I have never played Baldur's Gate *Raises flame shield and cowers* but this looks interesting. I might have to pick this up, if I ever get a better PC.
Lucky for you, the games were made about a decade ago. I personally played through them on a 500 MHz PIII without problems. I recently installed Planescape: Torment and found that it surprisngly seems to work without problems inside Windows 7.
Nice to see you are keeping up with this, Baby Tea. Keep up the good work, and do continue to put your personal twist on the plot and the happenings
Heh, we all know inns are never just inns. They always include either a quest-giver, an assasin, a drunken brawler or a Nymph's Cloak/Helm Of Balduran etc to loot.
Unless you're a bard. And then you'll be a one man engine of destruction until everyone finally catches up to your insane leveling speed sometime in Baldur's Gate 2. Ahh, good ole silly AD&D leveling rules.
Heh, we all know inns are never just inns. They always include either a quest-giver, an assassin, a drunken brawler or a Nymph's Cloak/Helm Of Balduran etc to loot.
Yeah, or some green slimes that are killing everyone like in that one Inn in Baldur's Gate. It didn't even make sense: The Barkeeper said that the mage Ramazith had summoned them, supposedly for kicks. Wow, that's great, I only killed Ramazith like 20 days ago, so everyone in here must have been standing still that entire time, just chilling with those slimes. These kinds of strange situations when you do things in the wrong order actually seem to happen a lot in BG1.
People kept coming up to me telling me that Scar had been killed even after I'd already investigated it all. I didn't start doing the Tamako questline until I'd reached Sarevok's house in the Undercity. She told me to investigate Duke Eltan's 'healer' - who I'd already murdered with my Warhammer.
Heh, you're going for continuity too? I've got the exact same party.
I was always sort of pissed off at Bioware for shoehorning you into a certain group at the start of BG2 though. Especially if you were evil, then having characters like Montaron, Xzar, Edwin, Viconia etc. would have made way more sense.
Okay, Imoen I can understand, she is your childhood friend after all, and I don't think it's even possible to make her leave your party without telling her to piss off, but why the hell would Minsc be accompanying me if I'm playing an evil bastard? Boo would have ripped my eyes out ages ago!
I am still updating this LP! Things have just got a little busy lately!
Hopefully I'll get some game-time tonight, unless my wife takes the laptop to her planned meeting.
It will be updated soon, though! I super promise!
I was, but I decided to drop Minsc and Dynaheir sometime after reaching Baldur's Gate. Reckoned I could manage with four and get XP spread over two less people for mre levels.
I was always sort of pissed off at Bioware for shoehorning you into a certain group at the start of BG2 though. Especially if you were evil, then having characters like Montaron, Xzar, Edwin, Viconia etc. would have made way more sense.
Okay, Imoen I can understand, she is your childhood friend after all, and I don't think it's even possible to make her leave your party without telling her to piss off, but why the hell would Minsc be accompanying me if I'm playing an evil bastard? Boo would have ripped my eyes out ages ago!
Aye, it does seem a bit silly that you're stuck with Jaheira and Minsc no matter your alignment or actions. Would be better if they tailored your two optionals depending on your alignment, or depending on who you had with you if you're importing a game.
Would mean more work though, especially if they gave you Edwin for evil (since he's an integral part of the Thieves Guild quests for Renal)
I've noticed the problem with this LP, is that playing the game, which is already huge, takes double the time to do anything. I play a bit, taking pictures as I go, and then write down what happened. A battle that might take, normally, only about 30 or 40 seconds ends up taking 2 or 3 minutes! Yeesh!
That said, I'm enjoying the experience. And though my updates have slowed, I'm still doing it!
So if you're a reader: Hang in there! We're in for the long haul!
Maybe I should have a day for updates...like, 'new part every Monday' or something. Maybe?
But I digress...
Part 6: Quest Cleanup and Searching for a Purpose
We last left the group after they just killed Mulahey.
Imoen just dual-classed to a mage, and it's time to get the crap out of this mine!
So I head north, up around the little moat in this cave. I meet a little resistance...
...but it's nothing serious.
Soon I can finally see the light of day!
Wait...where the heck am I?
Aww crap. Well my priority WAS going to be to return to Nashkel a hero and get my reward for clearing the mines, but there was something I needed to do first: Find Prism. You might have remembered hearing about him from the bounty giver guy Oublek (Or whatever that fatty's name is) in Nashkel. Apparently he stole two emeralds, and I'm going to bring him to justice! So, we go off to the mines again!
But not inside. Thank goodness.
Just sound of the mines is a little rocky outcropping, and a guy wearing a snappy blue suit.
Aha! I got you! Well I talk to the guy, and it turns out he's not really a bad man...just bat-shit insane. He saw some elf chick once, ans has since not slept or ate and has only been working on that carving in the rock (Even using potions to speed his work). He begs for me to let him finish, warning me about another bounty hunter named Greywolf (You know, the one the fatty fat fat named Oublek thought we were?). I say 'sure', because, really, he'll only make himself MORE tired, and if he attacks, it would be even easier then normal to destroy him. So he gets to work, and along comes Mr Greywolf...
Uhh...no picture here. I totally forgot to take a screenshot when he was still alive. Whoops.
Also: I kill him. Spoilers!
Well Greywolf isn't so forgiving, or merciful. He must be in a terrible rush to get this bounty, because he wants him dead right now. He also seems to have no concept of 'horribly outnumbered', because he attacks me.
Greywolf can be a tricky fight, especially if you're under-prepared (I.E. doing this before the EXP of the Mines). He's got a good THAC0, he's a solid fighter, and he's got one of the best longswords in the game.
I had Jaheira cast 'Doom' on him, and everyone else just bum-rushed the guy. Except Imoen, who has no weapons and no spell memorized because we haven't rested since she dual-classed. Tanus took a hit, but used his fancy 'Cure Minor Wounds' ability he got from that funky dream a while ago. After a few round of Greywolf missing (Thank you, 'Doom'!) and everyone else NOT missing, Khalid gets the killshot! AND the sword! Greywolf's sword is one of the few magical items you find that is already identified. It's a longsword +2, that adds +1 cold damage to each hit. Sweet. Khalid gets it.
So I turn back to Prism and I says 'Hey! Go ahead and finish now!' He says 'Great!', finishes, takes a few steps, and dies.
Hilariously, he falls nearly right on top of Greywolf's corpse.
I don't know why that's hilarious, but it is. To me.
I take the stolen emeralds from Prisms freshly dead body and head into Nashkel, a hero!
First, remember that ring I found on Level 2 (OR 3, like lit really matters) of the mines? The one called 'Joseph's Greenstone Ring'? Well I decided to return it straight away. The poor guy's wife must be sick with worry!
DANG! Forgot to take a picture of this!
Move along...
Then, I head up to Oublek to get my reward for Prism's emeralds...
Then I decide my time has come to be the hero of Nashkel, so I head to Berrun Ghastkill (What a funny name...it purposely rhymes with the town. Hello! I'm Berryn Ghastkill from Nashkel! Say it out loud. Funny, eh? Now say it out loud like a leprechaun. Tell me that isn't hilarious. I dare you.) and turn it in!
Branwen levels up (Level 3 Cleric)! Woo!
So, with Kivan, Branwen, and Tanus now fatigued, it's time to get some rest at the Nashkel inn!
I'm sure nobody will bother the heroes of Nashkel...
Are you freaking kidding me?? Another assassin?!
Geez.
Nimbul is actually pretty tough if you're caught unawares. He's a mage and a fighter, which means he gets to cast annoying 'mirror image' spells, and then pummel you with a potion of speed. Yeah, he's a jerk. I was honestly ready for a drawn out fight, when...
It lasted less then 1 round.
Kivan gets an amazing shot that interrupts Numbul's Casting, and Khalid gets an amazing critical hit with his brand new sword. Game over for Nimbul in two hits. BOOM BABY! I was very happy.
Si I loot Nimbul, head to the store and ID a bunch of equipment I have. I sell a ton of crap, and buy some crap. Branwen and Jaheira both now have plate mail (Instead of splint mail), and Branwen gets a ring we got form Mulahey that increases her Cleric spell slots. Awesome. After that, I head to the inn for a rest (Finally). Hey! Another dream! I'm liking these! Why? Becaus I get a new ability! Another cure light wounds! This is just getting better and better!
So, now with the mines cleared, I don't have a lot of pressing business. Not yet, anyways. I do, however, have some quests left over that I don't have complete yet, so I decide that now is a great time to get some things done that I promised to do. Or at least overheard in a tavern somewhere.
Whatever, I'm an adventurer!
First thing is to help that paladin from the Jovial Juggler in Beregost: Bjornin. Apparently, some half-ogres roughed him up, and he wants me to kick some ass. Bjornin, It's what I do. So I head south, south west of Beregost:
Here we are! Time to start exploring so I can find these half-ogres and whoop 'em down for a complete stranger!
Whoa! Some bandit jerk with his tart-mage girlfriend and the classic 'ugly friend' decide to stop me. Surrender all my gold or die? How about the third option: I go all werewolf on your ass! And I don't mean in the 'deviant art' way, either! Have at you!
This fight can be tricky for the same reason as most tricky fights: Mages. Freaking mages, man.
Imoen goes to cast...wait...she has no spells memorized! I forgot to put any in her spell slots! DANG IT.
...fine. Kivan attacks the caster with his bow, Jaheira casts 'Doom' on the melee fighter, Branwen goes to cast silence in the middle of all of them, Tanus and Khalid attack the melee guy, and Imoen just uses a Magic Missile scroll on the archer. The cast gets 'mirror image' off, but Kivan lucks out and hits her directly anyways with a solid hit. She goes down! Woo! He does this before Branwen finishes casting Silence, so I cancel the casting and have her bum-rush the archer, who Jaheira also starts slinging at. Tanus takes a hit, Jaheria kills the archer, and everyone dog-piles the final jerk. Tanus takes another hit and uses his new ability to heal! Khalid winds up his swing and...
BOOM! Man, Khalid has been getting tons of exploding kills lately. Awesome!
We take their scalps, for some reason, as well as some loot. We find some gnolls, but it's not worth mentioning. Just a mop-up job. After a bit more searching, though, we finally find the half ogres we've been looking for!
This fight isn't hard at all, but get this: I goto attack, and accidentally have Imoen rushing in, swinging her little fists. Great. So I pull her back...and this is what she runs into:
Ugh. So the fight went on way longer then it should have. It still wasn't hard, but man was it annoying. Stupid Imoen. I need to get you a weapon. With the half-ogres dead, though, I was free to explore a bit! I ran into some more gnolls...
...and then eventually ran into a BIG group of gnolls, with some special difference...
Drizzt Do'Urden! Holy crap!
Now, I didn't know who he was when I first play the game. But since then, I've read nearly every Drizzt book that has been written. If you are looking for a fun, easy fantasy read...I recommend those books. It's fluff, really (I can polish one off in a day), but it's entertaining enough to go from cover to cover. Anyways, here he is! Asking ME for help! How can I say no?
What happens, though, is the most ridiculous thing: There are about 12 gnolls. The whole fight lasts about 3 or 4 rounds. I kill 2. JUST 2! Drizzt runs in, and kills everything so fast that I can't keep up! Not even close! Why the heck did he ask me for help? I mean, look at this aftermath:
Geez. That's like Superman asking someone to help him carry a bus, and then just pick up the bus and fly away, leaving the guy standing there...busless. What's the point?! He does give me some advice on who is behind the bandit raids, though. Thanks, Drizzt!
Looking at my world map, now, I can see that I'm close to where I was told a certain Commander Brage was hiding. You know, Oublek the fat guy told us? The commander who killed his family, killed a few other people, and ran off? Yeah, that commander. So off I go to find him!
It takes zero time to find the guy, as you just have to follow the smell to the massacred caravan...
So here I am expecting a huge fight...and he asks me a riddle. A riddle?! What is this, the 70s Batman show? Just attack, you moron! Well I answer his riddle correctly, and he begs forgiveness. Seeing as I'm 'True Neutral', and have done a lot of good lately...I decide to keep my streak going. I agree, and bring him to the Nashkel temple of Helm. And by 'bring him' I mean 'we're teleported there'. Nice.
Tanus gets a level up (Level 4 Druid), and we're back in Nashkel.
So, I decide to get another quest finished! Specifically: Getting Zhurlong's boots back from some hobgoblins. You know, that halfling from the Burning Wizard in Beregost who stole money from me when he asked my help? Yeah. THAT jerk.
These guys aren't hard to find, or kill for that matter. So I decide to have fun.
Imoen memorized a spell for something like this. A little spell I call 'Sleep'.
Everyone sleeps. Then it's just a 'walk around and stab your face' affair. Hilariously easy.
We also found a cave!
Outside:
Inside:
But all we got was a few healing potions and some gold. Meh.
Finally, it's time to return to Beregost and give Zhurlong back his boots!
But we also run into an old friend! And by 'friend', I mean that crazy old man who was bugging us about our mental state when we first started Chapter 2. Apparently his name is Elminster, and anyone who knows anything about famous characters in Dungeons and Dragons will know that this guy means business when it comes to wizardry.
He offers some vague advice about finding the source of the bandits (Why does everyone have to be vague? Geez), and tell me I should trust officer Vai. Who the heck is officer Vai? Before he answers that, he runs off. Well, more like 'toddles' off. Old people can't run. I'm just about to get going when someone else runs up to me!
Some girl who said officer Vai is looking for me! And that she's staying in the Jovial Juggler! Could this be the same officer Vai Elminster was talking about...? No, probably not. So I thank the kid, and skip off to the Jovial Juggler, which is also where Bjornin is (And I need to tell him all about how I whooped those half-ogres, remember?)!
Officer Vai conversationally ambushes me once I get there, and tells me she'd like to buy bandit scalps from me. Really? You'll pay for the lice-ridden hair of bandits, ripped painfully from their heads? Sign me up! That sounds totally neutral!
I also run into Mr. Bjornin!
Of course he's grateful, and gives me a medium shield +1, which I promptly give to Branwen.
Awesome.
Finally, I have one more side-quest to finish before getting into this bandit problem.
You remember the lady at the top of the Friendly Arm Inn who had me kill those spiders for her in Beregost way back in the day? Yeah, well I'm sick of carrying around this bloating spider corpse and these smelly boots. To the Friendly Arm!
With that, I sell some useless gear, rest up, and get ready to take on some bandits...
I really am! And to prove part 6 wasn't a fluke, here is part 7!
Part 7: Dying, Bandits, tombs, and Exploring...not in that order
Ok! So there we are in the Friendly Arm Inn, ready to kick some bandit butt! Elminster said they were holed up in the North East, so that's where we're headed! Since you can't travel on an angle in BG, I decide to start with North:
Aww, it's a cute farming area! With cute farms! And cute cows!
Sweet merciful crap. Ankhegs.
Well, since I never went to the Gnoll Fortress, or anything like that, you can imagine how my party might be a bit under prepared for the onslaught that is Ankhegs. Khalid, for example, dies pretty quick. Tanus gets a kill shot on one of them, and then Branwen dies. Geez. Kivan comes in with a nice arrow that drops the other one. Imoen levels up, finally (Level 2 mage), and Tanus picks up the gear of our two dead companions. Looks like it's back to the Friendly Arm for some good 'old fashioned resurrection.
Hmm. That area is chock-full of Ankhegs. I'm not ready for that. So, instead, I decide to sight-see around the south for a bit! Yeah! Build up my party's XP, get some new gear, see the sights, kill things...it'll be fun! The first place I go is...
The first thing we encounter is a petting zoo.
And by 'petting zoo' I mean 'wolf massacre'.
But it get's better! Look! A smokin' hot dryad!
So Jaheira talks to her. She wants some help! Well sure, I can help! What's that? She wants a kiss, from Jaheira, to repay us? Sure! Why not? Sounds like an awesome payment to me. Oh wait, it killed Jaheira. Well that's just fan fiction gone wrong. So we all gang up on here and she stops the fight...
...snd says that an ogre mage is making her do this. Can we stop him? She heals Jaheira, so why not? It's not like she just killed one of my companions, right? Along, then, comes this ogre mage...
And demands we hand over our gear, or gold, or something. I demand the release of the Dryad, but he's not buying that, so the inevitable fight begins. Jaheira casts doom, Imoen casts Magic Missile, and everyone else rushes the guy. Normally this fight isn't too bad, but he hits the party with 'sleep'. Everyone except Tanus and Jaheira hit the floor. Crap. Jaheira casts 'bless' while Tanus swings away on the guy. The ogre mage then casts one of the most dangerous spells of BG1: Dire Charm. That thing lasts for-freaking-ever in BG1, and it's a huge pain in the ass. This time, however, Tanus saves against it! WOO! Shortly after that, Tanus gets the killing blow! Nice. The dryad is thankful (No kisses, though), and it's another job well done!
So I keep on exploring, and stumble upon...
...a guy asking me to help clear out a shipwreck.
Ahh carrion crawlers. These guys aren't too bad. We killed one before the group even got to them. Easy quest.
Now, normally I leave out all the mundane encounters I have. I'm not tell you all about the gibberling I beat into a pulp, or the Xvarts I meet, beause, really, it's not a big deal. I only tell you about quests, story related stuff, and huge encounters. However, this next small encounter is a big deal for one reason...
...Because Khalid, Kivan, and Branwen all leveled up! They are now all level 4! Woo!
We then headed south...
...continuing along the sword coast, looking for adventure and loot!
Here is a lady who read my palm!
And here she is attacking me after refusing to tell me what she saw!
Here is a woman begging me to help her son, who is beset by worgs!
And here is me killing those worgs!
With this area out of the way, I decided to go one more area south before trying my hand with those bandits again.
And we get caught by the most lame 'Waylaid by enemies' you've ever seen.
One Dread Wolf. Phht.
The only real reason I bring it up is because Imoen levels! Level 3 mage now! Woo!
So this new location is where we found Commander Brage, and we're not too far into it when Khalid learns a valuable lesson about wearing metal armor, a metal shield, and swinging a metal sword in the middle of a thunderstorm:
He lived, at least.
We continue our meandering when we arrive at a tomb or something!
A guy named Charleston asks me for help! Apparently they aren't robbing a tomb, but exploring a dig site! They are almost all the way in, but people keep dying, or disappearing, or something, so they want help! Will I help? Sure, why not? Just as that conversation ended, some guy named Gallor comes up to me. He wants me to double cross Mr. Charleston. Hmm. Well, I have been very nice lately, and I'm 'true neutral', so I suppose it would be more 'in character' to balance myself out...but I don't. Screw you Gallor! Your name is stupid. So we head inside the tomb/dig site with Charleston.
And the diggers go crazy. Since they are diggers, and now fighters, this fight is over before it began. Charleston says some crap about leaving, or going to a museum, or something else uninteresting, so I go over, grab an idol from the room, and leave!
This is where I run into the Doomsayer.
Shit.
Doomsayers are one of the harder enemies of the game, and this fight was a doozy. And by 'was a doozy', I mean I died. Yup, I kicked the bucket. A few times, actually. It took multiple attempts to finally be able to walk away from this fight, and here is how I did it:
I went outside the tomb. Right at the entrance you're out of sight from the Doomsayer. So I get my spells ready, and I rest! Done. Next, I prepared with some priest spells: Jaheira casted 'Bless', Branwen casted 'Chant', Tanus casted 'Barkskin' and 'Faith Armor', and Khalid had two potions. One upped his dexterity (Giving him an AC of -4), and the other hasted him. I also loaded up Imoen's spellbook with 4 'Burning Hands' spells. Tanus launched a oil of fiery burning into the blackness to hurt it (Never did more then 5 damage. Sheesh.) and everyone bum-rushes him.
The big deal with the Doomsayer is that he has copious amounts of HP, and can hit you no matter what, it seems. Khalid was taking hits right away. Tanus and Jaheira casted Doom at him like crazy, but the big damage dealer was Imoen. Burning hands is a very punch-packing level 1 spell. If you've never used it, use it. She got him down to 'near death' with the 4 spells. Khalid died, but finally Tanus got the killing blow. PHEW. 5000 XP later, we're walking straight to the Friendly Arm to get healed up and ready to take on some Bandits.
After getting healed up, I decide to forgo the 'North' idea, and head 'East' first.
There I run into Viconia! So I saved her from some Flaming Fist mercenary, but didn't invite her to my party.
I also ran into some bandits who demanded my gear and gold.
Jaheira levels up, though! Nice. Level 4 Druid.
I head south, since you can't head north, and run into what looks like stone henge.
There, a fellow druid approaches! Cool!
He accuses me of killing his friends, and won't listen to reason. Uh oh.
He summons two cave bears and attacks. Geez, can nobody just talk things out here? Some other guy helps us out during the fight, though I really didn't need it. Tanus leveled up, though! That was sweet! Level 5 druid! After the fight, I talk to the other guy. Turns out he was a friend of the guy we just killed. Wait...remember how I just said how everyone fights about things here? Well this guy is talking about it! I prod him about it until he admits he wanted the guy dead. And now he attacks me. Now that is more like it! He dies by an arrow from Kivan.
We take a quick rest, and continue our exploration, and run across more bandits!
This time, instead of slaughtering them mercilessly, I ask to join their crew! You know, to double cross them and stuff! They say 'sure!'. Wow. That was easy. How were these guys not caught before? Sheesh. We take a quick journey to the came, where I meet the boss dude: Tazok. He wonders if I'm really bandit material, and decides to question me. And by 'question' I mean attack.
Well we pass that little test, and so he gives us the run of the camp! Hurray! We've infiltrated! So I explore a bit and run into a hobgoblin! Neat!
So I talk to the guy. And he insults me! Now, maybe it's because I don't like being insulted, or maybe it's because I was looking for a fight, or maybe it's because my mom didn't hug me enough when I was a kid, but I told him to screw off. Now, I was thinking this guy would be like Tazok: 'Hey! I like your balls! You're a cool dude!' But no. Instead, he goes all hostile.
Uh oh.
You know how I just got 'run of the camp'? Yeah. No so much anymore.
The entire camp becomes one long fight. Seriously. Jaheira levels to a level 4 figher (She's multiclassed, remember), and the only rest I get is when I stumble into a cave...
Full of Gnolls.
We to get to rest in there, though, and Khalid even gets a set of full plate mail from some tough jerk named Taugosz (Who names these guys?). We do eventually get to the main tent, however, and get ready for the final battle of the bandits!
Everyone gets ready in a similar way to how we got ready for the Doomsayer, except Khalid doesn't have any potions and Branwen casts Resist fear. After that, I give a pep-talk to the team and in we go!
Firs thing that happens, is you realize nobody is hostile yet. So I start my casting right away. Tanus casts swarm on the mage, Branwen casts hold person on the human guy, Jaheira casts doom on the gnoll, and both Imoen and Kivan attack the human guy, while Jhalid attacks the gnoll. This is after the first 4 seconds:
Awesome. The human guy drops like a crap, Tanus casts miscast magic on the mage and transforms into werewolf form. The mage gets off hold person on Branwen, but not before the gnoll hits the floor:
The hobgoblin comes into view, then, and it's just a slaughter. The mage drops shortly after that above screenshot, and the hobgoblin falls very quickly. HUZZAH! Success!
I talk to a dude named Ender Sai who tells me that I should be heading to Cloakwood to get more info on the jerks who did this: The Iron Throne. Oooh! Mysterious! We raid the booby-trapped chest and we're into Chapter 5! Woo!
Due to a saved game corruption, and a subsequent reinstallation of BGT, I have completely lost all my saved games. That includes this LP, as well as all my other characters. Dang it. My bad-ass fighter-mage, my LP druid, and my many, many others...just disappeared in a puff of digital smoke.
*sigh*
So, the LP will not continue.
Thank to those who have been reading, and those who commented, offering advice on my first 'Let's Play'.
It was fun.
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