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Rogue AI Goddess
May 10, 2012

I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?

DeadButDelicious posted:

@Rogue AI Goddess I'm so happy that you got your revenge - I hate that island so much!
It was my first time coming to that place, and I guess I should have prepared better. :smith:

Speaking of first times and new places, we could have stayed in the wyvern cave until Imoen and Shar-Teel overcame their leveling humps, but Moira's ADHD is as bad as mine, so she decided to pay a visit to a new location that supposedly has enough XP to help.



I can already tell that this is going to be fun.

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docbeard
Jul 19, 2011

Anders the Halfling Warlock became Anders the Halfling Pincushion after an unfortunate run-in with what I'm pretty sure were three simultaneous groups of Black Talon Elites in one of the pre-Bandit Camp areas.

I'll start again soon, likely with another Warlock.

DeadButDelicious
Oct 11, 2012

Leave me to do my dark bidding on the internet!
After the untimely but wholly predictable death of WindowsXP, I decide to throw caution to the wind and try and Shapeshifter because werewolves are cool as gently caress. I'll definitely be keeping my updates more succinct.



Beasts all over the shop, indeed. And that was actually my roll out the gate, to boot! I felt 88 would be more than enough for the trials ahead.



After much faffing around with basilisks, being a werewolf, and recruiting a party, Father Gascoigne the Shapeshifter has defeated Mulahey and cleared the Nashkel mines.

docbeard
Jul 19, 2011



Cal the Elf Warlock has set forth from Candlekeep.

e.



Managed to capture Hideous Blow in action. It basically adds an eldritch blast to the first successful melee attack Cal makes every round. Which, combined with Entropic Warding, makes him a pretty credible low-level melee powerhouse even with general non-Blade bard abilities and none of the usual spellcasting powers. It won't always be the best option, of course (such as, for a completely hypothetical example, his longsword breaks while we're neck-deep in basilisks).



Man, Melicamp just cannot catch a break.



Imoen and Cal keep Mutamin distracted with ranged attacks that can't really hurt him while Korax goes in for the kill. (I think Cal's eldritch blast did disrupt his spellcasting even though he had Minor Spell Turning or something up, but it didn't do any damage. Still, that's one less lightning bolt or magic missile that we had to eat.)



I'm kind of making the rounds of NPC Mod Clerics this year, and this time I'm going to bring Helga with us.



Full disclosure, she's canonically just a cleric but come on. (I think making her a fighter/cleric is actually an installation option but I just did it with NPC EE). Her custom kit gives her the ability to throw rocks and summon a magic flaming sword (of the 'replaces your current weapon' variety, not the 'Mordenkainan's Sword Twelve Levels Early variety). Wisdom's a bit low for my tastes but she'll be around for the whole trilogy so using wisdom tomes on her is not the worst idea in the world.

(But surely Jaheira will ALSO be around)

Ssh, it's fine.



She's a practical-minded lady, is Helga.



Up at the Friendly Arms Inn, there's this perfume merchant (who's involved in the ghost quest in Ulgoth's Beard that I showed off a few characters ago). The perfumes themselves are pretty much all the same:



Not exactly amazing stuff, though a charisma boost, even a short term one, might help Cal out in a pinch. The real reason I'm visiting this early is for the 800ish-gp Sleep wand (discounted because it comes with only 10 charges. Still, the price is right).



Helga is a bit older than your average adventurer, having retired after a career of giant-killing, only to come out of retirement now.



Turns out she settled down to raise a family.



After all the usual initial puttering around, we make our way to Nashkel. Here you can see us hitting Neira the assassin with like eight spells at once. Imoen's icelance actually freezes her solid, costing us her Helm of Infravision. I, uh, think we can survive the loss.



Breagar is not super impressed that Bardolan reached out to Jaheira about the mining trouble. Oh well, our problem now.

Cal the Elf Warlock has a job to do.

docbeard fucked around with this message at 18:33 on Jan 13, 2024

docbeard
Jul 19, 2011

OP has been updated through this point.

DeadButDelicious
Oct 11, 2012

Leave me to do my dark bidding on the internet!
Father Gascoigne continues the hunt for beasts!



Melicamp lived through his transformation!

"Men leave as hunters, and return as beasts... Let there be no doubt"



Arrabelle also survived the xvart's nWo-style beatdown!

"It's enough to make a man sick."



The bandit camp was brought to its' knees!

"Beasts everywhere..."



Davaeorn has been slain, and the Cloakwood mines flooded. Now the party rests at the Friendly Arm Inn before moving on to the city.

"Sick creature... May you rest in peace. Umbasa."

Rogue AI Goddess
May 10, 2012

I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?
Moira Grimm has almost died at Durlag's Tower.



Imps disrespecting spellcasters: tale as old as time.

The upper levels went fine. She got the Wis book and tricked a guy into buying gamer girl lock of hair. The first underground level was a bit touch and go, but everyone has survived, and she solved three warder puzzles out of four. At that point, the bags were full of loot, so the party retreated to town to sell it.



At that moment, I had a brilliant terrible idea: I could spend this money on Stone to Flesh scrolls, head to the tower roof, pop Algernon's cloak, and repeatedly petrify/unpetrify Greater Basilisks for XP. This was my first time doing this, and I made two mistakes. The first was letting a basilisk to continue attacking, causing its target to shatter and leaving me with no failsafes in case of another screwup. The second one has almost cost me the run:



Moira has just finished reading yet another scroll when her Protection from Petrification dropped.



This is the face of pure terror of someone rudely awakened from the dream of loving around into the wasteland of finding out.

Moira got lucky: the Sanctuary finished casting before the beast turned its gaze on her. Another couple of milliseconds, and I'd be rolling a new character.





Shaken by the experience, she fled the tower and retreated to Cloakwood, where she proceeded to murder a ton of people in order to assuage death's hunger and throw it off her trail.



Moira Grimm and her companions have made it to Baldur's Gate and they're about to make it everyone else's problem.

Rogue AI Goddess fucked around with this message at 21:47 on Jan 13, 2024

DeadButDelicious
Oct 11, 2012

Leave me to do my dark bidding on the internet!
I was worried about losing a run to a basilisk earlier. I had cleared out Mutamin's garden and was passing through to get towards the bandit camp, when I got waylaid by a single lesser basilisk. Pant-making GBS threads horror moment but managed to get everyone to the edge of the screen and gone before it could fire off a single gaze.

Rogue AI Goddess
May 10, 2012

I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?
Upon arriving in Baldur's Gate, Moira Grimm made some friends on both sides of the law, tossed Umberlee's priestesses into the ocean, and retrieved some more stat-raising books.



She also engaged in some light insider trading with Iron Throne traders and their insides.



: My name is Koveras. I used to...

: HUH? Your name is "Cover-rear end"?

: ...wait, what?

: You think you have problems? How do you think I feel? HUH? HA-HUH? WHAT?!



The party got thrown out of the library after that outburst.



All Grand Dukes survived to be forever in debt to Moira Grimm for saving their hides.



The Iron Throne killteam died from literally huffing their own farts.



: Face me!.....FACE THE NEW LORD OF MURDER!!!

: Why would I? Your men are dead and my crew is fresh and ready. I have you outnumbered, outmagicked, and outgunned. Only an idiot would throw it all away and stoop down to your challenge.

: An idiot like your Joan, you mean?

: ...excuse me?

: Oh, she might have been a mere peasant, but she was a proper Bhaalspawn with true battlemaster's instincts. You, on other hand, are so cowardly and conniving that you could be Cyric's kin.

: If you had been stronger and braver, maybe she wouldn't have left you. Maybe she would even be alive today.

: You will regret these words more than anyone has ever regretted anything.

: I am SAREVOK! I regret NOTHING! "Regret" is not even in my vocabu...

: [Silence, 15'radius]

: Then let this be your first lesson. Regret is torment distilled from pain, fear and hope gone rotten.

: After I kill you here and now, I will track your blighted soul to the deepest hell it is destined for. I will topple the dark master of that place and take his bloody throne. There, I will teach you the second lesson: that of pain. I will visit immeasurable atrocities on your spirit and subject you to the most excruciating agonies that Lower Planes have to offer.

: Then, one night, I will poison you with hope. I will let you escape into the Prime and live again as a human. You will once again taste life's delights - and they will turn to ash in your mouth. Once you realize that humans are mortal, and that I will claim you again upon your death, your hope of escaping me will rot and fear will sink its claws into you. You will run, you will hide, and you will sell your own soul time and time again, all to escape this fate. Your existence will become endless torment, and your very self will be consumed by a singular regret, a regret so vast that a fortress could be built out of it:

: "I wish I never said those words to Moira Grimm that day."

: Only then, Sarevok, I will permit you to finally die and return to my throne of blood as a true penitent. Only then will I accept your apology... and forgive the poo poo out of you.

: ...

: :stare:

: :stare:

: :stare:

: :sickos:

: Imoen.

: Y-yes, ma'am?

: What does the "honorable battlemaster" code say about challenges?

: No traps, no poisons, no summoning, no items, final destination...

: Anything about invisible assassins?

: I don't think so.



: I hope you're proud, Joan.

Moira Grimm, Gnome Illusionist/Cleric has killed Sarevok.
Honors: Ironling, Purist, Librarian, Honorable Trader, Iron Party, Victory for the Spiderqueen, Battlemaster.
Dishonors: OP-ium Addict.

docbeard
Jul 19, 2011

Congratulations!

Meanwhile, Cal the Elf Warlock has been busy exploring.

Before we head down into the mines, we decide to do some shopping for better armor.



...in a way.



And apparently we're on the clock.



A bit of downtime in the midst of killing all the ankhegs we didn't kill before ("Oh, honest Miss Park Ranger, we only killed 2, kept well within that quota of yours"). Helga's just making conversation. No romance prospects here but I think we can befriend her properly over the course of the trilogy.



We take a detour over to Bear River to find this 'Ogre King'. He and his ogre berserker bodyguard are a bit of a fight but we come out ahead in the end.



Helga decides to stick around in case we find more ogres to beat up.



Mulahey down.



Nimbul down. (Imoen's sneak attack triggers morale failure, so none of his SCS--provided prebuffs ever kick in, which makes this a snap.)



Wandering assassin group #1 down.



Helga talks a bit about what prompted her to devote her life to Haela Brightaxe. Unsurprisingly, it turns out to have been a attack that she helped repel when she was much younger. She charged into a pack of wolves, some priests of Haela patched her up and praised her for her, well, we'll stick with 'bravery', and she signed on then and there.

After clearing the mines we decide to head north for a bit of shopping and fun. A wizard asks for a favor



And next thing we know we're in loving Iceland.

Ice Island isn't my favorite place in the world and I usually leave it til a bit later but it works out okay. It almost doesn't work out okay because we blunder straight into Dezkiel instead of setting him up for a sneak-attack, but Khalid (who is an arcane archer, the same fighter/mage kit that Emily had, in this timeline) nails him with a wand of paralyzation that we looted off an earlier wizard corpse and that's all she wrote for poor ol' Dezkiel.



Shades adds an extra encounter to cap off the zombie quest north of Baldur's Gate. This 'Infesting Light' is a spellcaster and it gets a Horror off (that Helga immediately counters) before we kill it.



Wandering Assassin Group #2 down on the way to Ulcaster.

Ulcaster itself...



...okay I won't lie this was a bit of a disappointing result. That loving Wolf of Ulcaster that SCS soups up does not mess around. (Plus there was the fight with the necromancer that Recorder's quest in adds to the same area, even though we don't plan on recruiting her.) We limp on out of there and get everyone raised.



We really needed a win after that mess, and saving Arabelle the Cow counts.



Do not even MESS with us Zordral we have been having SUCH A DAY



Okay man I am just saying what are you even going to do with a dagger, just stab anyone who comes to disturb you in your tomb? ...actually okay I see your point but we're still keeping the dagger.



Look we're all very impressed by your contributions to the Encyclopaedia Jaherica, but we've actually been here before. We're just mopping up.



There is admittedly this (Shades-added) dungeon that's full of basilisks and spiders, which is why we came armed with a bunch of Protection from Petrification spells.



There's one more level (that big hole in the middle) below this one, but we're not going to go down there for a while. It's not a difficult fight, or even a fight at all, it's just something that'll be better if we visit later on.



Cal hits a level where we're due a new invocation, and in addition to 'Walk Unseen' (at-will personal-range Invisibility, yes please) we swap out Entropic Warding for Dark One's Own Luck, since our AC is currently pretty respectable without the extra boost, and the save boost will be more beneficial in the end.



We head into Gullykin, where as always Breagar's got his priorities in order.



Apparently when Helga gets low on health she has an automatic 'Berserk' ability on top of everything else.

No fun wild surges here in Firewine this time, alas. We won't be going after Kahrk for a while, but I do swing up and mug Mellium for his reputation and his gauntlets.



...what a remarkably specific warning!



Shades adds some charmed pirates into the Sirine Hell mix



But the real meat here is the Lure of the SIrine's Call mod, which adds a bit of a quest surrounding a conflict between the guy at the lighthouse and his band of what turn out to be pirates, and Sil. We choose to follow the ethical principle of Sirines Are Way More Annoying To Fight Than Pirates and side with Sil. Our reward is some very minor gear (and a decent haul of gold) the pirates were carrying and free access to the flesh golem cave.



Once more, Breagar gets the Constitution tome. Once more, he won't see any benefit til a bit later.



...I like her, I do.

Just need to swing through to the Gnoll Fortress yet and then it's off to see to the Bandits.

Rogue AI Goddess
May 10, 2012

I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?
A reckoning is not to be postponed indefinitely.



Moira Grimm, Gnome Illusionist/Cleric and Mattea "DireDevil" Murdark, EVIL Gnome Fighter/Thief have teamed up and escaped Chateau Irenicus!

Unfortunately, prior to making an escape of his own, the cunning wizard had outfitted both protagonists with ACME Explosive Collars.
If either Bhaalspawn dies, turns to stone, become dimensionally imprisoned, or otherwise ceases to emit life signals, it's game over for both.
The collars are tamper-proof, so the only safe way to remove them is to kill Irenicus first.

: I'm starting to get a feeling he wasn't a real doctor.

: Gee, what gave him away? :rolleyes:

docbeard
Jul 19, 2011

OP has been updated to this point.

Rogue AI Goddess
May 10, 2012

I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?

docbeard posted:

OP has been updated to this point.
Thank you!

BTW, Joan and Moira were exes, not sisters. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

Rogue AI Goddess fucked around with this message at 21:57 on Jan 14, 2024

docbeard
Jul 19, 2011

Rogue AI Goddess posted:

Thank you!

BTW, Joan and Moira were exes, not sisters. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

So noted (and edited)

docbeard
Jul 19, 2011

Cal the Elf Warlock has cleared his way to Baldur's Gate



Call Lightning is so satisfying when it connects.



Cal's got the Charisma Tome.



Multple SCS-boosted mages are no joke, but our alpha strike of two fireballs takes out two right off the bat and a third gets Horror'd, so, you know, it all works out.



Yeah we're still not stupid enough to do this.



Ah, we meet again, Black Talon Elites, but this time the advantage is (come on Helga drink the drat healing potion) mine



Wasn't so long ago that this random encounter would've been a death sentence, or at least a run-like-hell sentence.



Helga, not satisfied with our murder of everyone in the bandit camp, decides to try to pick a fight with Jaheira. (Not an actual fight, they just get a little snippy with each other.)



Speaking of, with Jaheira in the party, we can negotiate a peaceful settlement between Seniyad and Aldeth Assenhole.



He's also got a job for us. Seems the Shadow Druids have captured Maretha, a spy he had in their midst and plan to...the vibe is either 'execute' or 'sacrifice' and either way I'm pretty sure there's a wicker person involved.



Also the spy's boyfriend got captured trying to rescue her, and he appears to be Jaheira's ex.



...yeah, we'll just leave this subject be.



Centeol eats a skull trap to the face and doesn't even get to tell us about her torrid affair with Johnny I.





I think this is the druid equivalent of a rap battle.

(It's shortly followed by the druid equivalent of an actual battle.)



There is regrettably rather a lot of talki)ng and negotiation. (Also it turns out that it's the OTHER Shadow Archdruid who's got Maretha.



SHUT UUUUUUUP



Here's Beador, about to have five kinds of poo poo kicked out of him by five thankfully quieter Shadow Druids. (It's very easy to aggro them at the same time as the hamadryad who's been camping out here. Uh, don't do this.)



Instead, do this.



This fight gets a bit tricky since one of them has Physical Mirror cast and I don't realize it until Khalid's drat near killed himself with reflected crossbow bolts. We still win though, and afterwards





...we'll just give these folks a moment, shall we?



Except of course there's no time because, despite not having been there five minutes ago, Maretha is back at the treehouse.



SHUT THE gently caress UP

Andarthe is a dangerous dangerous fight thanks to SCS buffs. Or he would have been if he'd saved against the Horror spell Imoen opened with, so instead he just runs around uselessly while we plink away at him for a while.



We actually lose some reputation if we don't accept his surrender, and if I recall correctly the rewards for killing him aren't exactly amazing, so we let him run.



We rescue Maretha, and of course Jaheira wants to check in with Seniyad right away.



Our reward for doing so is, you know, it's fine.



As before, we have this little quest from Shades to deal with an invasive species running around the mine entrance.



...no, a DIFFERENT invasive species. A Starfang Tiger. Normally we can just kill it but on a whim I try out the wand of polymorphing on it. It's got good saves and I've never managed this in the past, but...



...holy gently caress that actually worked. (The reward isn't any different though.)



Hareishan and Company are the biggest threat in the early mines. I'll usually keep a cloudkill available just for them.



Davaeorn's kind of a messy fight, between his web/stinking cloud sequencer and his spell turning working on Cal's Brimstone Blast, but Khalid gets the killing blow in and it's all good from there.

Flowing Thot
Apr 1, 2023

:murder:
Best Buy Gamersclub is still alive and in the underdark prepared to do the Mind Flayer dungeon but her player came down with a case of playing other games. I fell deep into a BG3 hole followed by a Cyberpunk hole and an Otome game between them. Hopefully get back to this soon.

Ginette Reno
Nov 18, 2006

How Doers get more done
Fun Shoe

Flowing Thot posted:

Best Buy Gamersclub is still alive and in the underdark prepared to do the Mind Flayer dungeon but her player came down with a case of playing other games. I fell deep into a BG3 hole followed by a Cyberpunk hole and an Otome game between them. Hopefully get back to this soon.

I've had a similar thing going on, although mine has also been mixed with rl stuff I've had to deal with.

I hope to keep this run going but it may be slow for a while.

Rogue AI Goddess
May 10, 2012

I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?
While I have technically completed BG2 once before, it was decades ago and my memory is as terrible as my decision making.

Moira and Mattea are still alive, but they are going to miss out on a lot of easy XP and arcane power. :(

Ginette Reno
Nov 18, 2006

How Doers get more done
Fun Shoe
Gorok the Shadowdancer has fallen fighting Bandits in the bandit camp. I tried to infiltrate them which is something I don't normally do. It means you fight them in the boss tent instead of outside. That part went well enough. But when I came back outside Taugosz and the rest of the bandit camp aggroed me and despite Baeloth having mirror images up he fell to a lucky crit. Without his web and fireball I was overwhelmed and Kagain fell to the arrow onslaught. I tried to clutch it out with my Shadowdancer and firebreath potions but despite killing tons of them that way they eventually caught me out of stealth and got me.

Kinda annoyed by dying there because I had done some good work and cleared out part of Durlag's and had a mountain of gold I was sitting on, plus two arrows of dispel which would have made Davaeorn easier.

I'm not sure I like trying to infiltrate the camp. Coming out of that bandit tent and then having to fight all of the bandits sucks rear end. I'd rather fight them on the west side like I normally do because at least there I can hide my casters in the back so they don't get sniped as easily.



I'm not sure if I will do another one right now or not as I have been busy but if I do it will likely be a Dwarven Defender or Barbarian.

Ginette Reno fucked around with this message at 22:30 on Jan 16, 2024

Rogue AI Goddess
May 10, 2012

I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?
Moira Grimm and Mattea Murdark abruptly found themselves in Chapter 3 after a simple trip to the Graveyard District has [Gone Wrong][Gone Deadly][GONE SEXUAL].

: Since we're going to do Korgan's quest, we might as well complete other tasks in the area.

: Thank you, miss!



: So what's the treasure that we're supposed to find in this tomb?

: A hot goth rogue girlfriend for you, miss!

: wait what



: Why did we recruit Hexxat?

: If you wanted to date an overpowered EVIL thief with Cha 18+, you could've just, y'know, ASKED.

: :smug:

: Ok, guess what, I'm gonna get myself an even hotter goth girlfriend!

: wait what



: Go and do my bidding. Or else.

: So to recap: we are now officially conscripted to a guild war against a criminal syndicate that runs half the Sword Coast, we have no resources, allies or informants, and every thief in this city is now going to literally backstab us. And our own scouting team consists of one jealous idiot with an explosive collar, and one corpse who can't walk around half the time without turning into ash.

: Hey, you could send your familiar out! You know, the one that allegedly can slaughter entire archmage councils on his own!

: I hate to interrupt your dysfunctional group dynamic, but I have a modest proposal. I can call in a favor with L and get us an unaffiliated rogue to gather intel.

: Will it cost us anything? Now or later?

: No, of course not. Just doing my best to help my "girlfriend". :D

: :rolleyes:

: Do it, then.

[SEVERAL NIGHTS LATER]

: I have the good news and the bad news. The good is that L talked to the Other L, and they've sent us an operative.

: The bad news is there have been some irregularities... no, wait, I think the word L used was "abnormalities"... with the request.

: So the operative was deployed to Candlekeep instead.

: Oh, wonderful. If there's one place we could learn more about, it's loving Candlekeep. You know, the shithole we grew up in.

: L told me that the operative is already on the move and will be in Athkatla shortly.

: I don't like this.

: I'm sure there's nothing there to worry about.

--------------------------------------------------------------

So yeah, as I've mentioned earlier, I accidentally triggered the plot advancement and screwed myself out of easy XP and the ability to recruit Edwin. While Moira's and Mattea's playthrough can and will continue, I'm not feeling confident enough to proceed it with right now. Plus my rerollitis has been acting up again. :)

Next time: Nothing There To Worry About.

Rogue AI Goddess fucked around with this message at 17:02 on Jan 18, 2024

DeadButDelicious
Oct 11, 2012

Leave me to do my dark bidding on the internet!
Apologies, I got sidetracked by Stranger of Paradise. Also, still keeping to my intention of less in-depth updates as this is my third character this iron man and there's only so many ways I can talk about running the nashkel and cloakwood mines, the bandit camp etc.



After taking a long time to clear every sidequest I could find in the city, I took the fight to the Iron Throne and they were... Not a challenge. At all. Because my druid has insect plague so just lol if you think any enemy got a spell off.



Home, sweet home! I do sure hope nobody tries to frame me for the murder of several high-ranking merchant company leaders.



Shake my fist and walk off, vowing revenge.

I actually alerted the guards by stealing something when a priest of Oghma just wandered into view, but my party is so powerful now that they just ignored their attacks with a quarterstaff, charmed them and made them go stand in the corner.



Escaped the catacombs feeling stronger thanks to some books, and also murdering some more Iron Throne goons. Now we're off to the city to clear our name and point a big accusatory finger at Sarevok! And then before we kill him take a several week sojourn to werewolf islands, Durlag's tower, and stopping a demon cult.

Father Gascoigne has cleared out the Iron Throne and fled from his home for a second time.

docbeard
Jul 19, 2011

OP updated to this point.

Rogue AI Goddess
May 10, 2012

I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?
: h e l l o ?




Nothing There, wearing the meatsuit of some hapless Half-Orc Shadowdancer, has breached containment and escaped from Candlekeep.



It wasted no time establishing dominance over a fellow hungry monster and using it to slaughter Mutamin and his pets.



Melicamp lives. (He is going to be an outlier in this regard.)




Gods weep over clerics getting slaughtered regardless of alignment.



Nothing There killed the sirines and got the Con book.








As it headed north, it went on a murder spree, slaughtering Safana, Kivan, Imoen, Xzar, Montaron and Ajantis.






Finally, at Friendly Arm Inn, it murdered Tarnesh, Dorn, Jaheira and Khalid.

docbeard
Jul 19, 2011



Look, the mine was like this when we got here...oh, you're here to give Breagar a Holy Quest.

Before we embark on the holy quest, we go on a holy shopping expedition to Baldur's Gate and pick up two key items.



The first is obviously the Dexterity tome which goes to Cal.



The second is this wonderfully broken set of gauntlets. There's apparently other special gear that is supposed to get added by the Warlock mod but it doesn't seem to have actually installed, but that's okay. This is all we need. This gives Cal an x2 backstab modifier but also applies eldritch blast damage on a successful backstab. And if we have Hideous Blow going, it, uh, stacks.



After a present like that, it's very fitting that Imoen spontaneously decides that today is Cal's birthday.



After that we head to the Fireleaf Forest to kill the rampaging giant and get Breagar hooked up with his birthday present (a new arm).



Oh, and of course we also grabbed some dispel arrows and an arrow of slaying.



gently caress you too, buddy.



Looks like we're not the only surviving Newheart fans in the world.



Oh well when you put it that way...



...actually I feel just fine.



Ma'am, we're Passing Adventures in accordance with the Passing Adventurer Jurisprudence Act Of 1352 DR, here on official business.



We grab the Intelligence tome from Razimith's cold dead shelves. It goes to...someone.

Khalid. It goes to Khalid. For reasons which will become slightly clearer if we live long enough.

Now for a bit of a detour. Remember that big hole underneath Basilisk Hell?



Well there's a haunted tree living(?) below it. But not just any haunted tree. We can trade memories (i.e. xp) for treasure. Well, specifically Cal can.



We can do this a few times and the rewards are more or less random but are dependent on us having completed other Shades of the Sword Coast quests. All told, Cal trades in about 40K xp in for a bunch of gold and gems, a magic scimitar, a returning dart, and a few other odds and ends. Probably not worth it in the end but I like the flavor.



We sort out the ogre mage in the sewers and, you know, a bunch of other stuff that I don't really need to show off again.



You said it, brother.



You said...something, Imoen.



(Breagar's been teaching her Dwarvish.)



Sarevok's second stringers fall before us. And with that, we prepare for our journey back home.

Cal the Elf Warlock has had a very happy birthday indeed!

Rogue AI Goddess
May 10, 2012

I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?
: y o u h a v e a v o i c e m e s s a g e









Nothing There descended upon Nashkel area and killed Neira, Nimbul, Minsc, Edwin, Rashaad, Mulahey, Dynaheir, Xan and Branwen.




It came back to Beregost to murder Neera, Tranzig, Silke and Garrick.



There were no survivors at the bandit camp.



Nothing There almost got suppressed by Durlag's security systems, but escaped with the Wis tome in its claws.



On its way to Cloakwood, Nothing There murdered Viconia deVir.





And once it got to the forest, it promptly slaughtered Coran, Eldoth and Faldorn.



: n e w f e e t s h e l l s




Nothing There personally killed Yeslick and Davaeorn and let the water claim the rest.




Quayle, Tiax and Skie joined the casualty list.



The Iron Throne party will not be reporting to their Manager.



: g o o d b y e

Nothing There, "Half-Orc Shadowdancer", has killed Sarevok and so, so, so many others.

Honors: Ironling, Purist, Double Damage, Librarian, Melee Champion, Conan the Bhaalspawn, Honorable Trader, Iron Party, Battlemaster, Roleplayer, A God Among Men.
Dishonors: None.

docbeard
Jul 19, 2011

Rogue AI Goddess posted:

Nothing There, "Half-Orc Shadowdancer", has killed Sarevok and so, so, so many others.

Amazing

Rogue AI Goddess
May 10, 2012

I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?
The most difficult bit was the Grand Duke assassination sequence, where I had to constantly peel doppelgangers off their targets with backstabs and then kite them away to corners, all while madly chugging healing potions.

In retrospect, I should have probably tried using the charm cloak to disperse the noblemen into far rooms before the fight began.

docbeard
Jul 19, 2011

OP has been updated.

DeadButDelicious
Oct 11, 2012

Leave me to do my dark bidding on the internet!
Father Gascoigne has defeated his half-brother, Sarevok Anchev, and saved the city of Baldur's Gate!

Honours achieved - Ironling, Librarian, Trap Dodger, Honourable Trader.



Onward to Siege of Dragonspear, and this time, I won't be stupid enough to take on Ashatiel one-on-one!

Rogue AI Goddess
May 10, 2012

I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?
When Irenicus attempted Repression work on Nothing There, the work result was Bad.

: It is time for more experiments. The pain will only be passing, you should survive the process.

: Now, what spell should I use on you next...

: b r e a c h ?

: Why would I cast that, it's not like you have any protections to dispe... wait, what's that music?

: b r e a c h !

The cage door opens.

: I knew I should have installed self-destruct sequence on this base.



Irenicus managed to teleport away with Imoen. Everyone else in the facility has died, including Jaheira and Minsc.



Aerie never made it out of the circus.



Yoshimo tried to run, but Nothing There caught up with him and dismembered him on the spot.



Korgan and Anomen stood and fought, but fared no better than Yoshimo in the end.




Rayic Gethras almost managed to suppress Nothing There, but failed to secure the kill.



Quickly, quietly, this is how a neck is taken.

Finally, Nothing There reached the graveyard district.

: m a n a g e r ! m a n a g e r !




: h e l l o ? . .

-----------------------

: we are SO screwed

Rogue AI Goddess fucked around with this message at 22:16 on Jan 20, 2024

docbeard
Jul 19, 2011



I didn't much care for the ogre mage welcoming committee either, Jaheira, but that's a bit harsh.

We head inside, exchange pleasantries with all our old friends, encounter 'Koveras', and then we're faced with a dilemma.

Cal is not the most peaceful of souls, but he's also not an indiscriminate murderer very much, and he is in fact quite proud of not being the sort to let his temper run away from him in the face of good sense.



...but he's willing to be proud of something else today.



We've been framed for a crime we sort of committed.



Second Wisdom Tome (we snagged the first in the Tymora-Umberlee follies but I didn't screenshot), goes to Helga.



Tome of Strength, goes to Breagar



Goodbye forever, Candlekeep, you definitely were a place I grew up.

We decide to go apply for Witness Protection.



...this might hamper our efforts at getting into Witness Protection.



Look, Breagar, a nice peaceful island getaway is exactly what we need!



Hi, we're here for the nice peaceful island getaway?



Composing my Yelp review. "Beautiful weather and scenery. Friendly locals. Slight werewolf infestation.. 4 out of 5 stars."



Okay buddy, that's gonna cost you a star.



Cal nearly gets got by 'Mendas' when we get back home. (This screenshot is after a clutch potion and some post-battle healing.)



I don't think that's history we're smelling.



Third and final Wisdom tome for Helga.



The Demon Knight falls



The third and second-stringer Ulgoth Cultists get theirs



Aec down



We crash Sarevok's party



I fight the mercenaries this time. It's not really worth doing but gently caress it.



And we crash Sarevok's other party.

Cal the Elf Warlock has defeated Sarevok! Honors: Ironling, Strategist, Double Damage, Librarian, Trap Dodger, Honorable Trader (we stole from literally everyone else though),

Rogue AI Goddess
May 10, 2012

I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?

docbeard posted:

Cal the Elf Warlock has defeated Sarevok! Honors: Ironling, Strategist, Double Damage, Librarian, Trap Dodger, Honorable Trader (we stole from literally everyone else though),
Congratulations!

Rogue AI Goddess
May 10, 2012

I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?


Nothing There has reached its kill limit and has permanently shut down in the middle of a fight with sewer hobgoblins.

Rogue AI Goddess
May 10, 2012

I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?
Moira Grimm and Mattea Murdark were killed by a trap that the latter failed to spot.

No screenshots, no morals, no new characters from me for the foreseeable future. :smith:

Rogue AI Goddess fucked around with this message at 16:30 on Jan 21, 2024

docbeard
Jul 19, 2011

Rogue AI Goddess posted:

Moira Grimm and Mattea Murdark were killed by a trap that the latter failed to spot.

No screenshots, no morals, no new characters from me for the foreseeable future. :smith:

drat, and after all that setup. You had some very good runs though (and some very entertaining writeups!)

I must also report that Cal was unceremoniously knocked unconscious and then murdered by spiders five seconds into Siege of Dragonspear. I'm probably gonna keep playing him (though obviously no longer as an Ironman run) because I would like to actually play to the end of the series for the first time in years.

As for any further runs in this thread...we will see. I'll keep the OP updated and the lights on in the meantime.

DeadButDelicious
Oct 11, 2012

Leave me to do my dark bidding on the internet!

docbeard posted:

drat, and after all that setup. You had some very good runs though (and some very entertaining writeups!)

I must also report that Cal was unceremoniously knocked unconscious and then murdered by spiders five seconds into Siege of Dragonspear. I'm probably gonna keep playing him (though obviously no longer as an Ironman run) because I would like to actually play to the end of the series for the first time in years.

As for any further runs in this thread...we will see. I'll keep the OP updated and the lights on in the meantime.

Gargantuan spiders are so, so mean. I'm thinking Gascoigne will be my last stab at the ironman for this year. I'm experiencing a weird bug with my add-ons where after casting chant he moves super slow even when hasted. Must be something to do with IWDification for spells conflicting with the tweak I have to "fix" the werewolf shapeshifters get, which is starting to fall off now and will be utterly useless at the end of SoD but at least I have old favourite insect plague and new favourites smashing wave, static charge and mold touch. Should've rolled a fighter/druid in hindsight.

Ginette Reno
Nov 18, 2006

How Doers get more done
Fun Shoe

DeadButDelicious posted:

Gargantuan spiders are so, so mean. I'm thinking Gascoigne will be my last stab at the ironman for this year. I'm experiencing a weird bug with my add-ons where after casting chant he moves super slow even when hasted. Must be something to do with IWDification for spells conflicting with the tweak I have to "fix" the werewolf shapeshifters get, which is starting to fall off now and will be utterly useless at the end of SoD but at least I have old favourite insect plague and new favourites smashing wave, static charge and mold touch. Should've rolled a fighter/druid in hindsight.

IWDification may be making chant give you a movement speed penalty. That's how chant works in IWD and iirc IWDification may make that change

DeadButDelicious
Oct 11, 2012

Leave me to do my dark bidding on the internet!

Ginette Reno posted:

IWDification may be making chant give you a movement speed penalty. That's how chant works in IWD and iirc IWDification may make that change

Thank you! I have never played IWD (or PST for that matter) so didn't bother to read how it would change the existing spells but that kind of makes sense considering Recitation feels like Chant+1 and I usually had my shapeshifter cast chant while Branwen cast protection from evil during pre-buff, never cottoned on that IWDification changed the spell and assumed it was a bug. Ta muchly!

docbeard
Jul 19, 2011

DeadButDelicious posted:

Gargantuan spiders are so, so mean. I'm thinking Gascoigne will be my last stab at the ironman for this year. I'm experiencing a weird bug with my add-ons where after casting chant he moves super slow even when hasted. Must be something to do with IWDification for spells conflicting with the tweak I have to "fix" the werewolf shapeshifters get, which is starting to fall off now and will be utterly useless at the end of SoD but at least I have old favourite insect plague and new favourites smashing wave, static charge and mold touch. Should've rolled a fighter/druid in hindsight.

What tweak are you using for Shapeshifters? I personally found that the SCS 'improved shapeshifter' component remained useful well into BG2 (especially when combined with some of the very good melee buffs/protections higher-level druids get with IWD spells available).

And hahaha, yeah, I got overconfident because those spiders are rarely a problem and Cal was immune to poison and to being webbed (thanks to gear), and I'd completely forgotten about that *other* trick Gargantuan spiders can play.

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Rogue AI Goddess
May 10, 2012

I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?
Ok, after a rage uninstall and a good night's sleep, I think I might have exactly one more attempt left in me.





I, Rogue AI Goddess, Elf Sorceress, will direct this battle personally.



I almost die on the way to Mutamin's.



But I lived, and so did Melicamp.



As a rogue AI, I have no compunction about first strike missile doctrine.




The first horror required a wand-powered scorcher. The second died to triple skull trap courtesy of XP from the first horror.



Elven superiority.




Some may cross Greywolf and live.



The mine is mine.



Nimbul brings me a Find Familiar scroll. This is a surprise tool that will help us later.



Tranzig down.

At this point I decide that I've already done enough soloing in this thread.



Much better.



In lieu of thieves, we disarm the trap with a drow.



Mine? Mine.

Rogue AI Goddess, Elf Sorceress, has gathered her party and is venturing forth to the city of Baldur's Gate.

Rogue AI Goddess fucked around with this message at 23:20 on Jan 22, 2024

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