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The Shame Boy posted:Protip,next time listen to the man when he says not to open the big scary coffin with something evil inside it. That did not go well. Kangaax ?
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Jun 2, 2023 22:28
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X_Toad posted:Kangaax ? The regular Lich in the Temple District sewers, I think
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Jun 2, 2023 22:46
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Still Kangaax related, if I remember right ?
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Jun 2, 2023 23:00
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bike tory posted:I'm sure these posts are a lot of work, but I wanted to say I appreciate them and hope you find the time to finish off the second book Thanks. Sorry I haven't posted another update yet, but I've had some other stuff going on, and I've gotten distracted. It did occur to me earlier today that it had been a while since the last book update (looks like it's been a month). I'll try and see if I can get another one written soon.
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Jun 3, 2023 02:58
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X_Toad posted:Still Kangaax related, if I remember right ? Yeah, you get one of the pieces
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Jun 3, 2023 10:12
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Max Wilco posted:Thanks. Sorry I haven't posted another update yet, but I've had some other stuff going on, and I've gotten distracted. It did occur to me earlier today that it had been a while since the last book update (looks like it's been a month). I'll try and see if I can get another one written soon. It's not exactly a Let's Play, but I think the LP philosophy fits here too: Your effort posts are a hobby, and don't stress about it that much. I too find the book posts hilarious, but you clearly put a lot of care in to editorialize (if that's the word) the craziest content for us, so you're essentially writing mini book reports for the fun of others.
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Jun 4, 2023 10:16
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Max Wilco posted:Thanks. Sorry I haven't posted another update yet, but I've had some other stuff going on, and I've gotten distracted. It did occur to me earlier today that it had been a while since the last book update (looks like it's been a month). I'll try and see if I can get another one written soon. Concurring with the poster above me, keep posting if you like posting them. I enjoy them too, so I would like you to keep posting them, but no one is paying you to post them, don't feel any obligation to post them.
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Jun 4, 2023 10:24
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Considering the amount of gold you need to pay and how much Spellhold has been hyped up so far there is surpringly little combat in this section! I've also brought Yoshimo along as per advice farther down in the thread so we'll see how this goes
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Jun 4, 2023 19:20
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The Shame Boy posted:Considering the amount of gold you need to pay and how much Spellhold has been hyped up so far there is surpringly little combat in this section! I've also brought Yoshimo along as per advice farther down in the thread so we'll see how this goes oh boy keep us up to date. also read this spoiler once you're about to leave be sure to take yoshimo's heart with you. when you get back to athkatla, take it to the little temple to ilmater on the copper coronet's roof for the single biggest xp reward in the whole game.
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Jun 4, 2023 19:28
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Arivia posted:oh boy keep us up to date. This comes with a rep boost, too, right?
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Jun 4, 2023 20:12
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I was so mad the first time I played through the game that Spellhold was over so quickly. At least my last playthrough I did the exit that entirely skipped the you-know-what area, which I did not even realize until wondering towards the end of the game "wait a minute, when do you go to THAT city again?"
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Jun 4, 2023 20:27
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Dr. Quarex posted:I was so mad the first time I played through the game that Spellhold was over so quickly. At least my last playthrough I did the exit that entirely skipped the you-know-what area, which I did not even realize until wondering towards the end of the game "wait a minute, when do you go to THAT city again?" I'm a broken record about this, but the game pacing, or whatever you'd like to call it, is a bit all over the place. Each "class quest" is about an hour-long dungeon, which is sort of the same length as Spellhold. Spellhold has a bunch of stupid riddles, but they're easy and you get a ring of regeneration and those are some of my favourite rings in the game, so  And I'm fairly sure I did the shark-men city in like 45 minutes last time around. But this is the point where the game goes a-ha on you, and you land in the Underdark, where there's 3 optional dungeons (you sort of have to do one I guess) that throw the absolute bull-shittiest game mechanics in your face. I guess maybe not the Kuo-toa area per se, but if you want the best loot out of there you have to fight the dumb, level-draining demon lords or whatever the gently caress those things are called. And there's 5 of them! At least on my latest run I sort-of-not-cheesed the squid dungeon and just sent Korgan in there with a ridiculous AC and the fire axe, and the stupid squids couldn't touch him before he killed 'em all with his ridiculous strength bonuses and whatnot. Stupid, not-so-crafty murder squids.  NOTE TO SHAME BOY: This is all discussing stuff you will see in the near future, don't spoil yourself needlessly 
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Jun 4, 2023 20:40
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Ah yes forget everything i just said! There was quite a bit of combat and some stupid puzzles to be had in Spellhold, and now i have Slayer powers? Seems neat! and since i had the audacity to try and take the boat back to town to pick up Jaheira since i brought Yoshimo instead of her now i have to deal with fish people before going to the Underdark to get back out! How inconvenient
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Jun 6, 2023 00:35
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Sharktown has one of the best characters in BG2. Sadly, not recruitable!
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Jun 6, 2023 02:23
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Ran away from the portals infinitely spawning elementals and literally took a wrong turn in the Underdark to end up in Mindflayer hell. This place sucks rear end.
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Jun 6, 2023 07:32
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Rappaport posted:Sharktown has one of the best characters in BG2. Sadly, not recruitable! Goddamn that was a fun little thing. I don’t remember much at all from that game but that was great
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Jun 6, 2023 09:57
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The Shame Boy posted:Ran away from the portals infinitely spawning elementals and literally took a wrong turn in the Underdark to end up in Mindflayer hell. This place sucks rear end. Sounds like a pretty accurate Underdark experience
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Jun 6, 2023 13:52
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I think the Underdark is one of my favorite parts of the game. So many cool things down there, and great loot.
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Jun 6, 2023 14:35
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Okay, enough waiting. Time for a new book post. When we last left off, Adalon had transformed the party to look like drow. Chapter 15 starts with Abdel watching as Adalon battles with drow. As the skirmish continues, Adalon sends a telepathic message to Abdel to book it to Ust Natha. We cut to the group talking with a Drow, trying to come up with an excuse: quote:“We were the advance party,” Abdel said, assuming that if it didn’t work, he’d probably still be able to kill the lone drow. We've got another misspelled name. It's Solaufein. Again, though, this might be just a result of the early script for BG2. As mentioned regarding the BG1 novel, Rieltar's name was misspelled, but that error was also present in some instances in the game. Soulasein says that they should return to Ust Natha, and we cut to a scene with Phaere and Bodhi. quote:“All this for a diversionary tactic,” Phaere said, staring up at the tall archway of the completed gate. “I will say one thing for you humans, you do think big.” Human? Isn't Bodhi an elf? After all, she's the sister of Irenicus, so what's the deal? Can't remember for sure, but I think this is clarified later. There an explanation of the Suldanessellar invasion. quote:“I won’t bother asking exactly what that might be,” Phaere said, “and I don’t really care after all, do I? If I get the mythal, you can have your way with Suldanessellar.” So Bodhi and Irenicus are pulling a ruse on the Drow to fight amongst themselves while they carry out their plan. I can't remember if that was a thing in the game; I just remember Irenicus teaming up with the drow to invade and that's it. Bodhi knows that Abdel and company are in pursuit, and that they've spoken with Adalon (somehow). She has a plan, though. quote:“Well,” Bodhi said, taking a step closer to the humming gate, “good for you. When the three of them get here, they’ll have to think they’ve succeeded in getting the eggs back. They’ll want to escape the city and bring the eggs to the dragon, who they think will send them to Suldanessellar. I’ll have someone here who they’ll think is a friend, who’ll nudge them in the right direction—through the gate.” Holy crap, it's Yoshimo! Yeah, it looks like Yoshimo's double-cross was part of the original plot outline, although here, there's no mention of a geas (have to double-check), and no mention of Tamoko being Yoshimo's sister (though I don't think that actually made it into the game, either, from what I read). Anyway, with that twist, we end Chapter 15. Chapter 16 beings with the party having arrived in Ust Natha, meeting with Phaere. It's described Soulasein guided them back to the city, and how he works for Phaere. Imoen's still acting as the leader. quote:Solausein made the introductions—they’d given him hastily contrived aliases out of simple caution—and it was obvious that the young drow woman was interested only in Imoen, who for her part seemed to be reveling in her position of contrived authority the same way she was reveling in her jet black skin. Oh, there's also this line a couple paragraphs prior. quote:What they knew by the time they reached Ust Natha was that Solausein worked for the daughter of a drow matron (Imoen in particular seemed enamored with the drow’s apparently matriarchal society) who was rapidly gaining power in the city.  Imoen states that Adalon has agreed to Phaere's demands, with Jaheira explaining how Adalon no longer has her mate, so the eggs are irreplaceable. quote:The drow woman turned to Solausein, who would not meet her gaze. “Are these all?” she asked him. Now, I know what you're probably pondering: "Is this next scene going where I think it is?" But no! It's the scene after this one. We instead change scene to a drow tavern, where Abdel, Jaheira, and Soulasein are convening at. quote:“She can be… difficult,” Jaheira said, doing a good job of sounding familiar with the drow mistress. Do drow eat spiders? That doesn't sound right to me, considering they worship a spider god. quote:Solausein nodded and said, “I failed my mistress.” We then cut to... quote:Phaere’s bedchambers were rather different than anything Imoen would have expected. Of course she’d heard the tales and legends of the drow since she was just a little girl. Always it was about spiders and monsters and cruel tortures. They were always described as a hideous, even malformed race who kept slaves and reveled in hour after hour of continuous bloodshed and thrill killing. Imoen confirmed for being a weeb for Drow (Drowaboo? Drowphile?) quote:Her body was hard from long hours of daily training. Phaere was at least two inches shorter than Imoen, but Imoen knew the drow woman could kill her with her bare hands. Imoen was attracted to her ears as well. They were perfectly shaped, symmetrical, and pointed, the tips peeking out from under her hair. Phaere’s hands were lithe and smooth. There was no hint of blemish or imperfection on her at all, and the low-cut, backless robe showed enough of her to make that all the more impressive.  quote:She’d been enjoying the ruse and would never have trouble admitting that she found the drow attractive—she even found herself more attractive as a drow—but she’d still been rather nervous around Phaere. Now, though, all she could think about was the bath. She shed her torn clothes quickly enough, not even thinking to try to explain them and their state to Phaere. They weren’t drow clothes.  quote:“What is that?” Imoen asked. Oh, phew. I was worried there for a minute.  quote:Phaere looked at her and Imoen closed her eyes. ...Well, back to quote:Phaere, eyes still on Imoen’s, stepped into the tub and lowered herself into the water as slowly as Imoen had. The bath was huge enough that a good half dozen yards of warm water separated the two women. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WMBFghFCIg ...So we return to Abdel and Jaheira, where Soulasein has led them to the eggs. Soulasein has the guards load up the eggs in a cart, then dismisses them. They're about to leave, when... quote:“We should be going, mistress,” Abdel prodded. So this is actually kind of a cool dynamic, moreso than what we had in the game. We know that Yoshimo's been tasked by Bodhi to find the party, but he doesn't know that they've been made to look like Drow. Abdel's realized that Yoshimo's in league with Irenicus, but none of them can acknowledge Yoshimo, lest they give themselves away. The first time I read this, I really liked this change, and was interested to see how it would play out. quote:Abdel felt a tingling feeling shudder through his whole body and was surprised—even a little disappointed—by his nervousness. So of course, as soon as this dynamic is established, it gets destroyed by the spell wearing off.  We switch back to Imoen briefly, who steals Phaere's wand. After Phaere checks in on her and leaves, the spell wears off for Imoen. We return to Abdel and Jaheira confronting Yoshimo quote:Abdel punched Solausein in the face so hard the drow’s nose shattered in a spray of blood. He went down fast and hard. 'Drow elves'? Isn't that redundant? quote:“Easier said than done,” Abdel growled. He turned to Jaheira and said, “We wasted too much time.” So ends Chapter 16. Hopefully it will not take me over a month to cover the next couple of chapters. Max Wilco fucked around with this message at 05:32 on Jun 8, 2023 |
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Jun 8, 2023 05:28
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I remember a big gate in Ust Natha, but the demon was standing in front of it right? Wasn't it a gate to hell or something?
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Jun 8, 2023 08:29
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e: never mind, I am a moron
Rappaport fucked around with this message at 11:25 on Jun 8, 2023 |
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Jun 8, 2023 11:06
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So to talk about the Yoshimo thing now that i'm fully out of the Asylum and The Underdark i had a suspicion it might be something like a betrayal and the impact was lessened since i haden't been using Yoshi since the beginning like i guess the devs intended you probably might. But i think it's still a decent moment that made me feel bad for the guy and for the time the game came out and especially in the sense of a DnD party, having a party member turn against you is a big deal! If i had been using him as my only thief i'd have to go grab Jan or Nalia (who i'm already using as my mage and my lovely thief) to do the job instead. With all of that said though, Chapters 5 and 6 went by super fast after how long those first 4 took! I guess it's more of a chance to let you clean up sidequests you left behind from Chapter 2 and having big important book characters help you fight Bohdi and the vampires is pretty cool, i just kind of wish they were hiding somewhere that wasen't the same place they were last time? Seems strange they'd go back to the already compromised hideout. The new huge forest area and that one screen desert/oasis place were neat but didn't seem to have much in them. Just...what exactly are your options to leave if you piss off the dragon in the Underdark? Seems like you're kind railroaded into helping her out and playing around in the Drow political stuff.
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Jun 9, 2023 07:53
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You can kill the dragon, and if you're an evil character it's beneficial to do so because it lets you upgrade the Human Leather armor. Also, if you just don't want to deal with all the drow poo poo and can get away with it, you can just kill the dragon and not deal with any of their poo poo.
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Jun 9, 2023 07:58
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You can escape without Adalon, you can even kill her if you want. The exit to the surface is in the kuo toa tunnels. I'd strongly recommend going through her quest though, it's interesting and you have lots of options for how to end it.
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Jun 9, 2023 08:03
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Is she easier than trying to take on sombody like Firkraag or the black shadow dragon dude in the temple?
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Jun 9, 2023 08:09
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No idea because I never did it, her request is unreasonable, but also understandable. She can't just burn down all of Drow town because she might harm her own eggs, but she's a mother very worried about them so she shang hai's the first adventuring party she can to get them back for her.
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Jun 9, 2023 08:30
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The Shame Boy posted:Is she easier than trying to take on sombody like Firkraag or the black shadow dragon dude in the temple? About on par, the dragons in this game are all pretty much the same deal. Her breath does cold damage so stock up on resistance. Otherwise make sure your front liners are spread around her so they don't all get wing buffeted at once, and your ranged are spread out at max range so only one will be hit by the breath at a time. They always open with a dispel that'll strip all your buffs and a Death Spell that instakills all the summons it hits, so bait those out with a single weak summon. Use the mage spell Breach to strip her stoneskins whenever they go up (which will be 2-3 times through the fight, starting immediately when you attack), and have your mages cast Lower Resistance or the higher level versions like 4-5 times on her before using damage spells or they won't go through. Sounds complicated but it's not difficult to do really.
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Jun 9, 2023 08:42
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Okay sombody explain to me the magical power struggle that the rest of the game is going to be at this point because Irenicus is kicking my rear end and it seems like Breach and Pierce Magic are not working? Or maybe they there are and he's just recasting them or something. He's never vulnurable long enough for me to get hits in before he time stops and mazes, horrid wilting and banshee wails the party to shreds.
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Jun 9, 2023 21:52
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The Shame Boy posted:Okay sombody explain to me the magical power struggle that the rest of the game is going to be at this point because Irenicus is kicking my rear end and it seems like Breach and Pierce Magic are not working? Or maybe they there are and he's just recasting them or something. He's never vulnurable long enough for me to get hits in before he time stops and mazes, horrid wilting and banshee wails the party to shreds. If you're playing vanilla bg2 I believe the only thing that blocks breach is spell shield, but spell shield will get cancelled by it as well when the breach hits. Not sure if Irenicus even casts spell shield either. So just keep spamming breach on Irenicus and then beat him up. Also, buff up your entire party with protection from magical energy and death ward. Protection from magical energy will make you immune to horrid wilting damage, and death ward will protect against wail of the banshee. Prebuff with those.
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Jun 9, 2023 22:35
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Ah yes thanks! That was really all it was just a few extra spells i haden't ever used before in buff rotations were the key  Now where the Hell am i? Actually, i think i just answered my own question
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Jun 9, 2023 23:27
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Improved invisibility also stops you from targeting the caster with breach, so if you're getting a message like "can't target this creature" or whatever then cast Truesight. Better to use clerics (or inquisitor paladins) for this than mages.
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Jun 10, 2023 03:03
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That is exactly the reason i'm bringing Keldorn around and this being the first time i've played the game past the opening like 30 minutes, oh boy am i glad for that build in True Sight and Dispel Magics
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Jun 10, 2023 03:24
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The biggest threats in BG2 are mages, and Inquisitors just poo poo on them. Even without Carsomyr. They're better wizard slayers than Wizard Slayers.
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Jun 10, 2023 04:50
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Oh i guess i'm just done with Shadows of Amn now! It was said up thread that the pacing just goes bonkers was definitely correct. Once you're through the opening act of collecting all the money to get to Spellhold it's just big moment after big moment and had i known going to Elf Town was gonna be the start of the end game i definitely would have at least attempted to clean up some of Watchers Keep beforehand, i'm sure it'll be fine though. It's a bit of an odd thing having only played a bit of 3rd and mostly 5th edition IRL and this game being the mid to late game of a high level adventure of a completely different rule set i'm still not entirely to grips with. I can't even say i've ever even been in a game with characters past 10 or 11th level IRL but here i end Shadows of Amn with my characters in the range of 13-18 with only Anomen being the exception at 20/7 Cleric/Fighter and it's only going to get more insane from here!
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Jun 10, 2023 05:36
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I'm sometimes given to realise that the 'spell duel' aspect of BG2, the supposed system of protections, counters and counters to counters, is teaspoon shallow much of the time.
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Jun 10, 2023 05:39
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JustJeff88 posted:I'm sometimes given to realise that the 'spell duel' aspect of BG2, the supposed system of protections, counters and counters to counters, is teaspoon shallow much of the time. It's not complicated, but if you don't know how the various spells interact it will be very frustrating for you.
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Jun 10, 2023 06:26
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sweet geek swag posted:It's not complicated, but if you don't know how the various spells interact it will be very frustrating for you. I can't disagree.
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Jun 10, 2023 16:06
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The Shame Boy posted:Oh i guess i'm just done with Shadows of Amn now! It was said up thread that the pacing just goes bonkers was definitely correct. Once you're through the opening act of collecting all the money to get to Spellhold it's just big moment after big moment and had i known going to Elf Town was gonna be the start of the end game i definitely would have at least attempted to clean up some of Watchers Keep beforehand, i'm sure it'll be fine though. Ah don't worry about not getting to clean up bits of Watchers Keep, you can still go there in ToB.
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Jun 10, 2023 16:16
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JustJeff88 posted:I'm sometimes given to realise that the 'spell duel' aspect of BG2, the supposed system of protections, counters and counters to counters, is teaspoon shallow much of the time. In Vanilla it is pretty simple. Sword Coast Strategems makes it so that stripping spell protections from wizards is harder than just breach--->win but not everyone likes having to put more effort into that sorta thing so ymmv. One neat trick you can do on both SCS and vanilla bg2 is to use cloud type spells to interrupt enemies. On vanilla and scs it's often rare for wizards to protection themselves from poison so cloudkill despite not doing a ton of damage is actually really good on both scs and vanilla to deal with enemy mages. Incendiary Cloud and Death Fog can be good for the same reasons, but on SCS at least it's a little more common for wizards to throw up protection from fire or acid. Poison protection is rare in my experience though. But no need to deal with mage chess if you just throw up a cloud that they aren't ready for. Sadly liches are fuckers and immune to poison by default and scs liches will usually protect themselves from fire/acid as well but against non liches it's chefs kiss.
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Jun 10, 2023 17:50
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Once HLAs are available I use storm of vengeance for the same effect. Multiple damage types, party friendly.
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Jun 11, 2023 00:06
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