BG3 Honour Mode: strategy & tactics (many spoilers)

[Black Elk]

This might be the happiest my Durge has ever looked...

Watching Gnolls explode into mist and puddles of gore lol

Had to leave Nah Din on the literal cliffhanger so I could play 'Minthara and Me' with Bah Din.

Bah Din is a horrid Gold Dragon lineage Sorcerer with a lawful bent. Rocking orange and red gold as the safety colors this time, playing against type. A fools gold. His ethical code is wolf eats world and highly Cynical, but the dogs get a pass so he's at least gotta little Good in there somewhere. Otherwise though it's daggers out. Scorching Ray first, ask questions later. That sorta deal.

He locked himself into the evil path super early on, making a number of terrible decisions in rapid succession. Got Us killed on the Nautiloid and almost biffed it completely right out the gate vs the Cambions, but Lae'zel somehow pulled that one out at the last second hehe

Hit the beach running, and never looked back. Alfira went down almost immediately, like I must have jumped the gun. She showed up at camp before we even met the squirrels and got knocked off. I'm still not sure whether or not Shadowheart might have been responsible. Or at least that was the line we might have spun to Lae'zel.

Disguise Self seemed intriguing while still giving the fire resistance (pretty reliable since fire damage is all over the place.) Seemed slightly more compelling than Burning Hands for the Red dragon lineage, which is also fire. We'll get around to that one eventually I'm sure, but this time figured to go for a more lawful than chaotic evil vibe and keeping it pure class. Anyhow got that one for flavor from the lineage, just in case we need to dissemble and use guile.

Our Charisma is usually reliable, but then we also crit failed to persuade Astarion not to drink us to death, so who knows? Lol

That was pretty funny, just face planted twice in a row and got completely exsanguinated haha. Serves us right I suppose. Anyhow dusted that one off with a zombie scroll and called it a wash.

We sided with Minthara and slew the Grove. Made some plans to reconnect at Moonrise and then immediately fell into something with Lae'zel.

I had skipped over Byrnna and Andric initially by accident in the rush get everything sorted at the Goblin camp. Trying to basically ignore the Grove and everything connected to it as best we could after springing Sazza from jail. Figured to just lock myself into villainy right from the getgo. There was some weirdness, as when I came back later everyone at the owlbear cave behaved like we didn't know what the Absolute was (as if we didn't just have a big camp celebration with Minthara, and Volo in his cage and everything!) but we just went with it. Rolling punches.

Managed to save the Owlbear cub again for good measure, then sent them about their business. We put zombie Brynna in charge of "the New Emerald grove" for the time being. She's the 'Arch druid' of goodberries and protection from poison hehe. I enjoy the zombies more if you don't ask them why they're "talking like that" makes em feel more personable hehe.

I had poisoned most of the Goblin camp on the way out to play it safe, so when we got back there was a new Gobbo trader waiting who I hadn't met before. He said Minthara told him to stay behind and collect the goods haha. That was sorta convenient, cause I thought we'd have to just rely on Paladins of Tyr. Just barely dodged Karlach with deception so we wouldn't have to put her down. Lae'zel smooth talked her way through the Voss encounter so the mountain pass is open, but first had to stomp some Gnolls.

I had forgotten all about Lump and the gang, so we went battle royale Gnolls vs Ogres. The Flind faught with a fury, and Frank was dunzo pretty quick style, but Lump prevailed in the end, only to get nailed by an errant firebolt at the last second, courtesy of Bah Din hehe. Chock just took off running!

I think we're going to have to bring the mayhem to the Monastery now, but I'm intrigued by something Crimson posted the other day, that if I can cast Silence on the group once we recruit Minthara at Moonrise, that we can then travel back from the Shadowlands to the earlier areas with her.

Might experiment with that a bit. I don't think she'll have anything to say, but maybe I can get her to pull the sword in the stone or something if I play my cards right lol.

Anyhow, still humming!

Have a fun week all!

 

[Black Elk]

I have been at it again! Well, never really stopped, but managed to grab some screens of my latest campaign.

Many Dins are still slogging their way through the lower city, foot draggin on the finale cause supposedly new Evil endings will arrive in Sept.

Meantime, we're taking some tours with the witches...

This battle right here from yesterday was absolutely nuts!

Everything was going great, like I hit all my resist the Durge marks, right up until the Last Light Inn. That's when Isobel got nailed in the opening round and everything went all to hell.

Lae'zel had smoked Marcus with a one shot, just right into the dirt, so we thought it was in the bag, but somehow a pair of demons flew in and Isobel got herself killed on an opportunity attack from the many demonic claws!

I have never had it happen like this before, where I managed to save Jaheira after the Last Light was destroyed!!!

Like I legit just thought it was somehow coded so that Jaheira would always die fighting if Isobel went down, crazy enemies just keep on coming. Every other time this happened to me Jaheira got immediately merc'd by all our friends turning into Shadow-cursed Harpers and those fucking vines and then those giant vines that come right afterwards. Jaheira would die, I'd get sad and then TPK being swarmed by hordes of undead. This time though, because Isobel was killed almost immediately I still had most of my spellslots!

It was the hardest fight yet in BG3 for me, with the primary challenge of somehow keeping Jaheira on her feet. Took me like an hour, but we killed them all!

Karlach came like such a boss!!! I was never more pleased with my decision to leave her as an Elk Heart Barbarian: Aspect of the Elk, because she somehow managed to move just where I needed her to be, every time! Elk rage is insane for how much movement it hooks up. She came so clutch, and it all keyed up with the story. Like the stakes just never felt higher. I'm pretty sure she might be toast now, because Dammon is dead. I honestly have no clue, but even if she doesn't make it across the finish line, I mean damn, that was just epic beyond belief. She saved her hero! And all of us, honestly! She has the Elk Heart, even if we have nobody to fix up her infernal engine now. Good grief. Maybe I can cut a deal with the Devil somehow?

Also, like I jumped through all those hoops to save Alfira and swoop the potent robes in Act II, only to see Alfria turn to necrotic dust before our eyes when the whole Inn turned. Rolan is dead, Talli got dropped before we'd even purchased any camp supplies, I mean it was looking grim, but somehow Arabella is still alive! Now it's down to Sister Lidwin again in the house of healing as a prime merchant. Usually I would have given up, but because Jaheira is somehow in my camp right now we press on.

Tief Draconic Sorcerer has been pretty entertaining. I have her as a Pseudo-Sorlock Dragon for the Eldritch Blast and Hex via Magic Initiate: Warlock. Also just a mechanically wonky Poison lineage, which I figured would be like a self imposed nerf cause I know the damage type isn't really optimal. I made Karlach into such a powerhouse though that she picks up most of our slack. No tavern throwing nonsense needed, just the giant flaming sword and movement for days hehe. She's always in reach!

 

[Black Elk]

Some highlights from Act I and into the Shadowlands with Big K...

Heathers the Tiefling is basically copying the plotline of her favorite coming of age story, with Veronica Sunblossom there to keep her honest. Our first Withers goodberry recruit hehe. We did all the stuff, got the Hag's hair while still saving Mayrina for the bitter divorce and everything, but man, just didn't see that Last Light coming down! lol. That changes everything!

I think it was the most I've ever sweat in BG3, especially when it started looking like we might actually pull it off and keep Jaheira alive! And then did!

Like I don't even mind that we can't get the Potent Robes anymore, it was just such a big moment. I think for a better routing strategy, next time I won't go upstairs to Isobel's room until after I've done all the stuff at Moonrise first, but then given how things almost went this time, I'll take victory from the jaws of defeat for sure. Everything about Jaheira's entrance into this campaign felt so much more intense haha

Don't worry Ellyka, you don't have to go it alone anymore... lol

She really does make the whole game for me! heheh

Good times!

 

[Antimatter]

Great screenshots, and all your main characters are hot. She's so GREEN, and blends naturally, and those horns!

And that list of Honour Runs! I guess, the fact that everything has only 1 chance makes it especially appealing to those who like to play fair. That's neat: endless opportunities to try out new characters.

 

[Black Elk]

Haha thanks! Speaking of one chance... lol

Guess we'll never quite find out how that particular series of events would have panned out in Act III. Seems like it might be pretty hard to replicate in future runs heheh

Alas, we have no one to blame but ourselves - can't really pin this on Dame Aylin. My choice to bench Shadowheart at the last minute was definitely ill advised. I was nervous that Jaheira might bounce on me, so we brought her on board initially, then reconsidered and shuffled around while still in the huddle up. I think Karlach would have done fine regardless, since she came super close to sealing the deal there, but everything fell apart when we went in close for the killshot at the very end. Myrkul used his legendary, then scythed my whole front line with no mercy.

The bone chill bubble with all my heavy hitters down and no way to yeet them or dimension door out of the danger zone. I had a firewall up, so I thought the necromites would get torched, but somehow he managed to eat one anyway and restored like 100 HP at the worst possible time. I just couldn't keep pace killing all the Necromite adds while also doing enough direct damage to clinch it. What tripped me up most though was Isobel, since she threw a wrench in my kill sequence. Like usually I'd AoE that first wave of Necromites and Intellect Devourers right after killing the flayer, but Isobel was drawing fire and forcing a delay of game! Had to use too many of Minthara's smites in that first part. I should have just brought some smokepowder barrels to nuke them, but with all the commotion at the Last Light, I had forgotten to stop off at the camp chest, predictably.

I think on the whole, Poison Draconic Sorcery lineage just isn't going to get the job done here lol. It's very obviously a trap Sub-Class, cause the damage type is just super weak sauce for the majority of the campaign. Like there are all these random items that would seem to tease a badass poison dragon via itemization, but by the time the extra damage and resistance comes online at level 6 the enemies we face are mostly immune. Like compared to Fire, or Cold, or Electricity or even Acid, the Poison damage is basically useless in most encounters and a massive nerf to be all organizing a build around it.

There are no decent poison spells beyond what we start out with upcast, not until Cloudkill, and even Cloudkill just sorta sucks in BG3. I mean that's a 5th level spell requiring concentration (so Character lvl 9 at the earliest to cast as levelled spell) but the damage from AoE there is unreliable and it just doesn't hit heavy enough for the cost. Maybe if being a poison dragon added poison damage to Noxious Cloud, or some other spell we get sooner, but basically it's down to Chromatic Orb and Ray of Sickness, which are both pretty weak. I had a gang of toxins and poisons which I'd forget to use for weapon coatings, all the various amulets and rings and robes. That girl is poison, like Bell Biv Devoe style, but it didn't really pan out hehe. Like Ice Storm and Firewall or really anything is better than poison. I kept thinking how it would have been cool to gain Necrotic damage/resistance instead, like for a similarly green sort of magic dragon lady, but where we wouldn't have to be all green with envy looking at the other dragons and their badass elemental spell options.

Next time we drag Heathers back from the grave for the endless groundhog's day, I might just make her a Necromancer or a Green Fire/Green Ice dragon instead lol. Similarly, I didn't find the Magic Initiate Warlock feat to be all that impressive in the final tally. Eldritch Blast is an awesome cantrip to be sure, since it scales (which I liked, especially for the theme here), but without the Potent Robes or some other way to pump up the damage there, it wasn't really all that useful. Without the Eldritch invocations to complement it was just hard to make good use of that one. It did fit the vibe though, so I don't know, maybe there's a way to work that one back in, but there are other feats that just seem better for the cost. ASI in the prime, war caster or stuff like that, whereas Eldritch Blast and Hex just felt like RP flavor mostly.

Still, it was one for the ages with that Last Light battle! Many honour runs have come undone right around the 30 hour mark, so we'll have to take it in stride. I already want to try again. There's gotta be a green dragon somewhere! lol

 

[Black Elk]

Well hell - true to form, I decided to bring her back and give it another go. This time as a silver tongued Draconic S'wizard!

I haven't tried that one before with honours, cause the multi-class was a little confusing to me mechanically, but I decided to make the shot call and go necromancer-esque. I'm intrigued by the idea of a basically good witch, but who still raises the dead for antics hehe. I figure going silver leaves more room open to reflect whatever hues, in this case necrotic green I guess. Also because there was a silver ingot in the very first chest on the nautiloid and we hit a crit 20 for our first roll of the run! So I'll take that as a good sign. Shadowheart came like a total boss with necrotic damage vs the Cambion too, who we managed to kill this time without too much effort. So again seems like stars aligning.

To combine Draconic Sorcerer with 1 level in Wizard, I dumped Dex a bit to focus on having a decent base INT. Just in case I somehow can't kill Lump for his Circlet that sets Intelligence to 17. Usually it works out fine if I summon them to the Ragzlin fight and let the Goblins wear them down, but you never know for sure. So I took a 13 there and pushed Constitution to 15 for the HP and the concentration saves. I get stung on initiative initially but can make that up once we reach the Creche for the DEX gloves from Jeera, hopefully the scales make up some of the difference for the AC boost. The plan is to push ASI in Charisma to 19 for the feat at lvl 5 and hopefully nab the hag's hair for an even 20 in CHA when that happens.

I like to take the second Class right away on the beach, so that the run will feel properly like a multi-class run, like from the very beginning and working around that hit to the power spike, just so I don't lose out on the flavor there. Also because it's a little easier to get the ball rolling sooner rather than later for me. If I kick the can it never feels worth it later on to take a 1 lvl dip, not in Act II when every power up from a multi seems to be outweighed by the advantages of just remaining pure class. Respecs are weird for this one because of the way Wizards write their spells and the hotbars getting out of sorts, so I started Draconic Sorcerer at lvl 1 for the Scales then took Wizard at lvl 2.

At Character Level 3 (Sorcerer 2/Wizard 1) the Multi-Class power up is already online, and the way spellslots are handled becomes a little clearer. At Class level I have only lvl 1 spells known. At first level my Wizard has 6 known spells, they can prepare 2 (for the Intelligence I started with 13, gives the +1). A second level Sorcerer also only has lvl 1 spells, they know fewer but can cast more often, so 3 spellslots there. Because I'm a pure caster at Character level 3, that also means I have 2 second level spellslots that open at this point. I don't know any lvl 2 spells natively, so usually this would only allow for the first level sorcery spells to be upcaste (say magic missile) but because the Wizard can write spells, it's possible to caste a second level spell which would otherwise be unavailable. It means that the Sorcerer can keep pace by learning more powerful magic via Wizard knowledge, even when falling slightly behind the power curve there. Same deal for a level 5 Character, at the Sorcerer 4/1 Wizard split. The number that can be prepared is still limited, in my case right now it's only 2 Wizard spells, but the important thing is that I can use the slots for those higher level spells. This time I found Hold Person beneath the Blighted Village, so it shows an example of how that's done.

Also Arcane recovery will restore a level 1 spellslot, so that can be used for a Sorcery point bonus. Later on if I get the circlet we might get a few more perks being able to learn a few more spells, but mostly for the Wizard I focused on utility ritual stuff since they have access to stuff like longstrider, jump etc. For cantrips I picked light and mage hand etc to round stuff out, since my Sorcerer cantrips were for damage and friends hehe.

I like to roll with Shovel as the familiar for the better lines, but the wizard spell Find Familiar is also kinda cool for having a few more options for pals. I think the main benefit will be with summoning spells which would otherwise be unavailable. Like I got my eye on Animate Dead, just so I can keep up with the theme here. At the level cap we should still be able to achieve draconic flight as a S'wizard 11/1. Maybe even a Pseudo S'wizlock, if such a thing exists? lol like via the Warlock Initiate thing again, but I think just having a skeleton will be enough for me there. For the rest we can use our imagination! hehe

 

[Black Elk]

We nabbed the Circlet of Intellect!

Now we get to live out our ultimate S'wizard power fantasy hehe

Right on!

Here's how it looks at Character level 5 (Sorcerer Lvl 4, Wizard lvl 1)

You can see that even though I'm only Sorcerer level 4, we can still cast Fireball and Sleet Storm which I was able to pick up from Arron after the camp celebration. Cost a couple hundred gold to write the spells down, but has me giving up really nothing for the multiclass dip, since I can still keep pace with the power spikes via Wizard magic.

With INT at 17 we get a few more prepared spells as well. So I prepped Long Strider since its always useful, then Hold Person for the knockouts, plus a heavier hitting 3rd lvl damage spell for the big kabooms and a nice crowd control option right at the power curve.

Of the two 3rd level spells I have right now I think Sleet Storm is probably the more powerful all around. It doesn't do damage, but usually knocks a few enemies prone and breaks up their concentration with a very wide AoE that makes it hard for enemies to move around. It's really useful for killing all those Ghouls and Death Shepards along the mountain pass, or to nail a bunch of Githyanki warriors before they can get off a million crossbow bolts via edgepan. Fireball still has the classic charm and feels good to use, so a pretty clutch get there. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for Haste as well.

I'm pretty sure there is no scroll anywhere for Counterspell so I'll probably take that when I hit Character lvl 6 (Sorcerer 5/Wizard 1). I just feel like the Reaction always seems pretty good to have in the back pocket, you really feel it when it that one screws an enemy spellcaster. This way we have a lot more versatility than usual. Sorcery points are on par with pure class Sorcerer here, because I can use arcane recovery to restore a spellslot after eating it, so not really losing out on anything there.

Overall feels pretty powerful. Probably a good thing I didn't try it sooner, as now it will be hard not to play as a vile S'wizard and explore the options here. Taking a second level in Wizard could potentially be interesting since they get their Sub-Class early, though I think I still want the Draconic flight at lvl 11 sorcerer, so I don't know. We'll have to see how things feel once we start Animating Dead. We checked in with Rolan and the gang to watch the fireworks at the camp celebration and then got hella drunk with Shadowheart hehe. We've been consulting our Handbook for the Recently Deceased and casting Bone Chill whenever possible just to stay on brand!

Success! Now we just gotta get the drop on the Hag to save May and we'll be on our way

Fingers crossed! hehe

 

[Antimatter]

Ah, I see, pretty powerful. Would you consider this behavior a bug, a cheat, or some cheese mechanic? And when you mention the Draconic flight, does it mean that part is treated differently by their Engine?

Natural 20 on a very important check, probably the most important of them all, hehe!

 

[Black Elk]

Hard to say, I'm not familiar enough with how things work for this in regular D&D now, like I think the same thing goes down with other multiclass caster combos, just cause of the way spellslots work now. So total spellslots granted by Character level rather than Class Caster level. I still don't get any more total spellslots than I would otherwise. So I think a Sorcerer 4/1 with any other full caster class combo will still be granting those 2 spellslots when you hit lvl 5. Like to do the upscasted stuff, but for the regular Sorcerer you're limited by what you can Learn or Replace at lvl up.

Wizard can write down whatever they find or can afford to purchase though, so if we come across a higher level scroll we can add it to our repertoire, provided the character has a spellslot at that level already available. In terms of what the game allows feels pretty solid, especially at that key lvl 5 breakpoint for the power spikes. There is still a tradeoff at the high end I think, because I'm limited by the total number of spells I can prepare and using INT, but since these will naturally be the best I can get at those breaks when everyone else is hitting their power ups it's still pretty nice.

Wizards are also limited by not being able to write 6th levels spells, they can only learn those when they level up, so I will still be delayed on the lvl 6 spells spike, which can be significant. Although by that point in the game stuff is more stable, wheras at lvl 5 it's a pretty major boost.

I went After Ethel and had her nailed as soon as we opened the door, but somehow I forgot to keep May in the silence bubble after the Hag went all shifty. I knocked Ethel out with non-lethal but she was only temp hostile since I opened with the Silence bubble. Somehow she remained in initiative after sucking May into the lair, so I went after her with just fists and knocked her out. She was on the floor by the fireplace, but still yellow with 1 hp, so I long rested to see if I could take another chance at getting the hair. Even though I knew Mayrina would be downstairs, which I like to try and avoid if I can. In that version all the Masked peeps will appear friendly as you pass by and all the noxious fumes will be disabled, but then when you get down there the Hag calls all her minions instead of doing the Weird Magic copy thing to open. I just went hardcore after the Witch ignoring the Masked helpers.

I used my new Sleet Storm spell to knock her prone, then rushed in to bring her down below 20 hp with Karlach. Managed to make the deal for the 20 in CHA, but lost the Bitter Divorce. It's whatever, I figure Karlach is down to eat soul coins, so she must have shook it off.

Certain spells will definitely be better if using CHA to make the hits, so trying to mostly focus on Utility stuff in Wizard. AoEs and Buffs, or things where my 17 won't hurt me too much. I have been cruising with a 10 DEX for a while and didn't feel it too hard for initiative. I didn't want to be totally dependent on the Circlet, cause towards the end there is better headgear, but it's tough to give up the INT. I don't like to dump under 10 because seeing that -1 come up first always gives me pause, but we could probably do the switcheroo and push DEX now.

With the bracers and scales I can get my AC pretty high that way without needing the DEX Gloves, or using Cat's Grace on myself instead of Karlach, though I do feel like she wears that one better. Doing Karlach as a high Dex Elk Barbarian is pretty fun like 18s in each and just have her running all over the place and usually going first, bursting from the backfield to back the plays. Shadowheart also hops around with those gloves that do the little flourish jump after dashing, found hidden in the tree. Those with the Boots of Speed + Spirit Guardians and she's all over the place too. I kept Crushers ring for myself for now, just so I'd have a more regular movement radius until we decide on how to handle our Dexterity. Pretty entertaining thus far though. I didn't too feel much judgement coming my way from this crew - they kept it practical heheh

On the whole my initial impression of S'wizard is that it feels like a more badass version of the classic Wizard. Sorta like the Wizards of older editions maybe, when they just clowned on other classes once they hit those higher levels. Like having Meta Magic mana and a Spellbook to boot, feels pretty oldschool Wizard, which I enjoy! But then also the raw unadulterated arcana coming from CHA, cause that's just like the ultimate. Not really having to work for it most the time, silver tongued, but still getting the meta magic anyway. Eat your heart out Gale! I mean right? hehe

It's fun to have the sensible Wizard dialogue too, alongside the snarky Sorcerer dialogue options, just to mix things up.

I gotta say, even though I went for Shadowheart this run, I've really taken to Lae'zel in Orange! She rocks it so well! It's my go-to safety color for her now. Need to spring for some more dyes

ps. Blurg just hooked it up with the Haste scroll! I also grabbed the Magic Missile amulet for good measure hehe. Still rocking the Matriarch robes and the Hag's staff, just to get in a little poisoning before we swoop into some better kit at the Creche. I think this Spell package should carry me until we hit the Shadowlands. I used Sleet Storm again to handle the Spectator, but then switched it out for Twin Haste since they compete on concentration. Might bring it back for a couple of the big fights where I know it will be useful, but I think going speedy is best way to coast through the Underdark for now. Preparing spells is definitely fun and makes things feel much more wizard-like. I'm going to try and get some kaboom Fireballs going vs the Duergar by the Beach, while that spell still has impact hehe. Karlach has been practicing her throws.

I still got my eye out for that scroll to summon a skeleton of my very own!

Hopefully we'll come across that one before too long hehe

 

[Black Elk]

Finally got our skeleton!

Yeah OK, so definitely, I think this might now be my favorite caster archetype in BG3! Just an encounter flattening spellcaster with the magic fingers hehe. Not so much because the multi-class combo is overpowered, although it almost certainly is, but just because it feels overpowering in the right ways for my Mage playstyle. What I enjoy most about BG3 is the group synergy when you just kinda walk into the room and let the chips fall, then try to deal using whatever you got in the grab bag. I just like the surprise factor and then seeing how one thing knocks into the next with whatever crew. For pure class sorcerer I end up pretty reliant on scrolls and the burst opener, but with the level in Wizard I get some tension there between raw power vs overall utility to the group. Also having to prep the Wizard spells in advance rewards the meta a bit more and just adds to the bookish feel. I briefly thought about taking Blink for emergencies, but then just decided to keep my Cloud of Daggers for old times sake lol.

The Wizard dialogue branches are usually closer to what I'm after in most exchanges so that's cool too, although Sorcerer snark sometimes fits the bill, so I like having that to play off. I found myself spending a bit more time chatting it up with Gale, and the whole exchange with Elminster felt a bit more consequential. Like whereas usually Gale is back benching it, now it seems like he's somehow more involved even though he's not really. I don't plan to detonate, but also didn't want to have him feeling too left out, so we dialed him up in some purple summer robes. They looked alright on us, I couldn't quite work the red trim in for myself, so he gets second dibs on whatever arcane stuff I come across that I can't really make use of. Love those dramatic clips! hehe

This time we didn't mess around at the Last Light Inn, first we got Karlach sorted with the infernal iron so she'd at least be stable no matter what went down, before heading upstairs to rescue Isobel. Thought about leaving it till later, but the craziness of last run had me wanting to just get it out of the way. This time I did not forget to cast sanctuary on Isobel so it went off without a hitch and on pace to Moonrise.

Hit lvl 7 while freeing Minthara. I used twin meta magic to nail the Twins and got her off to camp, then went back to kill Z'rell. Hold person and then quickened chromatic orb thunder to take out the scrying eye. No one was the wiser.

Hold Person is a crazy CC spell. If you can get it off without being observed you can sometimes just murder an NPC outright walk out the door and pretend like nothing happened. In my head I imagine that, to all appearances, Z'rell is just sitting in her chair all frozen in place and propped up like Weekend at Bernies.

Like when the Guards come into check on her and she just ignores them, cause she's dead, that all must seem normal for Moonrise hehe.

In any case now at least I know we won't have to face down the blackhole or risk her cutting the chord on Jaheira, since her tadpole already been absorbed. Last time when it was just Sister Lidwin scrolls were tight, so this time trying to keep Roah and Talli around for that. Same method on the Warden, worked like a charm hehe.

I put Minthara in baby blue this out, with the Infernal Plate and the sword of Silence. Karlach in Cat's Grace cause she rocks it well. Lae'zel in the Adamantine split for the samurai style and Shadowheart in the Luminous half plate or the Shar getup depending on the zone. Then my main in the Potent Robes. I went Black and summer Green this time for the safety colors hehe

Level 7 does feel pretty potent, though sometimes I just wear the regular robes anyway cause I like the look. At this point I get a single 4th level spellslot, so basically a choice between Ice Storm or a pair of Minor Ice Elementals right now. Or I can also upcast my 3rd level spell to get 3 Skeletons or Triple Zombies, which is also pretty useful. I keep longstrider cause it's good for everybody, but then switch between Hold Person or direct damage spell for the second level wizard spell depending on the enemies, like humanoids vs undead. Also traded out the Ice staff for Melf's First staff from Blurg just cause it looks cool hehe. Some spells I feel make more sense to be coming from the Draconic lineage, like the counterspell or the lightning, anything neon green, but then other stuff feels more fitting from hitting the books with Shovel. As a multiclass it probably feels a bit backwards, like it's almost the vibe I'd expect more from a main Class wizard with a 1 lvl dip in Sorcerer, but I always gotta take the first level in Sorcerer cause to me it makes more sense as something innate that's there from the getgo just cause of the whole lineage aspect, whereas Wizard feels somehow more appropriate to pick up along the way. Whatever works

We're all very concerned about Art, and hope he makes a full recovery soon lol

'Oakfather preserve us'

Or something like that hehe

So far so good! She's got the look and the vibe. Now we just gotta make it over the line! lol

 

[Black Elk]

Taste it Myrkul! hehe

This time I opted not to bench Shadowheart at the last second, which proved to be the wise call for getting over the hump at the end of Act II. I just couldn't bring myself to revise my usual hit squad with Minthara and Lae'zel leading the charge lol. I really wanted to slot in Karlach just for variety, but had to make the hard calls there. She was already starting to be eclipsed by the other warriors even at level 9, and while I do enjoy the passive movement buffs she brings to the table for the rest of the party, for raw damage Lae'zel and Minthara are just tough to top. I also felt like Minthara and Lae'zel would probably both be more invested in that particular fight, whereas in my head it makes sense for Karlach and Jaheira to hold down the fort and help protect the fuzz puls and all the Tiefs and Harpers, so that was my rationale. I figured Lae'zel would be the first in line to kill whatever in the Illithid colony on account of ancient grudges, with Minthara to smite, and she didn't disappoint. The clincher for Act II is always very satisfying when things go to plan instead of all to hell. Like if we can take it that far, taking it all the way seems more feasible.

I managed the Wisdom save to avoid Half Illithid transformation just by the skin of our teeth with the last Inspiration! Almost too close for comfort there.

Then we just charged straight into Act III and started trying to chip away at it.

I brought Karlach back on board for the round about town, she has speak with Animals and is my lockbreaker for anything that isn't like 30s to unlock. For bank robbing needed to bring Astarion back into the mix, but otherwise she usually manages ok with advantage from the Cat's Grace robes, but I'm still trying to decide what to do with her in terms of the party comp. I liked the idea of her striking in from the backfield and just ripping toe to toe, but I also figured we had to go rescue Ravengard pretty soon too - the way I was trying to high tail it - so Karlach went Crocodile mile for my second Bestial Heart.

Together with Aspect of the Elk, her movement speed=distance is pretty fucking wild hehe. She gets a movement bonus while traversing across wet surfaces now too, which are pretty common, what with all the ice storms we end up tossing around. Her baseline damage output remains pretty decent but I basically just use her to dart around and draw aggro. Like walks anywhere, always in reach. Usually with the largest weapon I can find, probably a polearm hehe. The Returning Pike also remains pretty useful for her. Not as crazy as a tavern brawling berserker, but even without the feats or the extra bonus action attacks, all the random Kushigo kit and rings to fling make that one pretty decent from the high ground. I do feel like Barbarians are kinda starved for bonus actions, which end up getting used for reckless antics or raging. This occasionally cause me problems depending on initiative or positioning when the battles begin. Like nothing is more annoying than having to waste a bonus on Jump or Misty step just to get beyond friendly party members or summons. Out in the field she's rushing with the Elk Heart, but in a narrow ass corridor trying to squeeze between Shadowheart and an Earth Elemental? Sometimes I end up having to use the Pike in those situations, just cause everyone else is constantly body blocking us lol.

The bonus action economy can be kind tight in that way, because there are lots of options to gain extra Actions via magic but bonus actions are harder to boost. Rogues can get extra bonus actions to hide, dash, disengage, but sometimes you just really need that Jump in order to get around friendly party members body blocking the optimal path. I think thrown weapons are useful in those cases, but awkward mainly because the ghost previews are hard to parse with those big curving arcs. Ranged Weapons are also awkward sometimes for the same reason. I'm constantly finding situations where I can hit an enemy with an arrow but not a ray, or where an arrow can get around a banister railing but a ray can't for some reason. Or where a thrown weapon will be obstructed by say some feature on the ceiling.

With ranged attacks or spells too, the ghost movement preview will sometimes be wonky already anyway, like where you have to move first to get in range and the preview will show that automatically. But for thrown weapons you have to sorta inch along to target, since it won't show the same run and gun type rangefinder the way you'll get for bows or crossbows. In any case, we still have Karlach in the rotation for story stuff, but I think that's the reason she ends up getting benched more often than not for me. I think there's probably a Multiclass for her that I might enjoy more, like making her into some kind of Bounty Hunter Tracker type character via a dip into something else after she gets the extra attack. Since Barbarian is kinda underwhelming at the high end, probably some combo there to give her a power up. I might have to think about it.

Meantime we were just grinding it out in Act III to the lower city. I just followed the main beats in Rivington then used feather fall to get the ball rolling and save Florrick.

My hope was to just plot along and do the mini-setpiece fights till I hit lvl 11. So I went after the Hag and the Sundries first to power up our spellcasting badest witch in town street cred. The Arcane Spellcasters kinda get pigeon holed into using the best kit in class so we sorta know that will end up. I guess it's not too dissimilar to BG1 where you'd always find yourself in some Robes of the Arch Magi eventually, but then having items like that which are just so clearly better than everything else makes the weaker flavor items seem hard to hold onto. Like once you have an Amulet that can replace a lvl 6 spellslot, it's hard to justify wearing anything else lol. Or like a staff that can cast lvl 6 spell without expending a spellslot or Chain lightning on the fly, I mean you gotta just use that once it's available, cause nothing else really competes. It does tend to pancake the character a little bit though, spread out like that and flipped around for whatever item is best in class, but I guess that's also BG in it's way.

I ended up ditching the Mantle, mainly just cause the clips were annoying me. Now that we're all fancy in Act III instead of haunting the woods, I like to avoid the clips where we can. Priority 1 was getting the dress from the Facemakers and making sure I could keep the black and green theme going even in camp getups, but the cut on the Potent Robes or Lorroakan's look pretty nice. Everything looks much better without a cape. Clearly our tail is happier without these evil cloaks and such getting in the way. I dyed the Mantle black with the drakes dye and gifted it Shadowheart, like in a show of good faith. She manages to make pretty good use of it, since some of her kit gives bonuses to spell attacks from the shadows it makes for an alright combo. Sometimes I forget though that I'm no longer invisible half the time, so trading off some danger for style there I guess.

Just hit level 12 trying to rescue the Gondians. We managed the undersea adventure well in enough with Aspect of the Crocodile and elemental warps. Freed our buddy from the society of Brilliance and saved the gnomes, but things went rather less well at the Foundry. It was pretty much that one scene in The Running Man, like dude a made a break for it "For Gond!" but then the brain dynamite went off for like the whole room. We pressed on to the nerve center to face the big guy, but just got flattened by the molten infernal lava. Lae'zel let out a death howl like I've never heard before and Shadowheart was already melted into the floor. Somehow the dudes big gun special nailed me even through Globe of Invulnerability we'd cast from a scroll. We I saw the Woodland Being explode into flames I knew it might get hectic.

Heathers broke for the door but Jaheira stuck it out in Myrmidon form. She cast invisibility and then decided to use the runepowder bomb as the last Harper standing. Not the best of all possible outcomes but we put Barcus in charge so I guess that's something. Jaheria looked pretty spent after that one. I think we'll make our way over towards her spot after this to recoup, but decided to sleep just right there in the smoldering rubble lol.

Apparently I had saved myself for Mizora this run, since her scene triggered before the regular Romance one lol. Probably cause I raced to do the underwater stuff maybe? I thought it would probably break whatever romance, but Shadowheart didn't really seem to care. For some reason that dialogue kept awkwardly panning to the good berry girls like full on gossip mode. But yeah anyway, I guess that was my Bonus Action right there. Who knew! lol

 

[JanJansen]

This is a very cool thread, my respect! And that shiny golden D20...
Naturally full of spoilers so I am sad to say I will read it next year, but I will be happy to see your tactics.

 

[Antimatter]

I ended up ditching the Mantle, mainly just cause the clips were annoying me. Now that we're all fancy in Act III instead of haunting the woods, I like to avoid the clips where we can. Priority 1 was getting the dress from the Facemakers and making sure I could keep the black and green theme going even in camp getups, but the cut on the Potent Robes or Lorroakan's look pretty nice. Everything looks much better without a cape. Clearly our tail is happier without these evil cloaks and such getting in the way. I dyed the Mantle black with the drakes dye and gifted it Shadowheart, like in a show of good faith. She manages to make pretty good use of it, since some of her kit gives bonuses to spell attacks from the shadows it makes for an alright combo. Sometimes I forget though that I'm no longer invisible half the time, so trading off some danger for style there I guess.

 

[Black Elk]

Hehe thanks!

Oh definitely, it's a primary consideration. Case in point - the Adamantine Splint, and what the hell to do with Minsc? lol

After all the effort we went through to get the armor, and then all the time we spent trying to save Minsc, it would be a shame to just sideline them completely. Unfortunately, by the time we figure out what we're doing and what we're wearing, there's often not many places left to go try things out. There is some competition over kit for the strikers as well, and usually a bit of overlap in terms of the safety colors for equipment. You know like if Karlach's there, then obviously the Black and Furnace red dyes are looking pretty good and Lae'zel can rock some kind of gold or orange to compliment, but if Karlach's not in the party comp, then I might want Lae'zel to rep the Red instead. Like with an AC+1 cape, since she's kinda the only one who can pull that look off lol. This leads to some mix and match downtime and a few visits back and forth to camp, switching the gloves around or whatever.

I really liked the idea of charging around town with Jaheira and the old heroes, but she's having some issues with her offhand weapon/shield, where it will randomly unequip after she wildshapes. It's not the worst thing ever, but kinda annoying, since I usually don't realize that it's happened until we're suddenly in another fight and Belm is in her backback. Shadowheart is having a different issue where the Club of Hill Giant Strength is sometimes stuck in her offhand. I was going to give it to Minsc since I figured 19 STR was pretty close to 18/93, and he did have the dual clubs/maces thing going on in BG2, but I didn't really like the idea of him being dependent on items or potions for Strength. I struggle to reconcile my ideas of Misc from BG1/2 with the stuff that a pureclass Ranger does well in BG3. Like he's not Kivan with the longbow right, he's Minsc with the big ass sword and packing steel! I want him as a front line striker who can put up the numbers for damage. To achieve what I was after for Minsc, we took a tip from Lae'zel and decided to Multi-Class him into a Battle Master.

I took 4 levels in Beastmaster Ranger just to get the flavor there and a Wolf companion in Lupus. I went Knight for the Heavy Armor. He already has a familiar with Boo, and find familiar uses the same slot so I passed over that one, but the Beastmaster Animal companion gives a second summon which seemed cool. At best the Wolf is just running interference mostly, but the more buddies we have in the turn order sequence for initiative the better. Plus I don't like the look of Animal Companions with masks anyway, so didn't feel like I'd be missing out on too much there. My idea for him was mainly Martial warrior with a little bit of Ranger tossed in just for kicks, so 4 levels in Beast Master, then 8 levels in Fighter for the Feats and Maneuvers.

Chose Great Weapon Master for that, with the extra bonus attack, then the rest of the feats for ASI to push his STR up to 20. For the battle maneuvers I selected Menacing attack since that one can always be used, Rally for some light healing, and Riposte for clap back. Those are really all we need, but also picked up Trip and the one that works like cleave vs multiple enemies. Mostly it's just Menacing attack for the extra damage and to cause the frightened condition so our enemies know what's up, and Rally to keep peeps on their toes in a pinch. For now I have him rocking the blade ward gloves just to make his light heals a bit more powerful, mostly because they didn't have too many clips into the Splint armor. I like the flawed gloves that add fire damage, but they had some wonky clips so I gave those to Lae'zel and let Minsc play around with the Acid Ring hehe. Lae'zel is still the better brawler all around, cause she has more attacks per turn, but Minsc is still pretty competitive via Action surge and the big hits.

I ended up adopting the same idea for Karlach. Basically 4 levels in Barbarian just so I can have the rage-y Elk flavor on that, but then 8 levels in Battlemaster to shore things up. Just like Minsc she gets the extra attacks and the bonus feat from fighter to make up some of the difference. I just picked up Tavern brawler for all the times I find myself throwing that pike, and cause it gives the +1 to Strength. Along with ASI and the rage-y garb that gives a bonus to Con she's got a pair of 20s. Using the Corpse Grinder maul her Damage output per turn is competative with Lae'zel. She actually probably benefits most from the Acid ring, since she can't wear the armored gloves, so bit of a threeway on dibs for that ring. Like you'd think +2 acid damage wouldn't be anything to write home about, but it also works with the pommel strike and those +2s to damage add up pretty quickly. It's possible there are more interesting combos with the feats, but I just felt like we needed the HP cushion and some big numbers. Lae'zel is lean and mean at 100 HP. I went a little squishy there with the plan to make it up on the backend once we go to hell and get the power up Amulet of hella constitution. But for now she uses those items that give the bonus at half health, like frantic urgency, doesn't draw opportunity attacks when it's down to the wire. For Karlach and Minsc I wanted a bit more meat on the bones. Like Minsc is coasting with a bit more cushion there, and I was able to get Wild Heart Karlach to 140 HP, so that feels pretty good. Slightly tankier and with the flavor coming over from the initial class but mostly Battle Masters.

It's a bit redundant I suppose, but then that's kinda what I'm after here. Using this approach my martial strikers all kinda work the same way mechanically, so they're a bit easier to switch around and I can sub them out for one another more readily in the party comp. Minthara doesn't really need any help since she's already best in class, with special auras, big heals and big smites, all the heavy kit etc. so usually I would just roll with her, but this run I wanted to get the tour of the city from Karlach. Overall not too shabby. I brought Karlach along for the redemption battle vs Bane, since last time with Jah Din she got her ass kicked. Not this time!!! The Black Hand of Bane got what he had coming this time around! Thanks in no small part to the Globe of Invulnerability lol. Hard to chose anything else really, it's gotta be that one and Chain Lightning to replace spell at the high end. I end up using Cone of Cold and Summon Water Elemental most, along with whatever from Kereska favour for the freebie in a crowded hotbar.

We did the same to face down the Mother superior. Globe trottin' around like there's no tomorrow, then lightning and cones of cold lol. We let her off with a warning again, for old times sake.

My goal is to finish this run with honours, by just never checking into the Elfsong Tavern lol. I like to camp down by the docks! Also, it would have been cool mechanically for the multiclass options if the Beast Master's Animal Companion scaled with character level rather than Class level. I mean the pup summon is no Djinni that's for sure lol. Although in this case it sorta works out for my sensibility, since I really don't like the way the wolves look with their beast masks on at higher Ranger levels. Just gives up too much charm in facial expressions. I mean check out that winning smile! Who want's to give that up? hehe

 

[Black Elk]

Trying to charge across the finish line with a quickness here, cause I'm experiencing excessively long load times now. My wheel went from spinning for a minute to something more like zeno's paradox at 100% hehe.

I think maybe my S'wizardry was just too powerful or something? Who knows lol. In any case, I'm going full blast mode as best I can over here. Had to be strategic about how we wanted to get Minsc back in the mix.

Started him off with a low intensity scouting mission to unlock Wyrm's Way, but then doubled back when we remembered there were still Vampires to deal with. I didn't really trust Astarion on that front. Too dicey. I hatched a plan for Lae'zel and Gale to keep eyes on him, while we took off with Shadowheart, Karlach, and Minsc. Ostensibly to restock supplies, but, in point of fact, to stake Cazador and burn his mansion to the ground. This just seemed like best practices, since nobody needs an Ascended Vampire haunting the realms. For Goodness sake, Lae'zel let Minsc borrow the gloves of extra fire damage and the Everburning blade. We also set him up with the Drake's Glaive for extra Acid damage, and juiced him up on a potion of Cloud Giant Strength. Tried to ease him back into things with plenty of cushion and a greater elemental scroll just in case. Worked well enough, they felt the woe hehe.

Then I went after Ansur to complete Wyll's personal quest, but just like with Astarion, he had to hear about it all secondhand from Karlach lol. I thought about bringing Minsc for that one as well, but got nervous and decided we probably needed to go core team for that. I didn't have any Displacer Beast form this time around in case things got nuts. Karlach was pretty impressive with her throws, like I'm not even using the badass trident, just the Returning Pike we bought way back at the Goblin camp. She's still putting up the numbers. With the fire gloves the acid ring and the ring of fling it's a reliable 75-100 damage maybe more with extra attacks form Action surge or going speedy. Not too bad, if a bit one dimensional. Now she has the kickass giant slayer sword, but somehow the returning thrown weapon ends up being her mainstay, like once it's used in the fight she's gotta make due with that one in melee. I'd probably search around for a more effective thrown weapon at this point, but the loads are slow so she's just charging. I went immediately to hell to handle Raphael. Forgot to grab the screens cause it was getting intense at that point and the loads were slow, but basically I used the Globe, Artistry of War and then all the Disintegrate scrolls I'd been saving. Went after the soul towers first, then after him with the pikes and big swords. Did the trick. His beguiling gaze can be tough, similar to being charmed by mind flayers, but we knocked him down a peg with Yurgir on the team. Korilla got smoked in the opener, couldn't be helped. I used 10 smoke powder barrels but it only hit Raph for like 60 hp. Korilla was not so lucky. It was fun for a musical intermezzo and now we got that amulet for Lae'zel. Armor would probably work best for me, but I'm too committed to this look with the robes and no cape, so I gave it Shadowheart along with the Strength Gloves. Everyone has the stats climbing now.

Heather's usually summoning Shovel and the Water Elemental. I prefer the regular Water Elemental to the upcast Water Myrmidon now, since she uses the lvl 6 spellslots for the Globe or Chain Lightning. The regular Elemental only takes a lvl 5 spellslot and basically does the same stuff, just with fewer hitpoints and slightly less damage, but mostly get the job done there via warp. With the Spellcrux Amulet and the Arcane Staff I can replace two lvl 6 spellslots at the high end for free. I also get a free cast for certain selected elemental spells using Kereskas. Chain lightning is my default unless I know the enemies are going to be resistant. If they are, it's usually still pretty reliable, even at half damage. Chain lightning is basically just a massive AoE since the bolts jump around, but because it has a primary target it can be Twinned. Pretty deadly, although the Globe is probably more useful all round for the 6th level slot. One you pop up the Globe it makes everything simpler since you can breathe easy for 3 rounds if maintaining concentration. Like to set up the Lightning afterwards, once everyone is all cozy inside the bubble, but sometimes the distant zap, or twin zap opener is stronger. Quicken spell to open is also pretty useful if there are enemies with counterspell. Heighten if trying to cast Hold Monster on a boss, so I kept with those for the Meta Magic. Mostly I used Ice Storm, Cone of Cold, or maybe Curriculum of Strategy depending on the enemies. First level spellslots tend to get eaten for Quicken Spell since it's pricy. At this point Haste is not as useful, since lethargy is very dangerous in a key fight, but I still keep it prepared. Just in case the bubble bursts or we're down into lvl 3 spellslots, quick getaways or the like, but the Globe or Hold Monster are better for the concentration requirement usually, and no risk of going lethargic when it ends there.

Karlach with Us, Lae'zel with Scratch just for flare. Shadowheart summons the Djinni as soon as she wakes up in the morning, and maybe a flying Ghoul if I can find a corpse to re-animate. I finally figured out how to get her to unequip the Club of Hill Giant Strength from her off hand after like an hour searching around. To fix the prob I had to respec Shadowheart at Withers. Changed her into Druid, cast wild shape on myself to force the weapon to unequip, then respec'd back into a Cleric again. Kind of annoying but at least it worked lol. I've had her with that and the Knife of the Undermountain King and the Club basically since Act I. Also the Luminous armor, though that wasn't due to any bug, just since it stacks those radiant orbs, which are fun hehe. She doesn't get as much use out of Spirit Guardians anymore really, but it's still useful vs invisible enemies or to just chip away. I use upcast command pretty often. It came in handy vs Sarevok. I did bring Minsc along for that one just to hear what he had to say.

In that fight my S'wizard was pretty useless, like she was mainly just there to cast Counterspell, or maybe get off a quickened spell via meta before being Counterspelled herself by Sarevok's minions. The ghost of Tamoko come back to just screw me, when trying to get that Globe up lol. But we brought the heavy hitters, and Minsc pulled his weight there, so it was on to the Temple of Bhaal without too many delays. Orin nearly screwed me with a tail swipe. I had the Globe up and the upcast Magic Missile, but then got stunned by one of her Priests. That was rough cause she was able to recharge the Unstoppable. Basically you have to nail her 12 times in one round before she starts taking actual damage, so Magic Missile or a Ray attack, then quickened Magic Missile or Artistry of War to get her down, while Lae'zel and Shadowheart go in for the heavy hits. If lose a round, like I did getting stunned after the first wave of magic missiles, Bhaal will restore her unstoppable with 12 more hits required. I had to go all in like that a couple times. I got power word killed at one point, and had to be raised from the dead in combat, which was tough, but Karlach came through in the clutch with the returning pike just in time. We rejected Bhaal and resisted the urge.

Finally bit the bullet and checked into the Elfsong, just to see if I could still get the swimming scene. Also to catch up with Alfira. We passed a few nights with no action though, so I figure it must have been skipped by the Mizora scene. No biggie, Mizora's always a charmer hehe.

Now I'm prepping for the final ascent. Pretty much go time!

 

[Black Elk]

Finally killed the Red Dragon! That'll be a Memory right there! hehe

Last time I was too nervous to stick around and so just went for the Crown and after the Brain. This time around though, Mizora proved her abiding love for us, by landing Hold Monster on the Dragon! She came in so hot and totally delivered lol

It was funny cause I had brought Zevlor and his Hellriders into the fight first, and they all got knocked prone immediately before doing anything at all. I thought oh hell, there goes that achievement again. But then Mizora warped in like the boss Sorceress she is and just totally clowned on the dominated drake! The Emperor went down like so many others, to Karlach's Returning Pike, and our various Dream apparitions got clobbered by a gang of Ice Imps and Elementals. MVP probably goes to the Djinni for managing to restrain the Emperor immediately which set everything else up. That whirlwind spell is hella powerful when it lands, plus he hits decent and has the warpstep. We had Orpheus take on the flayer form. I couldn't bring myself to let Karlach take on that burden. Lae'zel leads the Githyanki in my head canon soon as the unshackling strike is levelled she's always the comet. I don't like the idea of having to relearn all the illithid moves at the last second, and Orpheus has enough to get the job done. Black Hole Mind Sanctuary speeds and such. I just try to keep him in the backfield since he has a very long flight distance to close whatever gaps. I went left again up the ramp platform toward the Crown, using misty steps and dimension door with the summons, ranged attacks mostly. Gunning up the middle brings all those brain vines that ensnare peeps so I was too worried over that to send in Lae'zel. Mizora I was also determined to keep alive since she was mind battling the Red Dragon for the crit hits Hold Monster, so had to pop a Globe bubble up midway. I couldn't remember how many turns before you have to start the Dominating the Crown, but I wanted to take down the Dragon so we stuck it out for like 3 or 4 turns I think using black holes, before I started dashing for the Crown to start the ritual. It was down to the wire but we nailed him!!!

For the Brain itself, I used the Chronos fireworks trick again. Seems to be the most reliable. You gotta hit it with a single damage type all at once otherwise it will become immune to that damage type for a round. Then every time it gets hit it will set off earthquakes. You can do the same big hit with any kind of damage but going in with weapon attacks seemed sketch. If you fail to dominate the brain have cut through like 400 hp. The runepowder bomb can be used, but force damage is kinda crazy, cause the blast radius is just so huge. This time didn't have that option though since Jaheira lit up the foundry hehe. Fire damage is more reliable probably. Basically 3 trips to the fireworks shop and maybe 3000 gp or something like that, after robbing all the stuff in the basement too, and we were set hehe. Taking out the Dragon was honorable enough for me this out, didn't want to risk falling to my death of a platform after doing all that other stuff just to get there lol. So we went kaboom and Heathers' managed to leap ahead of Runa Vall and the various Din alternates. Second across the line after JD, full honours! heheh

Good times! I think I'm probably a bit Silver Sorcerer'd out for the moment though. Probably will try something else next out. Maybe just a regular Necromancer, or perhaps a Rogue or a Martial class or something? Barbarian/Fighter was actually pretty entertaining, so maybe just going Berserker would be fun. I don't find myself having any real desire to attempt a Solo or murder run yet. I feel like I need the companions around to keep me motivated somehow. Withers Zombies don't really scratch the itch for me, other than just casting goodberry or heroes feast when I'm too tired to go grocery shopping hehe. They never leave camp and just kinda play dress up with the backup items. I think the Durge runs have the best story hooks, but thus far I just end up resisting the Urge. I don't think there's much to the super villainous path till whatever new endings in Sept and I'm too fond of Jaheira not to recruit her into the fold in Act II. I don't have a strong desire to play any of the Origins really, but might have to try another Tav again, just to mix it back up. I've had my eye on Generica D'Tav the High Elf Barbarian for a while. I imagine her just crushing it with the bump set spike returning pike combo, like in whatever version of high elf volleyball must exist in the Forgotten Realms. Using the default Avatar, probably voice 4, EA callback. I think it's more fun to go after the Goblins and Shadows since the early game has me hooked. But that may have to wait for the Olympics in a week or so lol.

Catch ya next out!

 

[Antimatter]

Woo-hoo! Huge congratulations! That was a nicely run playthrough! The achievement board looks so special. I can only admire your dedication as you're already thinking of the next character.

 

[Black Elk]

Thanks dude! I zonked out like right after that last night hehe

Generica was playing so sloppy in the scrimmage! She'd better start getting it together if we expect to make it to the team semi-finals! lol

I had actually never seen some of this stuff happen before, where Lae'zel died on the bridge of the Nautiloid trying to kill Commander Zhalk, but then her corpse showed up on the beach for early recruitment via rez. That was a trip!

I re-rolled her up, this time as a Durge though. We're hitting the books on it lol

Fortunately we'll get plenty of practice, since I'll probably be playing this game till the end of time. Or at least until another BG comes along. There are a million things about BG3 that I wish were better, but it's got some kind of devilish charm that's for sure. It's very arcade-like in that it keeps getting all my quarters. Hopefully mods will be fun, but I'm still going vanilla mode here, since I haven't quite tired of it.

Also related/unrelated, but I totally swooped the Lae'zel keychain and my all favorites from Paulina Klime!

Along with Bunny'zel and Fancyheart, you know we had to get Mizora in the mix hehe

BG3 is pretty classic for me now, it must be, cause I keep coming back! lol

 

[Black Elk]

The Misadventures of Bhaalina Thum...

Lol OK this one started on a lark, but has ended up being pretty entertaining. I thought I'd make my Necromancer a Shorty, so here we are I guess.

My first thought was that she'd be a Durge-y rogue and slot into Astarion's role, but quickly decided that one Shorty probably wasn't going to be enough to hold my interest.

Instead I decided to use the Zombie cultists. To recruit Brightsong the Bard, Kree the Warlock and Eldra the Barbarian, cost me 300 GP, then another 300 to change their Class and attributes.

Maybe like an hour at the mirror to get the appearances sorted. All told I think I spent about 1000 GP at Withers to outfit Bhaalina with the right sized crew. Like almost immediately after completing the Dank Crypt, so we've been broke pretty much from the start.

The options at Wither's were somewhat limited, since Hireling Race and Background can't be respec'd, but we were able to recruit one other Halfling Zombie Cultist and a pair of Dwarves to serve as our sidekicks.

Skim Scardashian basically copied Roah's look per the usual. She takes a little off the top as our primary Thief, with a focus on ranged attacks.

Duerga Deville is our warrior and Eeyora Rothe as our priest using the Dwarf cultists available but changing their appearance at the mirror. They're all pretty dead inside.

I don't get all that many interjections beyond what a regular tadpoled adventure might bring to the table, but it sort of works as long as I don't talk to them too much.

We got into trouble almost immediately.

Mainly because we were so strapped for cash. Our first big play was to rob Arron using a hold person knockout. I had hoped we might get the Ring of Fling which I wasn't able to afford otherwise, but he dropped the Ringmail +1 and the staff that makes it Rain instead. We dipped from there towards the Goblin camp to see if we could nab Shovel and to follow up on that hot tip from Aradin. Gut tried to take us out, but we got the last minute reprieve there from Korilla.

Then we made an Alliance with the Drow and decided to infiltrate the Emerald Grove at level 3 hehe.

Bhaalina didn't really plan to destroy the Grove. We were actually pretty intent on double crossing Minthara with a knockout at the last second, but things got dicey when we returned to do some light shopping. It was actually all Rolan's fault. He forced the switcheroo on us, when he spotted Skim stealing that potion off Ethel's table and raised the general alarm. We managed to dash away and kite Wyll and the Tiefs down towards the Druid sanctuary area, but not before a couple Tiefs took a dirt nap from spike growth. The escape was pretty death defying.

Much like that Buckleberry Ferry scene from the Followship of the Ring, except instead of trying to making it across a river we were dashing for the Elevator by Tuffet to try and escape the Grove. Also like if Frodo had just dipped and left Merry to die lol.

I figured if we could just hit the lever in time we'd leave them in the dust and feather fall to safety. This almost worked except that Eeyora forgot to cast longstrider and was totally foot dragging it in the rear. Being a Dwarf she wasn't quite as nimble as Bhaalina or Skim, and somewhat low in Strength she didn't have the hops like Duerga. The rest of the gang is usually on two legs, but Eeyora is bit more reliant on Badger form to close the distance.

That was a breakneck bounce for sure, but somehow we managed escalate and nearly made it almost into the clear. That is until Zevlor spotted us from the ramparts! We thought the jig was up, but Minthara arrived just in time with a horde of Goblins to rescue us! Our hero!!! heheh

The timing couldn't have been better honestly. Somehow it skipped past whatever dramatic cut scene to raise the gate, and just straight into the action. As a general rule, when push came to shove, Bhaalina elected to side with whichever faction seemed to be the Shorter on the average. So it did sting a bit that we had to knock off Nettie and Arron like that, but they really didn't leave us much choice there. We consoled ourselves with the knowledge that the Goblins had at least come through when it counted.

That one guy at the entrance to the Zhent hideout almost TPK'd us with a firebolt lol. I accidentally melee'd a barrel of firewine while trying to click a path on the floor, and he went all insta aggro with the fireworks.

Thankfully Bhaalina had some luck and managed to get off the magic missile before we all burned to death. No real cause there, we had already killed the Gnolls using Lump and his gang and cut a side deal with Rugan, we had the password and everything, but unfortunately for that guy he never got a word in edgewise. Rugan and Olly also seemed to meet a worse fate than they probably would have received being eaten by the Gnolls, so I guess that's a fence we slipped.

Real Zhents now! lol Also honorary Paladin's of Tyr apparently, since we took the Devil by the horn on that too. Didn't really need the Sword from Anders, but she came at us immediately and couldn't be reasoned with, so Skim did what had to be done with a well placed arrow lol.

All that had us thinking the Underdark might safer after all hehe

 

[Black Elk]

The Misadventures of Bhaalina Thum cont...

Our trip to the Underdark was equally precarious. Once again, we didn't really plan to kill those Sentient Mushrooms, but Bhaalina accidentally clicked spacebar for the wrong dialog option, something along the lines of "now you die by my hand!" and they all went irrevocably hostile.

We darted through the haste spores to make a break for the exit. Blurg and Derryth were still neutral, so figured if we could just make it out of there in time we might still have a shot to keep those merchants around for a while.

Came pretty close to getting served, but a darkness arrow and clicked heels did the trick.

Circle Glut was destroyed with a necrotic arrow. I'm pretty sure it's what Silvanus wanted, since we've been under his protection this whole time from the little statue we stole.

Lucky stars!

Once we got to the beach our luck took a turn for the dashing.

Some Dreamboat named Gekh who just stopped us all in our tracks lol. Now the choice and path forward should be pretty simple, but he also wants my Boots of Speed, which is a total non starter hehe.

We'll hitch a ride to Grymforge sure, but then might have to cut him loose