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

Borco · Feb 2, 2024

Sorsha, human bard: Part 20 - continued

We rested and prepared for the Shade Lord. For sake of clarification, I'm not using the improved Shade Lord SCS component. Speaking of my BG2 install, I'll edit the first SoA entry to include the full details.

Before even starting her buff routine, Sorsha equipped her BoIB with its +5 save vs. breath bonus to protect against the Shade Lord's level drain ability. Her buffs were Stoneskin, Strength, Shield, Spell Shield, Blur, ProEvil, MIs, II, Fireshield: Red, Haste, SI: Conjuration and DuHM.

Sorsha charged to top of the temple and immediately destroyed Shadow Patrick with her opening Azuredge throw.

As anticipated, we got blinded (no save), but our -4 save vs. breath kept us in the safe zone against the level drain. Sorsha activated PfMW and started working on the Shadow Altar with Belm.

Once the altar was gone, she managed to get through several hits at the Shade Lord before his Chain Contingency got triggered (that was a bit weird, as I recall this usually occurring at the beginning of the battle).

Nevertheless, neither MIs, nor Spell Turning nor Mislead could protect him from our finishing Sunfire.

We say our farewells to Merella, collect the loot and report to Lloyd only to earn what has to be the most underwhelming monetary reward in the history of adventuring. I mean, 100 gold, seriously? Even that beer and swords for the youngsters had cost us more than that. Never mind, that's just me, Sorsha was pretty content with the outcome.

Despite this last complaint we still managed to raise enough cash to pay Gaelan and collect RoP +2 and the Amulet of Power from Aran.

I'm thinking to allow Sorsha to complete one more stronghold quest before forcing her to proceed with the main plotline. And given that she's a bard, she's already on her way to the Five Flagons' cellar.

Regards,

B.

Borco · Feb 2, 2024

All right, I'm pleased to report that all the existing posts have been imported, that I've managed to fix the issues with my install and that Sorsha is well and alive, having just returned unscathed from the Planar Prison. I'll be looking forward to following up with her progress here.

Alesia_BH · Feb 16, 2024

Borco, Borco, Borco!

I'd been taking a break. I just noticed this.

So happy to see you posting! I've always loved Sorsha and I'm thrilled to see her here!

(I'm about to fire up an M/T, so hopefully you're game to continue/resume posting. It'd be fun if we could get a couple runs going!)

Alesia_BH · Feb 16, 2024

Ale'san, Elven Mage/Thief

Hey there, hi there, everyone! Long time no see! I've been noodling around with other games of late, but that oh-so familiar urge to play BG has returned, so here I am. With apologies to Aurora, my abandoned beastmaster, and Anne Jansen, my I/T waiting in the wings, enter Ale'san, Elven Mage/Thief.

Proficiencies: Quarterstaves, Shortbows

Mods: SCS 34.3, Ascension, G3 Fixpack- Free Action Protects Against Stun

Difficulty: Insane

Gaming Notes: Ale'san's run will be a lightly RPed tactically oriented adventure. The eleven M/T has always been a personal fav. The plan here is to just have fun with the tactical cornucopia that is the M/T

Theme Song: Alakazam by Justice

Borco · Feb 17, 2024

@Alesia_BH I'm pretty excited - Ale'san definitely isn't lacking the cool factor! Can't wait to hear stories about backstabbing ogres and more! Safe travels!

Borco · Feb 17, 2024

Sorsha, human bard: Part 21

Previous posts - BG1: Introduction, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Previous posts - SoA: 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

I'm sitting here in this uninspiring February weather, with coffee boiling on the stove and The Cult blasting from the speakers, and I'm looking at the screenshots from July last year while trying to reconstruct the events leading to Sorsha's visit into the Planar Prison, where the run went on hold for several months. Even though I recall those summer days clearly, the details of the run are already a bit foggy. One thing I do remember, is that it was at that time when I asked my friend and tattoo artist to craft for me a Baldur's Gate inspired enchantment which I carry on me to this day (and for all eternity, he he).

So, where did we finish the last report? Ah yes, Sorsha's triumphant return from the Umar Hills. As it was, our next destination was the CBGB of Athkatla - the Five Flagons. We watched the unconvincing show in the basement and approached Raelis to find out what's amiss. Sorsha accepted the job and Raelis sent us to the Temple District.

That reminded us of the unfinished business with the fallen paladins and Anarg's cup. And what a bloody business it became!

I'll pause here for a comment. It was at this stage of the game where Sorsha's base strategy started to shift from a more ''sustainable'' distribution of her resources over longer periods of time into a more ''intensive'' concentration of these resources on a single task (such as a particular battle). As the fights are becoming slightly more complex, she simply needs to be able to do more in a shorter period of time to keep up. In a way, it is easier to only plan for one encounter, not having to consider whether one will have enough strength and the right tools for what's next (Irenicus' SCS Chateau being the best example of where this is required). On the other hand, it also increases the risk of not having a back-up plan when you go all in and the main strategy fails.

Anyway, where I wanted to get is that the resource management is much easier when you're facing single type of enemies, as is the case with Anarg's fallen paladins. You only need one type of defense and one type of offense. Sorsha knew this, although she still went over the top a bit. Running her standard set of buffs and Fireshield: R, she opened with PfNW and Slow.

Telefield is always a good idea against melee grunts, but combined with Sunfire it is even more pretty.

Haste and Belm gives us 3 slashing APR, which gives us decent push despite running against their plate mail slashing AC.

Ras was there to help as well.

And finish under Arbane's haste.

With that, Sorsha reached level 19 at 1,980,000 XP. The number of our L1-L6 spell slots is now: 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 2. We've also added Improved Haste and PW: Silence into our collection of spells by purchasing the scrolls from the local cutpurse (as well as Wand of Fire).

Onward to the sewers!

Regards,

B.

Borco · Feb 17, 2024

Sorsha, human bard: Part 22

Previous posts - BG1: Introduction, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Previous posts - SoA: 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

As we all know, the path to Mekrath's laboratory leads through Tarnor the Hatchetman and his crew in the Temple District sewers. I recall struggling with this fight in my pre-noreload years - back in the day, I had considered it even tougher than the Guarded Compound. How strange! Over time, I've become much more comfortable in handling this group, although they're still a meaningful threat.

Sorsha buffed with Stoneskin, Oil of Speed, Strength, Polymorph: Self, Spirit Armor, Blur, ProEvil, MIs, II, SI: C (PW: Stun counter) and DuHM. I'm not seeing Shield on the list, which had clearly been a mistake on my part. And also, that Oil of Speed should have been Improved Haste, which we had memorized, but I only realized this after Sorsha quaffed the potion and left it at that.

Belm in hand, she opened with Harp of Pandemonium, successfully confusing one of the clerics.

After the initial scrum, we retreated couple of steps back and started to work on Draug Fea with our scimitar.

Gaius stepped in with Secret Word, removing our SI:C. Sorsha responded with a quick Sunfire blast in the middle of the group.

Draug Fea was the first to fall. Badly injured, the cleric Zorl went under Sanctuary rather than continue in assisting his comrades.

Neither the axe throwing Tarnor nor the archer were much of a danger thanks to our effective missile AC. Sorsha landed couple of hits on Tarnor and called in Ras.

Overhearing Gaius' enchantment incantation, she stepped away and drew Lilarcor to counter the incoming Chaos.

As the mage's aura was recovering, Sorsha activated Namarra's Silence.

Just as we finished Tarnor, the second cleric arrived to join the fray with Unholy Blight. Sorsha was not impressed.

Gaius tried his hand at dispelling our buffs via Remove Magic, however the odds were in our favour.

That gave us the opportunity to cast another spell - this time a Skull Trap targeting the main group. By the way, why had that jelly sided with the bad guys and not with us? Maybe it's the smell...

Gallchobhair soon got chunked by Belm.

Only three left. Gaius pulled off another dispel, this time removing our Oil of Speed (but none of our own spells cast at level 19).

With our efreeti on the field, we now had the upper hand. However, Flame Strike over Gaius' MGoI was not enough.

Sorsha applied IH and finished Gaius with Tuigan fired Acid Arrows.

Finishing Zorl and Rengaard was but a clean-up.

Roger seemed to be very interested in their valuable equipment, so we stuck a good deal and Sorsha acquired several new potions, including two Potions of Magic Shielding.

I'll cover the Mekrath's tower in the next post.

Regards,

B.

Alesia_BH · Feb 17, 2024

Awesome, Borco!

Alesia_BH · Feb 18, 2024

Borco said:
Can't wait to hear stories about backstabbing ogres and more!

Wait. Is the ogre the stabber or the stabbee in this scenario? We can do it either way. Here's an ogre stabber for ya.

Borco · Feb 18, 2024

@Alesia_BH Sweet

Alesia_BH · Feb 20, 2024

Ale'san, Elven Mage/Thief: Early Adventures

It saddens me to say that I did not record Ale'san's earliest of early adventures. I did not screenshot the ceremonial punking of the first ogrillion. Nor did I commemorate the assuaging of Marl's grief with a barstool selfie. You, dear reader, will just have to accept that these things happened, in a sound of a tree falling in a forest kind of way. If that troubles you, then let me ask you this. If an ogre backstabs a squirrel in the forest, and no one is there to see it, does it actually happen? Good question. I'm not sure. Why don't we ask the squirrel?

With that out of the way, we begin our adventure here, in Thalantyr's abode. Chickety, check it, y'all: that's a successful anti-chickenator. Good vibes all around.

(For the record, we hit the FAI first, collecting the rings along the way. Mirrianne and Firebead were aided, too. We checked in on John Cougar after that.)

With her first level up secured, Ale'san moved to the next item on her to do list. Kill people with nice things. These hobgoblins had boots.

These knobgoblins had a belt.

The undead area was next because Drienne gave us a scroll, and it seemed a shame not to use it.

What are these clowns doing with Gauntlets of Dexterity? For reals: How did they get them? They're just not on that level, you know? Standard kiting mission here.

As of my last run, Aurora's run, I had sworn off basilisk hunting. Yes, the XP is excessive and egregious. Yes, it distorts the early game. Yes, the basilisk hunt should be skipped. I agree with all that. But there's a dumb fun, monster-truck-show kind of joy in a successful basilisk hunt, and this time I decided to roll with it. Don't like it? Fine. Objection noted. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some important business to attend to...

Once again Korax was the hero, paralyzing Mutamin. If there really, truly is a heaven, I don't want to be greeted at the gates by St. Peter, or whatever. I want it to be Korax. "Wait! Remember me? Me Korax! Me friend! Me show you around!" Then I'd take his hand, and we'd walk in, and I'd know eternity will be good. Amen.

With the benefit of experience, we were ready kill people with nice things again. Sendai was separated from her archers with a Stinking Cloud, but she tagged Ale'san with her first major boo-boo. Kudos to her for making those early rolls against Blindness.

I've long had an aversion to stationary AoE spells. It goes all the way back to the early days of BG, when off screen Wand of Cloudkill spamming was a thing. Ale'sann, however, like those L2 stationary AoE so I'll need to keep my distaste in abeyance. It's her run, after all.

With the Whistling Sword in hand, we were one step closer to that all important Ulgoth's Beard shopping trip. Now at L5, we can grab the gem bag.

Sleep and Blindness secure the Bracers of Archery.

Blindness, Varscona.

Looting the ankheg lair got us to the finish line. We can now afford the Greenstone Amulet, the Cloak of Displacement, Aule's and a stack stunning darts.

We put those stunning darts to immediate use, securing out last pre-Mulahey item goal, Legacy of the Masters.

Time for Mulahey.

Best,

A.

Serg_BlackStrider · Feb 20, 2024

Nice to see you back in action, Alesia! Keep on rocking!

Borco · Feb 20, 2024

Alesia_BH said:
We checked in on John Cougar after that.

Had to google that one! Anyway, congratulations on the successful antichickenator - the stars seem to be aligned for Ale'san!

Alesia_BH said:
As of my last run, Aurora's run, I had sworn off basilisk hunting. Yes, the XP is excessive and egregious. Yes, it distorts the early game. Yes, the basilisk hunt should be skipped. I agree with all that. But there's a dumb fun, monster-truck-show kind of joy in a successful basilisk hunt, and this time I decided to roll with it. Don't like it? Fine. Objection noted. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some important business to attend to...

Anyone remembers this one?

Monster Truck Madness - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Alesia_BH said:
Once again Korax was the hero, paralyzing Mutamin. If there really, truly is a heaven, I don't want to be greeted at the gates by St. Peter, or whatever. I want it to be Korax. "Wait! Remember me? Me Korax! Me friend! Me show you around!" Then I'd take his hand, and we'd walk in, and I'd know eternity will be good. Amen.

If true, then I'd bet that the ferryman taking you across Acheron to the Hell proper is Rasaad himself. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here, because eternity will be suffering. "Wait! Remember me? Let me tell you about Selûne!"

Alesia_BH said:
I've long had an aversion to stationary AoE spells. It goes all the way back to the early days of BG, when off screen Wand of Cloudkill spamming was a thing. Ale'sann, however, like those L2 stationary AoE so I'll need to keep my distaste in abeyance. It's her run, after all.

I hear you. I've had similar issues with these as something that incentivises me to adopt lazy tactics. However, there's something very satisfying in pairing the stationary effects with the corresponding immunity (MGoIs, spider / jelly forms, ProAcid for Death Fog etc.). Also, the two L2s combined are a great fit against mixed warrior/mage parties, since you can target the weakest saves of each, especially if you can fit them into minor sequencer.

Borco · Feb 21, 2024

Sorsha, human bard: Part 23

Previous posts - BG1: Introduction, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Previous posts - SoA: 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

Funny thing, Sorsha thought, Mekrath must have been to Durlag's Tower and probably liked the place so much as to reuse the same layout and interior design in his very own home. What a strange choice - Sorsha's seen many places, but few had such an oppressive feel as Durlag's.

Nevermind, it was not our job here to rate Mekrath's taste in architecture - the job was to find Haer'Dalis. First, we had to fight our way through the mephits, which Sorsha made look easy by running MGoI and other pre-buffs (including IH, Strength, Spell Shield, Shield, ProFire, Polymorph: Self, Blur, MIs and ProEvil).

After clearing the lobby, Sorsha applied SI: En and II ahead of meeting the yuan-ti in the bedroom. This tends to be a rather chaotic encounter with a lot of AoE action in a confined space, plus the the yuan-ti mages are infamously tenacious which can lead to prolonged fighting. Sorsha had tried to score a quick kill by Sunfire -> Skull Trap combo before any of the mages applied their MGoIs, however all three remained standing.

Our Spell Shield is then whipped away via Spell Thrust, but at least we're able to blast one of the mages with our second Skull Trap.

While the second Spell Thrust removes our SI, Sorsha switches to Tuigan and targets the second mage, whos PfMW has not yet fired.

We're now exposed to their enchantment spells and kept Lilarcor at the ready. I don't recall where we'd found a detonation arrow, but it seemed like a good time to let it fly. The results were rather disappointing.

Here comes the first Chaos (nicely paired with a dispel by the other mage). Holding onto Lila, Sorsha was safe for now.

Working through their defences in a telefield with attacks seemed like a chore and so we decided try out our Wand of Fire to see if it ignores their MGoIs.

I'm not sure what is the designated power level of the wand, but apparently it does. Sorsha then rolled her save against Slow and countered another Chaos with Lila.

The battle was starting to get a bit tiresome, when our foes finally started to into their repertoire of AoE damage spells. That was, of course, their own doom. Someone should at least give these guys GoIs or SI: Ev!

Having found Haer'Dalis in a vegetative state, we had to look for Mekrath himself. Sorsha still had couple of tricks up her sleeve, so we decided to proceed without resting in between. She activated her RoAC: II as a precaution before approaching him for a friendly conversation. While our talks eventually failed, he certainly had a valid point regarding being robbed and all that...

As soon as Mekrath turned hostile, Sorsha hexed him with PW: Silence. Being a smarter SCS mage, he smoothly countered that with Vocalize before we could do him more harm.

He got his PfMW up in the next round and that left us with fairly restricted offensive options. Namarra's silence failed to land and even our efreeti's arsenal was limited to Fireball due to Mekrath's active Minor Spell Turning.

We called in Ras and managed to quickly peel off his Stoneskins once PfMW expired. Even so, Mekrath did not give up - bruised and cornered, he pulled off Emotion: Hopelessness. Looking at the screenshots in retrospect, I'm not sure why I had forced Sorsha to quaff that Stone Form potion to bring her save vs spells to -5, since we had already been in the safe zone (even with the specialist enchanter penalty) at -2. I'm puzzled.

Irrespective of the unnecessary expenditure of resources, we prevailed.

Time to report to Raelis.

Regards,

B.

Alesia_BH · Feb 22, 2024

Ale'san, Elven Mage/Thief: Nashkel Mines to Bandit Camp

It's good to be a mage/thief. Mage thieves fight on their own term: when they like, where they like and who they like. For Ale'san, that means skipping the kobold hordes. Why you ask? Simple math. 10 x 2 = 20. That's the APR of a passel of kobolds, and it's a big number. 10 x 7 = 70XP can't justify taking that on.

I've slinked by these traps so many times that I almost forgot you can disarm them. M/T for the win, once again.

And again. Pretty sure this is the most backstabbed kobold in the realms. Can anyone think of another nominee?

Most of my characters roll up to Mulahey's light on Wand of Sleep charges. Ale'san, blessed with L1s, has plenty. We cast from the book this time.

Ale'san's run through BG1 has been clean, but behind the scenes there's been some relearning. An 8 month break isn't an 8 year break, but it's also not nothing. Ale'san's BG battles have been efficient, but notably lacking in panache. The Mulahey fight was no different. We opened with Blindness, protected by Shield, Mirror Image, Pro Fire, Potion of Fire Resistance, Pro Evil, and Greenstone. Classic move, that. Basic, you might say.

Elaborating on that theme of basicness, we followed up with a Sleep on the kobolds. That's right: Yawn.

Desperate to do something novel, Ale'san went to Shocking Hands for the finish. Alas, I forgot to factor in Mulahey's Boots of Grounding. Sorry, Ale'san: you're going to have to find another signature coup de grace. Shocking Grasp isn't your thing.

A thwack from Aule's? That'll do. For now. But we totes-McGoats need to work on that signature move thing, mkay?

Over to Nashkel to collect our praises and prizes. MSD, backed by Greenstone led the way against Nimbul. Sorry, Rasaad: No one wants to see your "justice" here. Put it away and go.

With no desire to get in Nimbul's grill, we sent in the monster brigade, courtesy of the Wand of Monster Summoning.

A gnoll elite scored the kill. Not sure why you're still here, Rasaad. Didn't we tell you to get lost?

Tranzig fell to MSD + Greensonte + Monsters, too.

I agree, Ale'san. Style wise this is 100% unacceptable.

We need to get you to the Hot Girl Hospital combat makeover unit, stat.

Greenstone + Blindness and wands took care of Molkar et al.

Time for Bandit Camp. As per usual, we stealthed into the tent and took on the leaders. We're running 100% fire resistance along with Potion of Strength, Shield, Ghost Armor, Pro Evil, Potion of Regeneration and Greenstone. Notably absent are MI and Oil of Speed. I had been hoping to save those for later. That was a mistake.

Saving spell slots isn't economical if you're putting non-renewable resources at risk. Our lack of MI here left us open to a crit, leading to a PoI quaff. Not a good start.

Regrouping now- this time fully buffed with MI and our Oil of Speed. We broke with Wand of Monster Summoning plus dart of stunning. Now we're in business. This is a winning position.

Ogres finish Venkt.

An arrow finished Britik. Just cleanup now.

With her Oil of Speed still active, Ale'san charged after Taurgosz. What will it be this time, Taurgosz? Blindness or dart of stunning. You choose.

Blindness it is then. Don't worry. We won't start the BBQ until your friends arrive.

K. Looks like the gang's all here. Light'em up.

A simple, if basic, win for our little Miss Finding Her Way. Don't worry, y'all: cool things will happen. I promise. I just need a few more days to find my groove, lol.

Cheers,

A.

Borco · Feb 22, 2024

Alesia_BH said:
And again. Pretty sure this is the most backstabbed kobold in the realms. Can anyone think of another nominee?

This lad!

Borco · Feb 22, 2024

Sorsha, human bard: Part 24

Previous posts - BG1: Introduction, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Previous posts - SoA: 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23

Planar Prison is definitely one of the more hair rising sections of the stronghold questing throughout Amn. The Pixie Prick is nasty, yuan-ti mages can blast entire parties, the Warden is a serious threat even for high level characters, while all of it comes in this point-of-no-return packaging. Despite these dangers, both no-reloaders and reloaders have been flooding into this otherworldly domain for ages in search for Boots of Speed and the undying gratitude of Raelis' troupe.

Preparation is crucial. For Sorsha, this also involved inventory space management (whereby we had to store all but the critical items in a container at the Five Flagons) and removing the Claw via Remove Curse to keep her saves vs. death in check. For the record, here's our inventory and character sheet shortly before hopping into the portal.

Our pre-buffs were Stoneskin, Strength, Spirit Armor, Shield, Spell Shield, ProEvil, Blur, II, MIs, MGoI, SI: En and IH. Arriving invisible, Sorsha called in Ras and, as soon as she noticed divination incantation of one of the yuan-ti mages, interrupted him with Tuigan. The fight was on!

Round one saw Sorsha activating PfMW and putting Belm into work. I can see now that we're missing DuHM - it would have been the right call to include it in the pre-buff routine in order to gave our attacks an extra punch.

Ras then brushed off a Flame Strike, while Sorsha blasted the bounty hunter party with Sunfire. The main threat was now gone.

Time to finish the first mage w/o PfMW with Tuigan and get that DuHM running.

Two more casualties by Belm. We're looking good despite having had our illusion protections dispelled via True Sight by the remaining yuan-ti mage.

Sorsha responds to that by Cone of Cold (cast via scroll) to go over his MGoI and freezes him solid.

The lobby's been cleared.

The Boots of Speed were now ours, and so was Pixie Prick (I hate that name, really). It had been a long time since I've used the Melodic Chain with any character, so you can imagine how disappointed I was to find out that it cannot be combined with the RoP bonuses and therefore we could possibly only justify its use for style purposes.

The mage thrall down the corridor took the smart decision to fire up her PfMW to prevent being torn apart by our scimitar. The downside of PfMW is that it does not stop Skull Traps cast at level 19.

I'll pause here, as I've got like a million screenshots from the subsequent mage battle en route to the wyvern nest and I'd surely hit the picture limit for individual posts (and also need to sort those out a bit first). Stay tuned if you like!

Regards,

B.

Alesia_BH · Feb 22, 2024

Borco said:
This lad!

View attachment 7130

Doesn't look like a kobold to me. Kobold sympathizer, at best

Borco · Feb 22, 2024

Alesia_BH said:
Doesn't look like a kobold to me. Kobold sympathizer, at best

Yip, yip, yip!

Borco · Feb 22, 2024

I seem to be struggling with the formatting/fonts when copy-pasting the text from my notes - apologies in case you're viewing that latest post of mine on a mobile version with all its inconsistencies (for some reason, the desktop version looks ok). I'll make sure to remedy that soon.

Anyone happens to have an efficient solution to that issue? The "remove formatting" option does not fix it - I've tried.

Cheers,

B.

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

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