The Candlekeep Annex: RPed Baldur’s Gate No and Low Reload Adventures

[Urdnot_Wrex]

Very cool! I'd love to see one of those vids!

And, btw, in case it wasn't clear, I didn't mean to slight Antimatter in any way. The "shared no reloader DNA" comment was just a reference to my long standing friendship with Serg. We've been playing and posting together for over a decade

All good, it's my job as the tavern door guard to look fierce, and we Krogans are touchy about our friends' honour, but if you accept a glass of Ryncol, all is forgotten (especially by the humans who drink it ).

That playthrough was two years ago and I mostly watched live via Discord, same as @Xzarloxara , not sure if recordings even exist. There was one video of the Siege of Ust Natha but it was just shared among friends, not uploaded somewhere public, as it was a few GB size.

 

[Urdnot_Wrex]

But at least you can find the post about the Siege of Ust Natha in the No-Reload thread on the Beamdog Forum here

 

[Alesia_BH]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Alesia_BH]

Quick Note on Astrid's Game:

Astrid is alive and well, for those who are wondering. She's still chilling in the Pocket Plane, plotting and scheming.

We'll proceed once we have a plan. I expect that to come together semi-soon, within the next couple days.

 

[Alesia_BH]

Astrid, Halfling Priest of Talos: Ascension Irenicus

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I'm pleased to report that Astrid has completed her first battle at the Throne, and it was full on:

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Seriously. I've never seen a smoother Ascension Irenicus battle.

It took me a while to setup Astrid's spell book for this fight. Eventually I decided to keep it simple: heavy on low casting time spells and -crucially- support spells for Balthazar. I'm by now convinced that this was the right choice. I'm also beginning to think that a cleric is a stronger option for Ascension than I had thought.

Here we see the opening. Astrid's buffs for this fight were Protection from Fire, Protection from Evil, Resist Fear, Death Ward, Chaotic Commands, Holy Power, Righteous Magic, Armor of Faith and BoIS ST. Note the absence of her former go-tos, Blade Barrier and Globe of Blades. She's fully transitioned from Blade Barrier tank to fleet footed ranged fighter.

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As soon as the battle began, Astrid broke north, seeking to evade Irenicus's opening Time Stop. Her intention was to turn that Time Stop against Jon-Jon, using Balthazar's immunity. The ghost animation you see on the field is from the fallen solar. She had bounced a vorpal arrow off the Reflex and apparently failed her save. It's interesting that she didn't die, because they could be nixed by Kill Target (13) and in particular their own arrows in earlier versions of Ascension

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The Time Stop begins. We set Balthazar to work on the fallen solars. We want them off the field ASAP because their vorpal weapons can kill Balthazar- especially if Bodhi tags him with cumulative save penalties. A Death Ward from Astrid isn't a reliable defense because the solar arrows can dispel.

Spoiler

One solar is down. We send Balthazar after the other. He fails to kill her during the Time Stop, but he gets her to near death. Astrid hoped to finish her with Energy Blades, once time resumed, but an instant invisibility cast killed that idea. Not a problem. Balthazar detects the invisible. Looking good.

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Bodhi is our next target. Astrid's Energy Blades prove immensely helpful here. Balthazar would struggle with Bodhi on his own.

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Astrid's blades do the heavy lifting, but Balthazar lands the finishing blow.

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Balthazar fought valiantly against Bodhi, but the exchange came at a cost. Bathazar is badly injured. His saves are abysmal, and he's lost levels. Astrid to the rescue: Greater Restoration.

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With the mighty monk back at full strength, we go on the hunt for Irenicus. Balthazar lands a Solar Stance, buffeting Irenicus and knocking him down.

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Astrid follows with a Dispel. Irenicus casts ProMW in desperation, but Astrid has her unenchanted bullets at the ready. This is going to get brutal.

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Down he goes. Astrid and Balthazar are a formidable team.

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The demon battles await.

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Best,

A.

 

[Alesia_BH]

Astrid, Halfling Priest of Talos: The Demon Battles

Following a stellar performance in the demon battles, Astrid and Balthazar are rolling into the final fight like:

Spoiler

We started with the middle pool. This is the easiest demon battle, and it offers a most excellent prize.

After pre-buffing Balthazar with Chaotic Commands and Death Ward, Astrid activated the pool. The demons appear. Astrid and Balthazar pull back to achieve spacing. To my surprise, Balthazar takes heavy damage. Astrid deploys a Heal, hoping to preserve Balthazar's Second Wind.

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Fully healed, Balthazar regains his bearings. The marilith falls

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Followed by the lesser demons.

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This has become a rout, much as we expected.

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Astrid quells the pool, and gains that aforementioned prize:

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Astrid and Balthazar are all:

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We refresh Balthazar's Death Ward and Chaotic Commands. Next, we drop a deva and use her healing spells on Balthazar, getting him back to full health. Astrid activates the northeast pool. Astrid and Balthazar pull back, while the deva runs distraction.

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We clear out some stray minor demons, and await the arrival of our prey, the marilith.

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She arrives and goes with telekinesis on Balthazar, immobilizing herself. She's fallen into the trap. Control Demon.

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The balor approaches. Astrid charges, seeking to draw out his Breach. Astrid doesn't need her specific protections, but Balthazar does. The coast is clear. Balthy, you can come back now.

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We send the marilith to the north, drawing away the lesser demons. Now the balor has fallen into our trap. Tank away, Balthazar, just let me take care of your fire problem first. Ok. Keep him occupied while I win him over.

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The balor bows to Astrid's will. All the heavy hitter are on our team now.

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Astrid turns to the remaining demons and is all:

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Indeed they are. The marilith gets chunked, may she rest in pieces, but we end demon battle two with a full healed Balthazar, and a balor on our side.

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We refresh Balthazar's buffs, and activate the last pool. With our balor clogging the highway, and Balthazar running distraction, Astrid immediately locks on to the new balor.

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Balthazar takes some abuse. Astrid and Balthazar fall back, leaving our two balors to take on the remaining demons. Astrid Heals Balthazar once again. We're ready to re-engage.

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So far the Throne battles have all been near flawless trouncings. Perhaps it was time for a bit of drama? We loose control of one of our balors and he tags Balthazar with Breach. A glabrezu follows with a Chaos. The mighty monk is in danger. We try to land a dispel, but that proves futile. Hitting a confused Balthazar with an AoE spell isn't easy. This is going to be a nail biter...

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He survives! Astrid pulls him back, and refreshes his Chaotic Commands. Let's finish this.

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We'll start by getting that balor back.

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Next, the marilith.

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And so demon battle three ends. Once I decide what to do with our pets, we'll take on The Five.

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Best,

A.

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

Once again you astound and amaze, Alesia! Taking control of demons - that's a new wrinkle. Is that an Ascension thing?

Which leads me to a question for you, or anyone else, if it's not too disruptive: would you recommend installing Ascension? Context: I haven't finished a game of BG2 (TOB) in nearly 10 years. I barely remember what TOB (especially the endgame) is like. Would it be better to try and get through a non-Ascension game first? Or is that essentially irrelevant? And just how hard is Ascension vs the original game?

 

[Alesia_BH]

Thanks, OrlonKronsteen!

As for your question, Ascension is a unique mod. As you may know, it was a labor of love, composed by BG2's lead designer, who lamented the rushed nature of the original release. To my way of thinking Ascension isn't a mod: it's the ending. The original release, in contrast, is what the marketing team forced on us as they strove to get ToB out the door before players deleted SoA from their hard drives, a major consideration in those days.

If I were concerned about difficulty, I'd skip the improved battle series and just instal the Balthazar and Chapter 10 components. You can always move the difficulty slider down for Chapter 10, and Balthazar, if you choose to fight him.

IIRC, you're currently playing on Hardcore. I can't comment on the comparison between the original ending on Hardcore versus Ascension on, say, Tactical or lower. Perhaps someone else can chime in here.

Best,

A.

Btw, Control Demon is an Ascension thing. In Ascension you gain additional abilities each time you quell a pool. You get Control Demon when you quell the southeast pool.

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

Thank you, Alesia, as always. I went with a full Ascension install, which I'm following with a full SCS install (minus the components that remove magical arrows and items from the game, delay merchants and items, etc.). I will be attempting it on hardcore. I fully expect a disaster.

I successfully completed my BG1 no-reload, on hardcore, btw. In a way, it was a miraculous and wonderful run, as it's my most difficult set-up yet, and I beat all the tactical challenges on my first ever run through them (in some instances with skillful play, in other instances, luck). But, on the other hand, the final fight was ugly. My entire party except charname was wiped out in under a minute, and I won by running around (buffed/protected, of course), pot-shotting Sarevok's flunkies with my crossbow until they eventually dropped. The whole thing took over an hour in real time.

 

[Alesia_BH]

I successfully completed my BG1 no-reload, on hardcore, btw. In a way, it was a miraculous and wonderful run, as it's my most difficult set-up yet, and I beat all the tactical challenges on my first ever run through them

Very cool! Congrats! This calls for a beach party celebration! Hooray!

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

I'm trying to imagine my blackguard on a beach... Mordor is more the vibe, I think. Looking for Tripadvisor reviews...

 

[Alesia_BH]

He's late to the party, but here he comes:

Spoiler

 

[Alesia_BH]

Astrid, Halfling Priest of Talos: Demon Battle Addendum

As Astrid and Balthazar debated the fate of the balor and marilith, the demons, fearing for their lives, unexpectedly broke into a song and dance number. I'm not sure where they got the backing band from, but the balor impressed on vocals, and the marilith showed off some prime dance moves. A wild display, to be sure.



When the song came to an end, Astrid turned to Balthazar, then back to the demons and said: "No. Frack that. You're no Korax." The demons had to be dispatched. They couldn't be trusted.

I expected a quiet execution, but as soon as the balor went hostile, he gated in a score of other demons, sending us back to demon battle three square one. Astrid was all:

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Meanwhile I was all:

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Regaining her composure, Astrid cooly and calmly seized control of the balor again. And lo and behold: now the demons he had summoned turned on him, sparring us a confrontation with the balor. Balthazar was all:

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Yes. We totally meant to do that, Balthazar. Totally. Now we just need to get the marilth back so she can help us kill her skeletons.

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Soon only the mariltith remained, and we finally got our quiet execution. A happy ending to an unexpected chapter.

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Consider this a bit of comic relief before the dramatic conclusion. Astrid will take on the Five soon.

Best,

A.

 

[Serg_BlackStrider]

Great stuff as usual, Alesia! And all those 'Astrid was all', 'I was all', 'Baltazar was all' insets are just jewels! Made me laugh out loud =)

One question before I'll forget - I've noticed from Astrid's inventory picture that Sling of Everard has a Strength bonus to damage just like a Sling of Seeking in original game. Do all slings in EE work like that? If so I'm not sure I like that.

 

[Alesia_BH]

Great stuff as usual, Alesia! And all those 'Astrid was all', 'I was all', 'Baltazar was all' insets are just jewels! Made me laugh out loud =)

Glad you enjoyed it

One question before I'll forget - I've noticed from Astrid's inventory picture that Sling of Everard has a Strength bonus to damage just like a Sling of Seeking in original game. Do all slings in EE work like that? If so I'm not sure I like that.

Yes. All slings stack strength damage in EE. I'm not sold on that change either.

Back in the day, in the Baldurdash era, Everard stacked strength damage. The G3 team suspected it was a bug and contacted Gaider. He confirmed that Seeking should be the only sling that stacks strength damage. G3 patched Everard, and that's how things remained for many years.

When the EE was released they decided to rebalance slings. They made all slings stack strength damage, and introduced elemental bullets to BG1, although not BG2. Seeking became a +1 magical ammo weapon.

Like many EE changes, I don't love this. It's nice to have the Everard of old back, in a way, but practically and conceptually I preferred the post G3 fix arrangement.

As you may recall, I was long skeptical of the EE and was a late adopter. Having spent time with it recently, I feel my skepticism was warranted. As a user of an Apple silicon Macintosh, the EE is my only option, and that's why I continue to use it. If I could revert I would, TBH, although I'll acknowledge that I do like some things about the EE. I like that they removed crit protection from ioun stones, as per PnP, for example. I also like that they continue to roll out fixes for broken functionality, like the Scorcher + Spell Turning interaction. It's not all bad.

All in all, the EE is a mixed bag. If they fixed the selection circle overlap bug, and someone introduced a customizable mod to revert EE changes, I'd be a happy camper. Until then I live with the compromises.

 

[Serg_BlackStrider]

Thanks for your insights, Alesia! Truth be told I do like some things in EE but as it turned out recently I can easily implement those in my original setup with BG2 Improved GUI mod so I have even less motivation to move on EE unfortunately...

 

[Xzarloxara]

Glad you enjoyed it

Yes. All slings stack strength damage in EE. I'm not sold on that change either.

Back in the day, in the Baldurdash era, Everard stacked strength damage. The G3 team suspected it was a bug and contacted Gaider. He confirmed that Seeking should be the only sling that stacks strength damage. G3 patched Everard, and that's how things remained for many years.

When the EE was released they decided to rebalance slings. They made all slings stack strength damage, and introduced elemental bullets to BG1, although not BG2. Seeking became a +1 magical ammo weapon.

Like many EE changes, I don't love this. It's nice to have the Everard of old back, in a way, but practically and conceptually I preferred the post G3 fix arrangement.

As you may recall, I was long skeptical of the EE and was a late adopter. Having spent time with it recently, I feel my skepticism was warranted. As a user of an Apple silicon Macintosh, the EE is my only option, and that's why I continue to use it. If I could revert I would, TBH, although I'll acknowledge that I do like some things about the EE. I like that they removed crit protection from ioun stones, as per PnP, for example. I also like that they continue to roll out fixes for broken functionality, like the Scorcher + Spell Turning interaction. It's not all bad.

All in all, the EE is a mixed bag. If they fixed the selection circle overlap bug, and someone introduced a customizable mod to revert EE changes, I'd be a happy camper. Until then I live with the compromises.

The sling change was done for a reason, you know. I actually think it is a good change for the majority of players, and here's why:

In the original BG1, all slings did strength damage. In the original BG2, only select slings did strength damage. This may have been all well and good to you hardcore no-reloaders, but to ordinary players, which make up the vast majority of players, this kind of inconsistency is very confusing and even aggravating. The sling change was one of many changes made to the EEs in an effort to synchronize the rules between the two games. To synchronize sling functionality they had two options: Make no slings do strength damage in BG1, and only select slings in BG2; Or make all slings do strength damage in both games. I agree with the choice they made.

 

[Alesia_BH]

The sling change was done for a reason, you know. I actually think it is a good change for the majority of players

Thank you for your perspective. That's a fair argument.

I don't have a strong opinion on the sling issue, and I don't believe Serg does either. The phrases I used were "I'm not sold on it" and "I don't love it." Serg merely said that he wasn't "sure" he liked it.

Abstracting away from the minor issue of slings to a broader issue where I do have an opinion, my concern is that the EE is supplanting the original in many ways, and the EE team -understandably and defensibly- makes systematic adjustments to accommodate modern sensibility, along with the interests of casual gamers. Take the decision to reduce spawn sizes in early BG1, for example. That's a perfectly sensible decision, given Beamdog's market. Modern gamers don't like to be murdered by trash mobs when they're just getting their bearings. I understand the decision. At the same time, it contributes to comprising the character of the adventure, as it is known to us veteran players. This, of course, is but one of many examples. All the small changes to accommodate the modern gamer, and a multitude of platforms, add up. I don't fault Beamdog for making the choices they've made. They make sense. Nonetheless, we are losing something.

I'll note, again, that I'd appreciate a customizable mod to revert EE changes. That way new players can have their way, and players accustomed to the original can have theirs. Win-win.

Anyhoo, once again, I thank you for your perspective, Xzarloxara. If we'd like to continue this discussion, we should transition to a new thread. That might not be a bad idea. I'm sure there are others who have opinions on this matter.

Cheers,

A.

 

[Urdnot_Wrex]

Anyhoo, once again, I thank you for your perspective, Xzarloxara. If we'd like to continue this discussion, we should transition to a new thread. That might not be a bad idea. I'm sure there are others who have opinions on this matter.

Until now, we haven't been policing threads because in our tavern we prefer to have a cozy common room where everyone can sit at every table and discuss freely wherever a discussion turns to, especially if it's just two comments.
The exchanges before gave the impression that a bit of discussion was welcome in this thread, but since you started it, feel free to open a new one for anything that sidetracks your narration.

 

[m7600]

If you allow a slightly off-topic question @Alesia_BH, I'm curious to know how, after so many runs of the Baldur's Gate games, you don't get bored, lol. These are great games, I don't think anyone here would deny that, in fact they're some of my favorites. And for my part, I also sometimes do several consecutive runs of a game that I like, this was the case when I tried Pathfinder: Kingmaker not too long ago. But I don't think I could do this more than a few times in a row. Aren't you a little bit curious about Icewind Dale, for example? What is it about the Baldur's Gate saga that's so special for you? Anyways, sorry if I'm being too nosey : )