Alia, Halfling Kensai: Early Adventures
Ok! Since Alia's character description didn't garner much of a response, I'm going to post this as a lightly RPed, low cheese tactically oriented run, rather than a full fledged Annex adventure. Some may find it interesting, in light of the recent discussion of kensai tactics in BG1. I'll likely forgo posting on BG2, but I'll consider it on request. Let me know if there is interest.
Alia's early game route was similar to that of all my fast tracked characters, albeit with some modifications, reflecting her kit restrictions. She proceeded from the Lion's Way to the Coastaway, picking up items from NPCs en route, and paused for the hidden items, the diamond and RoP + 1. Most of my characters go straight to the FAI from here, but Alia swung down to the belt ogre, seek the Girdle of Piercing. AC boosting items will always be a priority for her.
Alia's next move was to hit the FAI to pick up Evermemory. This will, in all likelihood, be the last run in which I allow collection of easter eggs. Doing so trivializes early game resource management. That's unacceptable, to my eyes, even in a tactically oriented run.
South to Beregost, Marl and Firebead brought Alia close to level 2. Mirianne's quest got her over the top. Playing with max HP rolls, that first level is a huge boost. Up to this point Alia has used her throwing daggers exclusively.
Moving on to High Hedge, Alia sold her goodies and started filling out her early game item set, acquiring a potion case, a potion of mirror eyes, a protection from undead scroll and a wand of sleep.
Heading south, Alia took on Melicamp's tormentor, with her Wand of Sleep at the ready. Happily, her throwing daggers did the trick, saving a charge.
The return to High Hedge brought naught but disappointment, as Mellicamp failed his anti-chickenator roll. We weep for you, Mellicamp. Rest in peace, feathered friend.
South to Nashkel, Alia made her introductions and then headed to the carnival to pick up the oh, so important Shield Amulet. Here I made a major decision, affecting the remainder of Alia's run. After some debate I decided to allow Alia to recharge her Shield Amulet, mostly with BG2 in mind. Item recharge has alway struck me as questionable at best. I did restrict it in Amara's run, and I intend to restrict it in most of my runs here. In Alia's case, though, I felt that allowing recharge of two items, the Shield Amulet and the Victor, would dramatically increase her viability in SoA without trivializing anything. Allowing recharge in this case should therefore make her run more interesting, not less. That works for me.
Shield Amulet in tow, Alia headed east to the Gibberling Mountains, picking up Ballista's Passport, and then north east to the Valley of Tombs. The revenant encounter brought Heart of the Golem and level 3, a major power boost for our dagger loving kensai.
Now at level 3, Mutamin's Garden called. Since Alia had not collected the Greenstone Amulet yet, I was very cautious with Mutamin. I would have happily forewent the XP on the remaining basilisks had Korax not succeeded in paralyzing Mutamin. Happily, he did succeed: a boon, to be sure.
Now at level 6, and equipped with the Shield Amulet, Alia was ready for some light melee, in this case Gnarl and Hairtooth. Caldo and Krum had been defeated en route, using a Wand of Sleep charge, making this all the safer. With her -2 AC class bonus, the Shield Amulet and her belts, Alia is by now capable of meleeing comparably leveled piercers or crushers- especially under the influence of a strength potion.
With her level 6 immunity to sleep, generous HP total and Shield Amulet conferred immunity to Magic Missiles, I felt comfortable confronting Tarnesh now, even without the Greenstone Amulet. Happily, a lucky throwing dagger cut right through his Mirror Images.
On her way north to Ulgoth's Beard, Alia was ambushed by bandits. After a brief internal debate, I decided that the bandit scalps were worth a Wand of Sleep charge. Alia had been very conservative with her Wand of Sleep charges thus far, expending only one on Caldo and Krumm.
Continuing northward to Ulgoth's Beard, Alia minimized her contact with ankegs, only fighting the ones along her path.
After picking up the Greenstone Amulet and, importantly, the Cloak of Displacement, Alia took on the remaining ankegs. Selling off the loot allowed her to make her first major purchase: the Dagger of Venom.
With the Dagger of Venom in her main hand and a large stack of throwing daggers, Alia was by now a deadly opponent. Against most foes, the Dagger of Venom's speed factor of zero allows Alia to attack without risk of retaliation. And if the poison takes, her foes will never catch up to her again, instead falling to throwing daggers while reeling from poison ticks. It's a vicious combo, as Greywolf learned.
And that brings us to the end of Alia's early adventures. I'll post on the Naskel mines soon.
Best,
A.
Plus, since the ammo for slings are called "bullets", I just thought it would be mildly amusing to purposefully confuse them with modern bullets, lol.
