BG3 Honour Mode: strategy & tactics (many spoilers)

[Black Elk]

Hehe yeah that's for sure!

I've been having fun, in Act I I think it's just trickier because I always want to use the form of darkness that has me seeing in the dark but it eats up the sorcery points pretty quickly at that level, competing directly with Twin spell or Distant spell Meta which I use all the time. Like to open the fight from a distance, or a prebuff, or then with my Death Cleric dip Multi, Distant Spell Sanctuary and Command antics. For the spellslots issue there was less pronounced with Sorcerer, usually like one lvl 2 slot for the Shadowblade is good enough to get the job done. I'm still like a narcoleptic long rest'er though, so we definitely need a Druid at camp for bedtime.

It annoys me to no end that we had a perfect Serpentor Druid ready to go, Viper all ready to strike and a redemption path all lined up, but then still I gotta use the goofy Withers zombies in the destitute gear, until basically the end of the second Act? Alas

Circle of the Stars druid seems like a very good fit for Jaheira. I really like that they gave us a standard Humanoid looking form to use. I've never enjoyed Wild Shape when playing Druids and always feel like Owlbear/Myrmidon form takes something away from it for me. I get bored of the visualizations there. Maybe if I could be a different colored dinosaur or whatever, but just feels sorta same samey after a while. I much prefer the more summons style of Druid to the Shifter style of Druid, and even though perma style VFX/SFX (outside of casting) I don't tend to dig generally, that one doesn't seem too bad. Like it's busy with glitter stardust sure, but I think I'll take that over having to be a lumbering big bird for most of the game hehe. Myrm Warp is so mechanically useful that it probably still makes sense to use those forms in a lot of cases, but the ability to switch between Star forms on the fly towards the endgame seems like it would have me happier. I mean I like to see Jaheira in Jaheira form! That's my plan at any rate

I think the Shadow Sorcerer has just become the default Durge now for me. Like I don't know that I would try to play Storm or Wild Magic over this. Draconic scales I sometimes miss, but the Shadow Dragon vibes are similar. I imagine most Classes are sorta like that with one Subclass that tends to tower over the others. I mean will I ever go back to Elkheart Barbarian now that Giant is an option? Probably not lol

I do wish there was more stuff to kill though. I mean I know Rivington was probably expedient as the testing grounds, because it's sorta the only place were you can reliably spawn a bunch of low stakes combats, but then that requires just a deep loathing for the Flaming Fist and rando commoners lol. It would have been nice to have some sort of Wilderness zone nearby that just had endless Goblins and Ogres for us to beat up on. I mean we get to see the Army of the Absolute before we ditch out on Act II, the monster types similar to the standard creatures from Act I. The Gobs, a couple Drow with some Spiders and such, some Ogres for a huge type monster, maybe a few standard beasts hanging around to charm. That would have been nice! Robocops are fun to destroy, but they also have a bunch of resistances that make them tough to try stuff out, and those encounters can go south quickly with 12 ft Swords and Uber Crossbows, having some more standard garden variety foes that we faced in earlier acts would have been good. Or I don't know, maybe even just some random NPC at the Sundries that spawns enchantments, similar to BG1 Candlekeep. Still we do the best we can I guess, trying to best the various Zombies, Skeletons and umbral type monsters in Act II, but it would be have fun to just take on a big army of actually monstrous goons, instead of always raising Rivington to the ground heheh.

Meanwhile...

 

[Black Elk]

One for the books lol

We did everything right! But then I botched the Zaithisk, go figure!

I managed to get all four of my characters to bork out with Zoolander portraits too, but then got hella distracted and forgot to be more inspiring. Came back to haunt us for sure.

Like probably cause Wyll bailed right after we snaked his Infernal duds, and Gale only has one foot in the door if we're being honest lol. Askarak hit all his lines, we had the hair, and then my brain imploded like 5 minutes later...

We went lights out by taking Minthara's advice, like straight off the side of the raft haha. Unreal! I had the club and everything!

Started over again, cause of course....

We'll be prepared to be prepared! This time around the luck seems to be a bit more in our favor, but who can say. Din's still waiting on the roof hehe

This time Shadowheart came pretty hardcore on the Nautiloid, so I decided to make her a Death Cleric immediately. Or as soon as I was able to fix her portrait, cause I forgot to click click on the first level up.

And then right back in the thick of it! hehe

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

You seem to make it pretty far in every run. I tend to have to reload occasionally, usually due to RNG going against me, or I botch a fight by misjudging distance, etc. I just had to start over because I fucked up with the owl bear cub.

 

[Cahir]

On my first run I reloaded with passion, but for my second run (Durge) I decided to trust the dice when it comes to dialogue outcomes (I still reloaded when combat went south) and it was eye opening experience. I was worried I would be afraid to "loose" seeing content, but it was actually the opposite. I embraced every outcome and just followed the character of my protagonist, doing whatever he would do of it was real life. And brace consequences.

 

[Antimatter]

So the story sequence with the Zaithisk can lead to a loss, huh? If you don't roll well enough there, it's game over? That's pretty brutal.

 

[Cahir]

So the story sequence with the Zaithisk can lead to a loss, huh? If you don't roll well enough there, it's game over? That's pretty brutal.

Yeah, those kind of things I would probably reload, yeah. I'm not exactly a no reloader But if it would mean the death of companions, then I would leave the bad outcome.

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

On my first run I reloaded with passion, but for my second run (Durge) I decided to trust the dice when it comes to dialogue outcomes (I still reloaded when combat went south) and it was eye opening experience. I was worried I would be afraid to "loose" seeing content, but it was actually the opposite. I embraced every outcome and just followed the character of my protagonist, doing whatever he would do of it was real life. And brace consequences.

This is pretty much me, as well, but there are a few story outcomes I’m not sure I’d ever be able to accept, e.g. a bad outcome for the Nightsong. And I really wanted the owl bear cub this time, for some reason.

Interestingly, in terms of RP there are decisions that really hurt me tactically, but I make because that’s what my character would do. For instance, I can’t ever justify letting Astarion live after the incident in camp. And I can’t accept keeping Gale, either, once I find out he’s kept his condition a secret. So basically my party has no mage, unless I play one myself.

 

[Cahir]

This is pretty much me, as well, but there are a few story outcomes I’m not sure I’d ever be able to accept, e.g. a bad outcome for the Nightsong. And I really wanted the owl bear cub this time, for some reason.

Interestingly, in terms of RP there are decisions that really hurt me tactically, but I make because that’s what my character would do. For instance, I can’t ever justify letting Astarion live after the incident in camp. And I can’t accept keeping Gale, either, once I find out he’s kept his condition a secret. So basically my party has no mage, unless I play one myself.

Oh my, but Astarion is one of the best companions od the whole bunch. He's in my personal top 3 (Lae'zel, Karlach and Astarion). You miss so much by killing him.

 

[Black Elk]

Hehe no doubt! This game makes me even more obsessive and compulsive than usual, and there's always some random NPC or some sequence of events I want to see.

Well I wouldn't call it a TPK style loss per se at the Zaithisk, more just sorta annoying haha. As I recall the player can embrace the Astral tadpole to remove the perma-debuff, but then loses out on the Zaithisk buff to switch between Actions and Bonus actions for the tadpole powers on the fly. On the Dragonborn Dins I don't mind the vanilla transformation into Half-Illithid, but on a Half Elf witch it's pretty rough. I had already lost the Circlet of Intellect when Lump decided to run off after we summoned him to help us take out the Gith Raiders. Got the Soulbreaker Sword for Lae'zel, but couldn't kill the Ogres in time before that one crossbow guy got nailed and the fight resolved hehe. Maybe because I was way up at the top of the platform climbing both ladders to escape instant death, but the Ogres were way down on the ground level? They just bolted instead of coming to try and collect their cash or extra deception check. I tried to summon them again to see if Lump would show up to tango with the Zhents but the horn was already spent. Zaithisk debuff to Int isn't the worst thing ever for a Sorcerer, but the hit to Con and Wisdom is pretty rough for saves, and since I already lowballed them. 6 Int is pretty absurd. I mean those are Minsc BG1 numbers, for a campaign vs Mind Flayers? lol Might as well dive into the river at that point.

I'd say there about a half dozen make or break points for me in Act I, and Owlbear Cub is definitely near the top of the list.

I usually have both Lae'zel and Shadowheart in the party, and will save the two potions of speed under the rock by Astarion to use them for the Owl bear bout. Shadowheart opens the fight using the Silence bubble to agro the Owlbear, then Lae'zel uses the maneuver Menacing Attack (since she's always a Battlemaster in my runs) to frighten the Owlbear with a big power move. I tend to hold off on choosing Riposte with Lae'zel for fear that she will auto attack the Cub, and Menacing attack is pretty reliable since it works on everybody. I always take Menace I find, but then it's a bit of a dilemma between Push, Disarm and Rally. Lately I've been using Rally and Push. Rally for the quick ups, or whatever random heal bonus might come from items like Zevlor's gloves, and Push to yeet the larger enemies so sorta control the room, knock a Big Bird back into the silence bubble if needs be haha. Anyway if the Menacing Attack lands, then I can use Shadowheart's bonus to Sanctuary the Cub, so Andric and Brynna won't target it immediately. Depending on the initiative order, I might have Shadowheart drink a speed potion and pop off a Command. This will hold Bird Bird in place, till Lae'zel can Menace again, and usually the fight is over before things get too dicey. Depending on who is the 3rd wheel, I may also use Drow poison with a ranged weapon attack too. I'm fully willing to kill both cultists at the last minute, if they get too close to the Owlbear Cub hehe.

My first big fail point is probably the Alfira knockout to spawn Quill for the Durge scene, though it really depends on the build like whether Potent Robes will matter, but half the time even if we can't keep all the Tiefs alive it's a good bell weather for how terrible my run is going to be if I can't keep Alfira alive. I think I have a reliable sequence there, but every now and again Astarion will interupt with his vampire bite camp scene before the Durge scene happens. Pretty sure it's like a coin toss on that one the way I hit the rest beats. I usually indulge the Vampire and then try to find a lowstakes battle before taking it back under ground to rest. Sorcerer I feel like needs more nap time than the Martials, so we usually go underground in the Dank Crypt to sleep, since I've yet to see Alfira spawn at that camp location. A problem can occur if the party doesn't rest between Alfira knockouts but then returns from camp to that same location. In that case Arron may agro and throw the crew into combat, even if Alfira is non-hostile from the Hold Person knockout move. Darkness can be weird cause she may reposition, which is what threw me the first time. I thought I was chill to cast out of it since I used the Sorcery points, but then when we returned from camp it was lights out. Arron will drop the Missile Deflecting Gloves and some Ringmail +1 prior to the Goblins being defeated. Same deal with Dammon, his drops are pretty weak from the Grove raid. It's better to knock them out afterwards, where at least we get the Heavy Chain mail out the deal or maybe.

In my last run we went for the Goblin invasion route and raided the Grove, since I botched my initial Knockout of Zevlor lol. In that case Owlbear Cub never makes it to the Goblin camp for the chicken chase, but will still show up provided we get the "let the Cub live" dialog in the cave. For me the Cub showed up in the Underdark a few long rests later in that run. Though I think raiding the Grove is sorta meh. Loses a lot of charm when all the Tiefs are dead, I'd have kept it going but the Zaithisk lobotomy was too much. I didn't even end up wearing the cool robes we stole from Wyll lol. This time I'll probably do my more standard route, which is Minthara knock out. That one is tougher as a Half Elf cause we're immune to the sleep potion. I always forget if playing an Elf or a Half Elf to grab the smoke powder barrel outside and just explode Priestess Gut. That's my plan this time, but of course I've already died like 3 times in the interim lol.

She's usually our first Goodberry Zombie haha

Lately I've been trying to improve my Nautiloid game by trying to more reliably kill that Cambion who says "Come a little closer" hehe

I've done it before, but always pretty randomly and I've yet to kill the second Cambion.

The meta there is mostly around Shadowheart using the Bless prebuff, then hitting the Restoration tank before charging in the room to hopefully have 10 rounds. First Command to get the Sword out of Zhalk's hands as quickly as possible, then Lae'zel to Shove Zhalk so that the Mind Flayer is facing the direction of the approaching Cambions when they enter the room. This increases the likelihood that he will use his Cone attack, which I think is the only real way to put up enough damage vs the two B-teamers with wings.

For Sorcerer the ritual spell Jump seems to be the ticket, since that one can be pre-cast before entering the room. So 10 Rounds for Lae'zel, Shadowheart, Us and my Durge to jump jump like Kris Kross. I'm not sure how much it matters to put up the big numbers with DMG. I tend to clear out the lesser minions first, then double back when we're in a better position to hide or chuck a health potion. The timing on actually Killing Zhalk seems to be the most important, because the Flayer will go after the leader and the Minions will stay focused on Flayer after he switches hostile. I think it's something like a half dozen potions to keep him in the fight for the second wave. Lae'zel can die for early recruitment, but losing Us feels rough. Seems like those are the only times when I kill the other Devil it costs us the brain, but I'm pretty sure there's a way. Optimal would be where Zhalk makes a miss, and the Flayer lands a stun, but that's not something I can count on really.

The thing that's frustrating is that it all hinges on Shadowheart landing her Command Drop spell. Like I generally would use the speed potion to just do it again, if one were to get so lucky and find that potion as a drop for the imp fight, but even then seems like a lot of things need to happen in the right order for it to be possible. 150 Xp from Zhalk and the Flayer is usually good enough for me, trying to hit 225 or 300 xp just seems like it comes down to whether the Flayer gets off a stun or two. I think I've fought the battle like 100 times, and it's still going lol. I think the upper limit is about 500 xp from combat in the Prologue, so not enough to hit lvl 3 immediately, but would be nice.
My stubborn refusal to cast Mage Hand and drop potions for that is probably what slows me down. Haste potion can help, but it's a bit of double edged flaming sword there, since Lae'zel will go Lethargic after 3 rounds. I think the best use is probably on Lae'zel to dash grab the sword and equip it all on her first turn, or for Shadowheart to cast a second Command (if the first fails) or else for extra heals or bolts on that opening turn so Zhalk doesn't get a second set of attacks with it. I have to hit so many beats to prep Bless or whatever rituals, and then land the Command and Shove, that I almost always forget the Gith Mage Hand. Trying to come up with a basic plan that doesn't need so many potion tosses or explosive nautiloid barrels. I try to do it every time, invariably takes 10 minutes to set up for the bridge, but I think it really comes down to luck with my Sorcerers. Here I was only able to kill the Flayer and Zhalk, had to bail on the other two cause no cone of stun that time haha.

One of these days we'll make it happen!

 

[Black Elk]

Played the Nautiloid like a dozen more times - failed in each instance, to even kill the runner up Cambion lol. But it did have me thinking about that level and how it had changed over time. Sorta in the opposite direction of what I wanted to see initially, though I suppose it works. What I wanted at first was a more elaborate Prologue that included things like tutorials for playing each Class archetype, more in depth explanations of the UI and systems, more customization options like starting equipment or dyes for purchase, but also something that was completely elective and could be skipped entirely if desired. What we got instead was just a tightened up version of the EA Nautiloid level with more focus. This was fine for me, because it's shorter and this part of the game is unavoidable, but also it left a lot on the table in terms of Character set up, and it's still sorta tedius for what it is. I think the bridge combat was very well designed to remain fairly engaging even after 5 years of repeating it, and with some serious cheese factory there, but also I would trade all that for buying my own equipment and choosing a color lol.

I think the thing I miss most about the Early Access Prologue vs the more abridged Prologue of the Full release, was the implication in the EA that the Tadpole might actually make the player just full on delusional when the transformation does take place.

So in that one, the first few characters we met, they were all freaking out about stuff that obviously wasn't happening. Some guy rambling about about rats in the flour, someone else talking about how they got gored by a bull, while they're on a crashing spaceship being attacked by Gith and Devils. Then we meet the 3 fisherman by the Wounded Mind Flayer on the beach, before Shadowheart was moved from the door to the Dank Crypt, and they have like no clue what's going on etc. Out of maybe a dozen NPCs, half of them we're like totally out of their minds. The framing was that everyone other than the Party was pretty much off their rocker and unreliably deluded, so that even before anyone flicks a switch to transform us into an Illithid monster, already an infected character was sorta falling apart from the inside out. I mean at least in terms of their mind, or how they were experiencing what's going down internally. I thought this was a cool idea that could have been used to introduce more elements of surrealism into the campaign. Like I legit thought Trickery cleric, would come into play a bit more on that score. The set up was all there! haha

I also thought this was a good angle, because it introduced a Total Recall element similar to say the Circus or the Paladin's stronghold quest in BG2, where maybe we might be killing the wrong person, you know cause the Tadpole is changing what we see or hear, possibly we're hallucinating. I thought this was a particularly strong way to lean into the repeating die-and-retry aspect that BG has baked into it, and would have been a nice setup for the doppelganger stuff later on too maybe. That and the groundhog's day thing to justify restartitus and replay. Maybe we never truly leave the pod on the ship, it's all a big mindflayer matrix testing ground or whatever, that sort of thing, but where there is this promise of eventual escape if we can just wake up at the right moment. Shades of elm street, or might open up an infinite arena, some parallel reality where black dyes exist? hehe

Now that stuff is all still there I suppose, but it's between the lines in the full release. Subtext, no longer stated or suggested explicitly by the NPCs, but implicitly sorta still there in a vestigial way for me. But when I look at it as a singular final cut in isolation, without the EA reference, that stuff is sorta mostly gone now.

I think really all that remains of that first take, where the Ceremorphosis involves some delusion is this pair... Andric and Brynna and their deadsville brother Edowin lol. The Owlbear scene basically.

But they also seem more aware of what's going now. Like they're not imagining that the Owlbear was some sort of mundane calamity, rats in the flour or whatever, they call it an Owlbear, but then my first time of seeing that interaction I thought, oh interesting, what if the Owlbear isn't really an owlbear or a Cub, cause right after the dreams. I think it was because the symbol glows, and these two were not seeing things that weren't happening, like the rando NPCs on the Early Access ship or the other pair we met on the beach, but they're still in some sort of brainwashed trance. I like to imagine that they're under that sort of spell where they might eventually break free and see the matrix too, so it makes sense I think to revive them as Zombies of the Emerald Grove lol. Even the initial Dream Visitor that lured us down by the river, always had the quality like, 'wait - is this actually happening right now, or has it all happened before?' I guess that the writers' room decided to downplay that angle, both for speed (fewer encounters total for the prologue) but because it's hard to create an accessible and believable RPG game around such a concept, since it blows the ground out from under the player. Like another meta-layer of fantasy drapped on top of an already fantasy game, that probably smacks of something a bit too inception-y or epistemologically fraught to make it the whole thing. One last hellraiser hook from the recyclotron that wasn't going to grapple, but still I thought it was a cool aspect of the EA framing.

I mean the other ready angle is time travel, where again the Groundhog meets Edge of Tommorow today. The 13th monkey's stepping stone with no reloads on the clock lol. I mean it's a similar to the Total Recall there I suppose, like a bit of a tough thread to needle on that one I'd imagine. But then compared to what we ended up getting I still think I like that take a bit more. It's all in our head or just another dream is rarely satisfying, but I mean, it's sorta the thing that would work ok for being trapped in a hell of endless repetition and never any black dyes. Where the replay is stitched into the narrative so it can circle back in on itself at the end, so we end up where we started. The metaphor then would be that, in order to escape the Dream/Eternal Return/Hell or whatever it is, by defeating the brain multiple times in succession, like double or nothing.

It made me want to try the Trials of Tav reloaded whatever mod, but then that one is only via Nexus. It looks very real timey, but I think might lack the global pause to truly capture a BG all action vibe, but like I'm not sure it can go that mode in any way that preserves the campaign. That mod is more like an arena mode that features the setpiece areas but uses a different scheme to randomize the spawns. It does more attacks for the enemies and such and removes the TB mode, but not like a thing where one could switch between Real Time and Turn Based on the fly, or with spacebar to simulate TB that sort of thing. Like it's basically it's one self contained rogue-lite. I love the concept but also wish it was just how the base game could be made to play. I'd like a similar score and go again scheme, but where I'm still basically playing and progressing through the main campaign. It's pretty wild just to look at though. Very frenetic, but also like pretty impressive that they're able to make the game do stuff like this...



The slow mow'd version looked interesting to me



I don't think that one will ever be like on console or the built-in manager though. I think it's like those new area/campaign mods where only works on PC and using the third party mod managers. I think I will have to figure out Nexus again to really check out things like that, but knowing myself I will probably hold out until there is like some sort of Gigantor Mod package that stitches more of what's out there together, like best of BG3 on PC mods or whatever. The base game is already so involved, and I think I was spoiled by how relatively easy it was to install/enable/disable mods via the modIO than using the Mod managers and such lol. I do miss the Black Dyes though, it's like that's all I really want, that and the party of 6, but when hotfixes and such are still coming in it's hard to motivate for the modded stuff. Although interestingly I think there are ways in the modded game to get around certain bugs and issues that otherwise be unreasonable by other means, but I mean for stuff like the portrait bug. If I was playing with Mods I'd probably have just assumed it was a mod issue. So that's why I'm still in the waiting room there hehe. Will probably just dive back in and keep trying to nail this devil. Maybe if I do it another 3 dozen times we'll manage to nail finally nail him and still get out clean with Us in tow lol

Fingers crossed!

 

[Black Elk]

This was the closest I've come so far. All 3 Devils dead and the Mind Flayer with 1 hitpoint. Shadowheart missed the Acid Bulb by mere inches!

Then ran out of time, crash and burn - game over... Go figure lol

I had forgotten the main trick, to try and keep one of the imps on the bridge alive so Mind Flayer will remain friendly. Got pretty close that time, although Us definitely died and my main, so I'd still probably have been disappointed, even if we'd managed that final attack. What I did was use Shadowheart to run over and body block that last Imp, but I lost a full round just trying to push him around, and reposition.

It ends up costing a fair bit in consumables, like just burning every single healing potion. I think it probably makes sense to try for it though, or at least if one gets the speedy potion drop since that's a pretty big get and the xp is fairly hefty. The drops in that first chest are pretty random, like either it might be something pretty useful say an arrow or a scroll, or could be entirely worthless like money heheh. Just sorta luck of the draw there, but keeping the Mind Flayer from going hostile on the bridge definitely opens things up. Previously I'd been trying to pin ball around him going hostile, then I rewatched the Melth vid and caught that tip I must have missed. I adopted the Mage Hand meta, and took Shocking grasp for the close range, though those wouldn't be my standards. I prefer Friends and Light, which seem more useful to me overall. I find mage hand sorta tedius, but it worked well enough here. I'm not sure it really matters, it's more down to just pushing the enemies around and letting Mind Flayer do the dirty work I guess. Still felt good to in those swacks with Lae'zel.

Maybe next time we'll get it done before the clock runs out haha

 

[Antimatter]

How do you use the hand? What is the meta there? (I found the spell pretty lacklustre when I played tbh)

 

[Black Elk]

Primary use was to shove the imps or to throw the void bulbs and such that are laying around in the room. They can make a punch for 1 dmg, or sometimes distract to draw an enemy off my mains, but I'm not sure I need two mage hands to get the job done. Lae'zel has 1 ready to go, so I feel like I should just plan around that, cause probably wouldn't always be a sorcerer to have that option or the jump jump thing. I just always use Bless on my own party and don't really help the mind flayer as much as I probably should. Like if I can get Lae'zel right next to him, and have the mage hand toss a healing potion, sure, but helping him too much feels dicey. I haven't tried to use the speed potion split between multiple characters, I'm sure that's probably better than drinking it, but I'm always afraid it will miss or fail to splash right. Probably just cause I get too excited every time I find that one, it only happens every now and again. Seems like whenever I use the brine people end up getting exploded and tossed around. Maybe if I'd been able to get off an arrow or two instead of hounding that imp. Next time I'm going to try and use the mage hand to shove him around sooner, since I waited to fly over that way. There is something very satisfying about seeing the lvl Up while still on the Nautiloid, even if it can't be selected yet. Just hearing the sound was like oh shit, maybe? Then neah, I think I botched the targeting and hit Zhalks corpse instead of the Mind Flayer. I think one of the Death Cleric Dins might do slightly better, cause the initial Command can be rough. With Double Clerics more likely I could getting the Flaming Sword to drop, before he can land a second set of attacks with it, and not having to burn the speed potion on a second command if the first fails which is what I did that time haha. Shadowheart then went Lethargic after 3 rounds, which might have been what cost us the countdown. I was still taking Jump, since it' nice to bound around especially with Us. With Durge, that roll can be kinda tough, because first check is INT 10, second check is Medicine with Advantage, the lobotomy is a DEX check with advantage, but that's rolled at 15 which is sorta scary even with two dice. A cleric I can put my thumb on the scale with Guidance. Not sure if it matters much in the final tally, but I think it's the only way to keep Us from going hostile when killing the other intellect devourer who's walking around for 10 xp lol. Watch me pull it off and then immediately die in the Dank Crypt or botch something cause I forgot to take the Friends Cantrip on some random early check hehe. That'd be my luck for sure

 

[Black Elk]

Oh also the other thing the Mage Hand can do that's pretty useful here, is that it can reposition objects in the environment. So like the 2 Nautiloid tanks for example, Mage Hand can fly over there and then shimmy them towards the door for kaboom without using any actions for that. It's a bit gamey but I think that's sorta the main use here, cause otherwise I have to jump to grab those and use inventory "send" to other characters, when they could be positioning for the attacks. Mage Hand can also throw small creatures or imp corpses random axes and whatever is laying around on the floor, which does slightly more dmg than a punch, though it can fail to grapple or hit. With the shove I think the move is just to keep one of the imps boxed in so it doesn't get nailed by the mind flayer cone of stunning death. As a decoy if it dies, doesn't really cost us anything since we can recast with an action, so I guess it's an ok emergency thing to have around, but still I find it kinda hard to use. I wish outside of combat it didn't have a turn limit, cause then I'd just cast it like a daily and keep it tagging along for exploration. I mean the idea is cool, like Thing from the Addam's Family, but it's pretty rare I want to burn an action from my Sorcerer or Lae'zel on that hehe. I mean if it's just sorta already there, then sure, but prepping it and having to drop stuff is sorta weird to me. My usual cantrip spread would be something like Friends, Bone Chill are my top two. I don't like Dancing Lights, which is default for Drow or Half-Drow. Firebolt seems sorta too useful not to take. Light I find myself using a lot since it's a daily and nothing is more annoying than disadvantage, though with Shadow Sorcery it feels a bit off brand lol.

 

[Black Elk]

BG3 definitely appeals to my sense of compulsive repetition, but this time I decided to try Witchbolt on a whim, instead of Magic Missile like I usually do. I managed to kill all 3 devils and keep lobotomized Us alive as a Shadow Sorceress! Finally! lol

No Hastey potion that time, I think it was a void bulb or maybe a healing potion, but at last we all hit lvl 2 on the Bridge and got out clean before dragon detonation. I couldn't kill the Flayer before the clock ran out, so this time I just decided to connect the nerve on the transponder. We'd been pushing the final imp around like total bullies and hoping Lae'zel could cut him down, but we'd healed him with a couple potions so he was still pretty formiddable.

I think this was sorta the best I'm gonna get, or least worst case scenario without trying to really push it. I kept flatlining right at the end if I tried for all 4 lol. We died about a dozen times just trying to pull off the threefer again, so I didn't want to test my luck too hard. Killed the Imp and took off right before the last bell tolled. This seemed thematic anyway, cause when we meet the wounded Mind Flayer again all crashed out on the beach, at least I can finish the job for inspiration lol. I switched out Witchbolt for Magic Missile, kept Jump. I'd rather have the Chromatic Orb to Twin, but distant Missile is a bit more reliable for the hits in the crypt. Might switch it out Jump at the next level up or at Withers, since that's more Lae'zel's thing. I'd run the nautiloid like two dozen times just trying to see if I could come out ahead on the bridge. I still think it mainly comes down to whether or not Zhalk botches his opener, or the Flayer lands a couple stuns. This time it bought us round to regroup and hide hehe.

Lae'zel came clutch with the Crit Cleave! As usual she's the MVP.

Optimal would be to have had her fight to the death for early resurrection on the beach and the life debt owed, but the Flayer had a lot of HP with only a couple turns left, so it just seemed way out of range. Good enough government work. We'll get him back for last minute betrayals with the heel stomp into the sand soon enough. First though we gotta go loot every single thing by the crash site to make up for all the healing potions we burned through trying to get that last 75 xp lol

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

I’m interested in your stat allocation. Conventional wisdom is that you should make them even numbers. I’m guessing you’ll be after the hag’s hair? And then boost dex and con with an ASI feat?

 

[Black Elk]

It's mostly a result of me just trying to quickly roll yet another Sorcerer, and using the default stat blocks there hehe. Each attempt took me about 20-30 minutes. Initially I would go in and try to fine tune everything, but then after doing that half a dozen times I'd invariably forget lol.

Of all the things I find annoying about BG3, the lack of a character Import/Export feature is probably the thing that grates on me most. This is because I don't really design a new character for each BG attempt, instead I have a handful of characters that I create over and over again for the endless groundhog's day. So it would have been nice to just do this once or twice, then import the character. Ideally without it asking me if I want to reset the tutorials with "yes" as the default, cause that's a bit of a drag.

For my Stats, the ideal optimization would depend on whether I plan to use the Stat Boosting equipment or not, but I really dislike seeing -1 penalties when rolling. Like even if it ends up being a wash and totally doesn't matter, it will still show the penalty before the bonuses for the visual on screen. So for example if I dump INT to 8, then wear the circlet of Intellect 17, it will read as -1, +3 in the list of bonuses or something similar, which always makes me nervous hehe. STR doesn't matter so much if one plans to use Potions of Hill Giant strength, but I feel like that can be a bit rough to count on. Having decent STR also makes it easier to throw stuff, better carrying capacity, and synergizes with jump to provide more movement/speed.

Sorcerer doesn't get to use simple weapons by default, so the Club of STR 19 is out. This makes me want to dump DEX instead and just use the Gloves for an easy 18 on that, but it takes a while to acquire them and in the meantime that's pretty lowball for AC. I don't particularly like Respec'ing mid campaign. I feel like the time to do it if at all is right after Withers is achieved. I try to lock in at the Dank Crypt and then avoid making adjustments on the fly, both because I end up blowing a lot of gold that way and also just feels too gamey for my tastes. But then invariably if something bugs out I have to burn a respec at some point.

I think I nice all-around for the visual would probably be something like STR 14, DEX 10, CON 14, INT 10, WIS 10, CHA 17, then even things up with the Hag's Hair and use the second ASI to boost CON for concentration saves or take Warcaster with the shocking grasp reaction. They're largely similar. With the DEX gloves and the Circlet that gives STR 14 (21 with potion), DEX 18, CON 16, INT 17, WIS 10, CHA 20 at level 8 before facing Ketheric. If dumping STR, DEX and INT for more optimization via items and potions, I'd just add whatever to WIS for the saves probably.

This time though I might just keep the default Stat block that I lead, use the second ASI to even the stats on DEX and CON as you say. The Circlet of Intellect is a bit unreliable anyway, so it doesn't hurt to rep a 12 in INT just in case. I've had runs where I lost it all to Lump falling into a chasm or things of that sort, which can be pretty annoying. Felt like it was pointless to nerf myself with a low attribute, when the respec is no cost and sorta encouraged. The game makes it too easy to just adjust Stats with no cost as we go, since it's possible to rob Wither's immediately after paying him. Again sorta gamey. The initial fights on the beach or the dank crypt are sorta the only place where it actually matters, since we can't adjust the stats immediately. For me the game doesn't really start until Withers and the first long rest, so nothing before then really counts other than the xp we've managed to acquire. Like it's all a big dream blur. I think the game should have allowed the player to just skip the whole prologue and start the game at that point on Honour Mode, where we already have the mirror and options to respec.

I find myself spending less time thinking about crafting a look and such, since the options are fairly limited. mostly I pick a race and then my spells if that sort of spellcaster. I have the voice set I like for the Witches, voice 8, the heads I like etc, then I try to choose a hairstyle that won't clip too hardcore hehe.

I have a number of obsessive compulsive rituals for the Prologue though.

My first move is to recklessly reach out and touch the pool of Brine so it explodes and knocks me back lol. Then I jump to the dead mind flayer and that first chest to see what loot they gave me. For Us, if I fail the initial check, I will usually just go do the fight with Lae'zel to see what we got for the loot drop there.

When Shadowheart is recruited I give her Lae'zel's shortbow and prep Command/Bless.

Then everyone takes off their shoes and we hit the last restoration pod before praying for a luck lol.

For Us recruitment, if playing a Tav instead of a Durge, it's better to kill that other Intellect Devourer and then double back with 3 Party Members to pass the Us check. Sorta tedious but then it's pretty much a guarantee, the only gamble is whether to put the thumb in the brain so it will fight to the death. This is unnecessary unless doing the Durge for flavor. Usually I just do the Dex check twice and get it out of the way, quit and restart if I fail. We've got some definite honour in the bank at this point.

Good times lol

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

Yeah, there’s a lot of gamey stuff in BG3. I approach it much more from a RP standpoint. A lot of the respeccing I read about just feels wrong to me, especially changing to classes that make no sense from a story standpoint. I can see giving SH some levels in rogue, and maybe some sword bard levels for Wyll, but that’s about it. The one thing I do do, is give my party even number stats. Laezel gets S16, D14, and C16, etc. It drives me crazy that Larian dishes out so many odd numbers, which are useless. That’s a failing of 5E, of course. What were they thinking?

I agree about character export, totally.

I haven’t tried US yet as I’ve only played good toons so far, and yanking a brain from a skull just doesn’t feel like something they’d do, lol. Is US actually useful?

 

[Black Elk]

Us is alright. Later on they can be recruited as a permanent familiar, similar to Scratch's ball, so Us can tag along with whoever. Sometimes I will give Us to Lae'zel as a pet. I'll have the Shadowhound, so probably Shadowheart takes Scatches Ball and then maybe Gale recruits Shovel, just so we can each have a pal. Us gets a power up, so when they rejoin the crew in Act II, they'll have a synaptic discharge (Psychic Dmg) similar to the ranged attack that the Newborn Intellect Devourers use the party at the crash site.

Lobotomizing Us is an RP decision for me. The benefit is only 10 xp, the downside is reducing their Intelligence stat from 12 to 8 permanently, and also reduction in movement by from 9 meters to 6, or failing the check and they leave forever. So it's basically a terrible decision, one that only a horrid reckless Durge should attempt lol. If trying to optimize I would spare the Brain and choose the let it be convo option "any injuries might weaken it." Whether Lobotomized or not, Us will return in Act II with 55 hitpoints. It can't be permanently killed once rescued from the Illithids and will respawn like Scratch when summoned per rest.

It believes it is a "Kitty" so I usually take pitty on it, even my more murderous Durge's like to keep Us around. If I fail the Medicine/Dex checks I will often just suicide myself by using Firebolt on all those brain pods which will explode with Caustic Brine. It's easier to just force a quick TPK than it is to quit and reload, so half the time that's where we meet our end if I can't have the Brain as our friend.

Hehe yeah, somehow it's always a 13 or 15 or 17 or 19 or 21 or annoying splits for the Odds there. And then there are also only a couple feats that give a +1 ASI or items that will award a nice clean +1 to get back to Even Attributes. DEX gloves will give a solid 18 for a +4 bonus, which is hard to pass over. I think the only reason not to go that way is if there are some other gloves one wants to build around, or if Wearing the Cat's Grace Robes that give +2 to Dex up to 20 and Advantage on all Dex rolls. I can only pull those off those or the Bull's Strength robes if I'm playing a Dragonborn though, or maybe a Witchy Elf, or somebody with Draconic scales, but otherwise showing the Gold's Gym midriff at all times just seems sorta goofy to me lol. I mean Karlach can pull it off, so she usually gets those duds, just so I can try to turn her into lockbuster, or for those rare cases where the sight lines screw me and I have to use a crossbow. But then it's like if I put Gale or Wyll in those Robes, and they're all flexing the abs with invisible Mage Armor, that's a bit much for me hehe. Everyone jumping around in pink pajamas or sparkly prom dresses, or beachwear. If a Witchy Sorceress I generally take off my camp shoes when I hit the beach and never put them back on again. For RP I can play Durge as either a serial murderer or as a sort of accidental wrecking ball, but a lot of the territory is already circumstances are well staked out by the choice of Origin there. I think the reason it's entertaining, is that it sorta makes sense for a return of BG Bhaal angle I guess, or where reality is all warped and the RP is pretty meta. I mean for that one background is locked to "Haunted One." All my characters are meta BG characters, since I like to play the Dark Urge. The first dialogue option is always "Curse whoever did this to you." which is ever my standard, the spacebar select lol

We're super inspiring! I know

I put our jump to good use and leapt up and over the danger zone. Didn't want to chance a botched firebolt or a bad roll vs the 3 intellect devourers at the crash site, so we took the long way round. Wounded Flayer stomp is the first chance for +1 inspiration with Durge, unless someone dies and gets the resurrection, but that one is like an auto I think, first time someone heals is brought back from the brink, least with Shadowheart in the party. I was thinking about keeping the Vampire and ice and coming back to get him later with the warp, but he's pretty useful early on. I tend to just make him an Assassin usually, though last few times I tried Swashbuckler for the Rogue subclass instead. I'm still not sure on how which crew I want to roll with this time. Last time I took Karlach's head and regretted it, cause Giant Barbarian was pretty fun. I mean I do like those Infernal Robes, but that leaves a lot of elemental dmg on the table not having Karlach around for my Shadow Sorcery Omens. This time pretty sure will try for the full team, and try to take it all the way. 3 Devils down is a pretty good start, Zariel's probably got a bounty on us now I'd imagine heheh

 

[Black Elk]

This out I'm trying Gale as a Bladesinger, since I hadn't really checked that out yet. I set him up with the leathers and the General Drakes dye, since that looked sorta Villainous Wizard to me with the red/black/gold color combo for now. I chose Longsword for the blade type, even though our STR is sorta weak, but I figure for Phalar Aluve later on, since that weapon is pretty on theme for Bladesinger. It definitely gives him a new vibe. Mechanically the jump to heal allies and force damage opponents is pretty nice. I think I'll keep him around and have him write down all the ritual spells, since I cleared my mind of Jump to focus on Shadowblade and Hold Person hehe. I try to take Hold Person with everyone who can learn it, just so we can stun lock Alfira and hopefully get the silent knockout there for the Potent Robes in Act II. I feel like the choice between Infernal Robes or Potent Robes is sorta character defining, but I try to keep my villainy flexible to meet the meta, with some justifications in the bag for whatever might transpire.

I left Astarion on the beach, hoping that if he's not in the party when we rest on the 3rd night, that I'll get the Durge scene rather than Vampire one consistently. Usually I spend first night in the Dank Crypt, rest a second time after Withers, then the I do the gate battle and save Arabella. We talk to Volo and Alfira, knock Alfira out with the non-lethal passive, then fast travel immediately to the Emerald Grove Environs. I use the Illithid power on the Goblin in the blighted Village, deception for Lump then sleep. With any luck we get the Campfire scene and Durge awakening at that point. Then the only thing I have to worry about is the Minthara knockout and taking out the Goblin village, and the Hag's hair setup, but I've got a pretty reliable method for that one. It's much easier if I can nail Ethel early and keep May in the silence bubble with sanctuary, if I pull that off almost always am able to get the hair without too many issues. We've got ways to go yet though hehe.

This would be the advantage to killing the 3 Devils right here, (or if the player can kill Flayer, Zhalk and 1 of the 2 Cambions) since it allows us to hit Lvl 3 reliably before the Gate fight. In this one I skipped Astarion recruitment, and the Intellect Devourers at the crash site, and still hit lvl 3 before Withers which is pretty nice. Got our Darkness meta now. I was thinking of trying to use it just keep Remira alive lol. She always seems to get dinged with a bunch of opportunity attacks from when the Goblins rush.