggers for a one handed ranged weapon he could use with a shield. Unfortunately, I didn't think of this until after he hit level 3 and I put a second pip in Bunt Weapons. If I had a save from just before this episode, I'd backtrack and take a different route. Oh, well. Onward and upward.
The trip back to Beregost gave the quartet more than a few days to get to know each other better. This was all that the astute and wise Dynaheir needed to see through the ruse of the “twins”. Beatrix's protection prayer against the carrion crawler, the holy symbol of Tyr seen during Beatrix's nightly prayers, and even her general carriage suggested the young mercenary was more than just a simple sellsword. Beatrix had no choice but to confess to their current predicament. Dynaheir, still an ally, admitted that she had been hunted by evil forces as well, and gave advice to the paladin as to how she can better maintain her cover.
Back in Beregost, the party's first order of business was to deliver the letter that started them on this journey. Beatrix apologized for the delay, but the villager was grateful nonetheless and rewarded the party with a ring of protection.
Afterwards, the party retired to Feldepost's to celebrate their victory over a round of Berduskan Dark wine. Taking stock, they had over two thousand gold to their name and a rucksack of magical items that still needed identification. Discussing their options, they agreed the best course was to outfit Minsc a little better and purchase some spells for Dynaheir's spellbook.
On the way to the reclusive wizard's estate, the party crossed paths with an Elven ranger who had a bone to pick with the bandits of the land. Beatrix sensed a good person underneath his grim manner and so he was invited to travel along.
From the wizard, they picked up a number of scrolls for Dynaheir to study. The next few days were spent lounging around Feldepost's with Dynaheir working on her spellbook and identifying the haul from their recent venture. Almost all of it was of some use to the party and the rest was sold.
For their next venture, the party decided to explore the nearby wilderness. With any luck, they would capture a bandit and get a lead on Kivan's quarry. Unfortunately, if any of the bandits they met were associated with Tazok, they were not talking.
While they did not find the Bandit Leader they were seeking, they did stumble across the fugitive, Bassilus. Beatrix tutted before they made their approach. “This is what consorting with evil gods gets you,” she muttered. She took point and attempted to talk down the cleric. Her words were compelling enough to disband his gang of undead, but the cleric himself would not be taken alive.
The first go resulted in Dynaheir going down pretty quick (a couple skeletons got around the front line and targeted her) followed by Beatrix being taken down by the undead near the end. I can never remember the right dialogue to take out the undead before the fight, so everyone was in the mix. It was actually going pretty well, at first. Bassilus was blinded and killed, then Beatrix and Minsc started mopping up the undead. However, near the end, a couple of skeletons got in some lucky shots with their crossbows and took out Beatrix before she could even drink a potion. I got the dialogue right the second time around.
At six against one, the cleric could not even get off a spell, even with two castings of blindness by Dynaheir missing their mark.
On their way back to Beregost, they returned the chicken apprentice to High Hedge. With the party's help, Thalantyr was able to restore Melicamp to his proper form.
Ok, so I burned a reload on this one. As much of a prat as Melicamp is, his story ending as an exploding chicken is just too heartbreaking for me. So sue me.
I wish you had in fact remembered the "right" answers to give Bassilus to avoid the skeleton fight, because I would be interested in your thoughts on role-playing a paladin through those dialogues. You have to lie to him by humoring him and pretending to be his father. One line is a flat-out bald-faced lie: "Uh, yes, Son, it is I, your father." At no point can you condemn him for consorting with undead, nor call him crazy, nor try to talk him into coming back to the temple for treatment. If you keep him humoring him like that, he eventually remembers that he killed his own family, which makes him go hostile, but "deactivates" his animated dead, presumably because the PTSD of the repressed memory suddenly coming back causes him to lose control.
This fight is deadly with all the skeletons in it, as you demonstrated. If one is trying to do minimal reload, or especially no reload, not giving Bassilus the "right" answers is toying with suicide.
You've said before that you play your paladins more subtly and with greater wisdom than the "lawful stupid" stereotype, so I wonder what Beatrix would have done if you, the player, had remembered the "right" answers. Would she hold fast to a literal interpretation of her oaths to honesty and honor, or would she "lie" to possibly save lives?
EDIT: I reread the post. On your reload, it looks like you decided that Beatrix would indeed "lie" in this situation.
The party collected a sizeable reward for Bassilus and added it to their spoils. After spending some of it on company outfitting, a round of Westgate Ruby wine was in order to celebrate. Kivan, having proven himself, was also informed of Beatrix and Imoen's plight. The Elf could relate to her tragedy and promised to keep her secret safe.
After their revelry, Kivan still wanted to hunt bandits, and Beatrix was happy to oblige. They learned of a fishing village to the north, and east of that was the Wood of Sharp Teeth. It was a dense wood with many places for bandit gangs to hide. The party set out the next day.
In truth, I just need a reason to pick up Ajantis. If I wait even another level, his build starts putting pips into (useless, for him) Small Swords. I'd rather put the next pip into blunt weapon specialization. I'll probably have him do maces over hammers since I've already sold off Ashideena and a Mace +1 is cheaper with the same average damage.
Their first encounter was with Ajantis, a knight initiate on a quest to prove himself to the Order of the Radiant Heart. Beatrix was elated to meet such a paladin, instantly inviting him into their company. She immediately explained her and Imoen's predicament. The knight sympathized and vowed to Helm that he would aid them in bringing the villain to justice, should he be found.
I found a weird bug in this village. There's a spawn point in the lower left by the actual village where bandits appear. There should only be a team of about six that might respawn in time if you return to map. However, if the spawn point was out of site, they kept coming while we were on the map. They're a wandering mob, too, so just avoiding the spawn area often wasn't good enough. The party easily killed more than a dozen while on the map.
The party was detoured by a plea for help from some local fishermen. Somehow, they landed on the evil Umberlee's bad side. The paladins gladly offered to investigate. The child priestess resided to the north. She claimed the fishermen tortured and murdered her mother for the secrets to her summoning bowl, which they stole. Neither Beatrix nor Ajantis harbored any love for the evil gods, but that did not make them fair game for theft and murder.
Reload 5. Rolled in a little too heavy and accidentally killed the priestess. On the second go, I just had Kivan fire a single arrow.
They returned to the fishermen who confessed. While the priestess was evil, the fishermen's actions were unjust. The party demanded the stolen bowl and returned it to the priestess.
Also in need of aid, a local farmer's son was missing and the paladins offered their assistance again. Ankhegs had migrated to the surface to mate and the party found a sinkhole to their nest. They discovered a child's body in a pile of debris with some other valuables. Returning to the farmer, he confirmed that this was his son.
All Beatrix could do was to give the poor farmer some gold to help him manage going forward. It was a sad tale, indeed.
Finally, the party assisted a ranger who wanted to cull ankheg overpopulation. Afterwards, Beatrix reflected on the fighting and the creature's tough shells. This gave her an idea. She had the rangers harvest a shell, which Minsc effortlessly carried in his pack.
There was a wood to the east of the village, but it did not have sharp teeth. Beatrix suspected that the river running along the village was the Chionthar. If so, she knew from her studies that they were too far north to catch the wood to the east. Kivan was frustrated over the bad directions they received. All the party could do was return to Beregost and regroup.
Beatrix was already injured when she received the death blow from the Ankheg. I thought she could survive one more hit, should that happen. I was wrong.
In retrospect, rushing Ajantis wasn't remotely necessary. The pips in Small Swords would have given him daggers for a one handed ranged weapon he could use with a shield. Unfortunately, I didn't think of this until after he hit level 3 and I put a second pip in Bunt Weapons. If I had a save from just before this episode, I'd backtrack and take a different route. Oh, well. Onward and upward.
I love a party with two paladins in it. It creates a roleplay dynamic like Star Wars' Jedi Master-Padawan pairs. This particular "Jedi" pair seems to have Beatrix as the more experienced, just going by Ajantis' voice set personality, which makes him seem awfully young. He's not a full-fledged member of his order yet, either.
I noticed that you're already writing "the paladins" decided this and that, do this and that, in your narrative. So it looks like you're already feeling the "there are always two" dynamic there.
FWIW, I didn't ultimately remember. I just got lucky.
Approaching a paladin in a way where morality is not black and white is pretty tricky. As is the nature of the situation, there's no "right" answer. The best you can do is "the human being trying to do the right thing" answer, and everyone's answer to that is different. Often times, when I think of a paladin, I think of Sturm Brightblade from the Dragonlance novels. He was probably my first exposure to a D&D-esque paladin even though he technically wasn't a real knight until shortly before he died. He might have acted like he saw things in black and white, but he didn't behave that way. He presented himself as a knight, but wasn't a formal member of the Knights of Solamnia. He participated in a number of ruses with the companions, or at least turned a blind eye. I also remember one story where the mage (Raistlin) turned everyone else into various animals to sneak them into some kind of enemy encampment, deceiving the residents. Regardless, he certainly believed in honor and did his humanly best to embody it.
This is a quote from Raistlin to his son:
"Your father lied to every person except one- himself. In his heart Sturm was a knight. He had better claim to that false title than many who held it for truth. Sturm Brightblade obeyed laws that no one enforced. He lived by a noble code in which no one else believed. He swore an oath that no one heard. Only himself... and his god. He did that himself. He knew himself."
As for Bassilus, using a little deception to try and talk him down isn't a perfect course, but perhaps the lesser of all evils. This approach is going to be necessary in the next game.
On the gameplay level, I like fighter characters with specials. Generally reliable performance, but not OP, and with a little something extra to make them interesting when needed. In terms of the actual character, I might have prefered something like a ranger (stalker kit, maybe). However, for the story of Baldur's Gate, and GW's origin, a paladin just seemed a better fit.
This particular "Jedi" pair seems to have Beatrix as the more experienced, just going by Ajantis' voice set personality, which makes him seem awfully young.
That's an interesting take, but I'm actually going the other way with that. Ajantis may be inexperienced, but he's still older and has an actual affiliation to the Order whereas Beatrix is still (relatively) a kid and has only read about the Order in books. Plus, this gives me a totally non-meta character motivation to make him party leader, which will come in handy in the event we happen across any washed up nereids on the Sword Coast.
I noticed that you're already writing "the paladins" decided this and that, do this and that, in your narrative. So it looks like you're already feeling the "there are always two" dynamic there.
I'm definitely letting them drive the party's course. I would say that Ajantis is far more rigid than Beatrix, which I expect will become more apparent. It might provide opportunities to juxtopose the letter of the law vs the spirit of it. I haven't fully thought it through, yet; I'm kinda winging it. On top of that, the paladins will find that their agenda will ultimately diverge from Kivan's, which will give me a good exit for him when I need to take Safana for DT. I'm definitely going to miss Kivan, though, he is a beast with a bow.
The smithy offered to make the party a spectacular suit of armor for a hefty fee. Beatrix agreed, thinking it was worth it to better protect Ajantis.
Aside from a guard job that went sideways, there was no work in town itself. Kivan wanted to have another go at the Wood of Sharp Teeth, but Beatrix suggested they first track down the ogres that injured the paladin at the Jovial Juggler. Perhaps they knew this Tazok.
While tracking the ogres, the party met another legend, Drizzt Do'Urden. This was Beatrix's first time meeting a Drow. She read that they were generally evil, but Drizzt turned against those ways and was an honorable adventurer. Beatrix found him to be affable and wished him well.
They found ogres, but no Tazok. Kivan was seething. They reported their success in Beregost. At Kivan's request, the Wood of Sharp Teeth was next. He did not sleep the night before they left.
The wood was teeming with all manner of creatures, peculiar people, and even groups of bandits. However, none of the bandits could be taken alive for questioning. They also found squads of bandits better equipped than the typical riff-raff. Each had a symbol emblazoned on their outfitting: a black claw with three talons on a blood red field. Likely a mercenary group, but who hired them?
The party met another drow in the wood as well as a Flaming Fist guard (awfully far from Baldur's Gate) who wanted to execute her. The guard assumed the Drow was a murderer by nature. Beatrix thought back to her encounter with Drizzt. She attempted to diffuse the situation, but the guard futilely attacked the party. After the fight, the Drow asked to join. Something kept Beatrix from taking on a seventh. Besides, she sensed (not necessarily murderous) evil in the Drow. They went their separate ways, but Beatrix had a burning feeling they would meet again.
Kivan discovered a cabal of red robed mages. Dynaheir revealed they were the Red Wizards of Thay, her nemesis. Beatrix could sense their evil before she could see them. Whatever they were up to, it was no good. Beatrix decided the party should investigate.
The wizards were unsurprisingly reticent and hostile. Beatrix was not sure what took over. Was it empathy over Kivan's frustrations? Was it her own desire for justice? Was it something more primal? There certainly should have been a better way to handle that conversation (except the only dialogue options are begging for your life or being a jerk). Nevertheless, a confrontation ensued.
Dynaheir was off to the side out of site and opened with a fireball. It only took down one of the wizards. The front line was protected from evil, but I forgot to cast a remove fear before the fight. Even though the front was struck by horror, Dynaheir followed up fast with remove fear then and it was no big deal. What ultimately took Beatrix down was too many acid arrows and magic missiles and not enough spell interupts. Kivan was a solid ranged attacker, but Imoen is a crap shot and Dynaheir only had a wand of missiles to use between other spells. Definitely not enough ranged support for three mages, two of which had MI up. I took a similar approach the second go and just tried to split the aggro between Beatrix and Ajantis. We made it through, but took a fair beating for it.
It was a rough fight for the party. They had also explored as much of the wood as they could. Beatrix and Ajantis agreed that they should return to town and recover. Kivan clenched a blacktalon badge he had torn from one of the bandits.
The only real good to come out of this venture was that the smith finished the armor and the party had the means to buy Ajantis a magical sword. Beatrix started to defer more to his experience and station.
I haven't played original classic Baldur's Gate in forever. I believe I've been using EasyTutu for at least the last 10 years, if not longer. I only vaguely remember actual original BG play. But, one thing I do remember is that I used to dual Imoen even before BG2 came out because thieves weren't terribly useful past traps and locks. I recall maxing out these two skills before the dual and getting the levels back for Durlag's Tower and the end game. However, that simply isn't possible.
This is where she is at now. I've only put points in traps and locks so far. In BG1, thieves only get 20 points per level for skills, not the 25 you get for BG2 (but there's also half as many skills in BG1). As you can see, maxing out traps and locks will be impossible. I have 40 more points coming by level 7, when she will dual. Traps will get 15 more points to get to 100%, which will leave me with 25 more points for locks (putting me at 75%). I figure, knock spells and potions can cover me for the shortage, but nothing can really take the place of trap springing.
This has me wondering what I actually did in the original game back in the day. I know I didn't lean on potions/spells, nor did I take on another thief. But what else could I have done, right?
Additionally, I'm pretty sure this is a bug. I know, in BG1, maps respawn in time (I think 8 hours is the standard), but I'm finding that maps are respawning instantly in many places. I'll clear an area, but then double back on it a little later (not having rested, reloaded, or anything), and there are a new (sometimes different) set of enemies in the same spot. My first thought was that I could totally cheese the basilisk forest to catch up Imoen's levels, eliminating the need for Safana or getting rid of someone to make room for Safana. But, I'm not going to do that. I'm actually trying to not even double back on the same maps to even accidentally get "extra" xp.
I don't recall this being a problem back in the day. I mean, Firewine Ruins would spit out kobolds constantly, and some glitchy things could happen if you reload a ton on the same map, but I recall being able to actually clear maps if I just played through.
That's an interesting take, but I'm actually going the other way with that. Ajantis may be inexperienced, but he's still older and has an actual affiliation to the Order whereas Beatrix is still (relatively) a kid and has only read about the Order in books. Plus, this gives me a totally non-meta character motivation to make him party leader, which will come in handy in the event we happen across any washed up nereids on the Sword Coast.
This paragraph made me think of Clone Wars era Anakin with Ahsoka. Looks like Beatrix is the "Snips" analogue in this comparison. I don't think Ajantis has it in him to turn to the dark side like Anakin, but still. Male supervisor who isn't a master in the order, female "padawan" with a destiny of her own, absolutely nothing whatsoever romantic going on, just mutual respect and friendship. At least that was the Anakin/Ahsoka dynamic until Anakin's Face-Heel Turn.
I haven't played original classic Baldur's Gate in forever. I believe I've been using EasyTutu for at least the last 10 years, if not longer. I only vaguely remember actual original BG play. But, one thing I do remember is that I used to dual Imoen even before BG2 came out because thieves weren't terribly useful past traps and locks. I recall maxing out these two skills before the dual and getting the levels back for Durlag's Tower and the end game. However, that simply isn't possible.
This is where she is at now. I've only put points in traps and locks so far. In BG1, thieves only get 20 points per level for skills, not the 25 you get for BG2 (but there's also half as many skills in BG1). As you can see, maxing out traps and locks will be impossible. I have 40 more points coming by level 7, when she will dual. Traps will get 15 more points to get to 100%, which will leave me with 25 more points for locks (putting me at 75%). I figure, knock spells and potions can cover me for the shortage, but nothing can really take the place of trap springing.
This has me wondering what I actually did in the original game back in the day. I know I didn't lean on potions/spells, nor did I take on another thief. But what else could I have done, right?
Additionally, I'm pretty sure this is a bug. I know, in BG1, maps respawn in time (I think 8 hours is the standard), but I'm finding that maps are respawning instantly in many places. I'll clear an area, but then double back on it a little later (not having rested, reloaded, or anything), and there are a new (sometimes different) set of enemies in the same spot. My first thought was that I could totally cheese the basilisk forest to catch up Imoen's levels, eliminating the need for Safana or getting rid of someone to make room for Safana. But, I'm not going to do that. I'm actually trying to not even double back on the same maps to even accidentally get "extra" xp.
I don't recall this being a problem back in the day. I mean, Firewine Ruins would spit out kobolds constantly, and some glitchy things could happen if you reload a ton on the same map, but I recall being able to actually clear maps if I just played through.
I also find myself going "Whoa, I don't remember it being this!" every time I replay original BG1. Modding over the years after BG2 released turned a BG1 play into a totally different game, and the time when original BG1 was all there was, is so distant in the past, few remember what a "true" BG1 game was like. I think the backports of BG2 changes into BG1 were, in my completely unsupported by evidence, speculative opinion, what necessitated SCS as a mod for people who still wanted to do a trilogy run including BG1. The bottom line is that BG1 was never balanced for BG2 changes, and it was much more challenging (and in my opinion, charming and interesting) than people remember from before they changed it to backport BG2 abilities into it.
With no leads to follow, the party's best option was to simply seek adventure. Rumors of eastern ruins crawling with evil, Ulcaster and Firewine, presented an opportunity. Kivan was not keen to wander off the course of bandits, but having no other leads, the paladins were agreeable to smiting other evils.
The ghost of Ulcaster himself roamed the ruins. He was missing a book which made Beatrix miss Candlekeep.
Beatrix suspected that this ruin was picked clean long ago. All they found were assorted baubles from failed adventurers before them. The current residents were wolves that made the school their den. Ulcaster's book was found in the bedding of the pack leader.
The weird thing is that Imoen scouted this area out for traps and found all the wolves. She fell back so the party could make their attack, but on a second approach, only the vampiric wolf was there. The rest seemed to have de-spawned.
The book was returned to Ulcaster, who then went into the light. Beatrix envied his closure.
Meilum is evil?
Firewine had as much happening above as below. Kivan was simply not in the mood when he met Meilum while scouting. The party eventually caught up to him being chased around rubble by the swordsman while Kivan riddled him with arrows.
Carsa could have been handled better, but Kivan is a man of few words. The ogre mage she summoned gave the party a good fight, and perhaps gave the Elf cause for pause with his ire.
Probably another bug. Invisibility should last for up to 24 hours or until broken. However, I'm finding it's only lasting maybe four-ish in game hours. One casting was not nearly enough to de-trap the ruins. With a single casting, I could only just make a beeline for the ogre mage. Then I had to loop back around from the halfling house, to the ale house, to that secret entrance and use another casting for the ghosts and undead knight quest. I know BG1 doesn't run the same way it used to on newer machines, but this is definitely the most annoying bug of it.
The ruins themselves were a brutal affair. The passages were tight with little room to maneuver. Their kobold adversaries were weak, but many and practically coming out of the walls. Invisible Imoen scouted and disarmed traps as far as the master of the dungeon: an evil wizard and ogre mage. To get there, Ajantis led the party with Kivan behind him on his bow. Imoen and Dynaheir stayed relatively safe in the middle. Minsc and Beatrix covered the rear and handled any kobolds that came from behind.
The ogre mage was actually hoping that adventurers would come so it could slay them and take their valuables. However, it did not factor in that eventually a group of adventures would best it in combat, as this party did.
There was a passage behind the ogre mage's lair, which led to the basement of a halfling home. One of Gullykin's residents was actually complicit in the ogre mage's scheme. Before he could be brought to justice, the halfling attacked and was no match for the party.
The party found bounty hunters outside Gullykin waiting for Beatrix! How did they even know where to find her? Coincidence? Was Beatrix's cover just not good enough? Dynaheir observed that the party's actions were resulting in notable visibility (Reputation 18 at this point) and Gullykin drew all manner of adventurer. Perhaps it was a calculated guess.
Beatrix's instincts were right that morning after Gorion was slain. She looked at Imoen and was confident avoiding the Friendly Arm Inn kept the two of them alive. Beatrix ruminated during the trip back to Beregost.
This was my first time hitting this part of the map, but I did go in and out of a house and temple in Gullykin. There should only be either dread wolves, dire wolves, wolves or kobolds on this spot. Instead, I have four enemy spawns at once. Thank god for fireballs.
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