I remember the Mind Flayers being the only thing that really gave me and my friend (doing a 2 character game, Monk and Wizard) real pause.. We had to fight every single fight like it was a boss fight.
Mages can use the Sword of Whatsisface spell against Mind Flayers. As constructs, the summoned swords are immune to INT drain, so they just chop on the flayers.
Everyone else can just point Minsc at 'em, as you can berzerk him and he's immune to INT drain that way.
I remember the Mind Flayers being the only thing that really gave me and my friend (doing a 2 character game, Monk and Wizard) real pause.. We had to fight every single fight like it was a boss fight.
Mages can use the Sword of Whatsisface spell against Mind Flayers. As constructs, the summoned swords are immune to INT drain, so they just chop on the flayers.
Everyone else can just point Minsc at 'em, as you can berzerk him and he's immune to INT drain that way.
I remember the Mind Flayers being the only thing that really gave me and my friend (doing a 2 character game, Monk and Wizard) real pause.. We had to fight every single fight like it was a boss fight.
Mages can use the Sword of Whatsisface spell against Mind Flayers. As constructs, the summoned swords are immune to INT drain, so they just chop on the flayers.
Everyone else can just point Minsc at 'em, as you can berzerk him and he's immune to INT drain that way.
I love how this thread also turned into a sort of 'Baldur's Gate reminiscing/strategy' thread.
Awesome
Part 4: Spiders! A Talking Chicken! Zombies! A Witch! An Angry Father! Levels! And Nashkel!
When we last left our party, we had just arrived in Beregost! It's here the game really starts opening up!
The first thing I did was walk around town to get a good view of everything for you guys:
There are three Inns, and one awesome smithy: Thunderhammer. Great gear in that place.
So let's explore a bit, shall we?
In the middle of town, I met a charming young lad named Garrick.
Garrick offers me a job! He says his boss, Silke, is in need of protection! Would I be interested?
For 300 gold? Heck yes, Mr. Fruity Bard! So he leads me to Silke!
Silke explains how she is an actress of some kind, and that she need protection from a brute named Feldepost! Apparently he's sending some thugs her way. Can we help protect her? For 400 gold (She raised it when she saw how awesome I was)? Heck yes, Ms. Weirdo Actress! So the thugs come into view...
And threaten Silke! And by 'threaten' I mean 'attempt to deliver some gems she ordered'.
They are obvious innocent men, not thugs at all! Well Silke start screeching for me to kill them, and I'm all like: Easy Silke. I'm not going to kill innocent men. So she, being totally reasonable, attacks us instead. Silke is another tricky fight, as she is a magic user. If that witch gets Mirror Image off, she's way more trouble then she's worth.
Imoen and Jaheria opened up with arrows and slings, while Tanus and Khalid swung away. The long range attacks kept her casting from ever happening, thank goodness, while Khalid got a solid shot in. But it was an arrow from Imoen that took her down!
Imoen got a level up for this ordeal (Level 2 Thief), and we got some loot from both Silke's corpse, and the grateful gem merchants.
Quarterstaff - Unidentified
Potion of Invulnerability
Potion of Defense (From Merchants)
Garrick asks to join our crew, but I don't trust him. Plus he sounds like a douche.
Now I figure it's time to sell some of the useless gear I got on the road! So, to the nearest inn!
So inside I go! And immediately I am accosted by some jerk named Karlat.
I first I think he's selling rope, but it turns out he just wants to put his axe through my face.
Oh thank goodness! I can't stand pushy sales people!
Karlat's fight is actually pretty hectic for a low-level melee guy. He's got oodles of HP, and his THAC0 is pretty good too, which means he'll hit you, hit you hard, and hit you pretty often unless you've got a good AC. Thankfully, Tanus in werewolf mode has an AC of -2. Not bad for level 1, eh? This fight was pretty tense, because there was, like, 6 rounds of straight missing by everyone. Just a lot of swinging. This makes it tense, because you don't know who will hit first! You're just waiting for it!
Tanus got the first hit, followed by Imoen. Karlat nails Tanus for more then half health. Whoops! Tanus drinks a healing potion (Only 1 left now), and Karlat hits him again immediately. Good thing I drank that potion! I decide to save the one left and go for it. Tanus gets two more hits in and takes the kill!
This Red Sheaf place is way to rough for me! So I'm getting out of there, and heading to Feldepost's Inn.
Just in case, Jaheria throws a light healing spell on Tanus.
So I head inside, and this place looks much nicer then the Red Sheaf! Fancy! Up until some emo jerk named Marl comes at me.
Turns out Marl's son tried to be an adventurer. I say 'tried' because he got himself killed. Whoops! Well Marl is pretty broken up about it, and thinks that me, as an adventurer, should be held responsible. It's a good thing I have a psych degree, because me and Marl have a good heart to heart. We hash it out, and Marl goes off to do something far more healthy: Get drunk in sorrow...and booze. For our troubles, we get some XP and Tanus gets his first level up! They grow so fast...
We sell what we can in the inn, but they don't buy everything. So we head out to the smithy!
I go inside, and it looks like you're in some mine-shaft filled with fat guys.
But he buys our stuff! So we drop useless gear from some much needed coin, and stock up on arrows and bullets! We also identify the quarterstaff from Silke as a quarterstaff +1, and I give that to Tanus. The gear available here is really nice, but it's also very expensive. So, looks like I've have to wait before I can get into the nicer gear!
Now it's time to clear a certain house of certain spiders!
Here we are! Now, how big can a few spiders be?
Oh. That big.
This fight isn't so bad. The only problem you might face is the poison they deal when they hit you, but the guy who gave you the quest gave you 6 antidotes. So unless you're extremely unlucky in the rolls, this fight isn't so bad.
I had Tanus and Khalid each tank 2. Both Imoen and Jaheria helped Tanus. Tanus got the killing hit on his first, and I switched Imoen and Jaheria over to help Khalid. Jaheria gets the killing blow on that spider, and I split the archers up, one each on the two remaining spiders. Imoen doesn't even get a change to shoot at Tanus' spider, though, as Tanus immediately killed it. Everyone goes to the last spider and Tanus gets that one too! Fight is over, and no hits are taken! Sweet.
I grab what the gnome wanted from the house (Boots, wine, and a dead spider as proof), and head out.
At this point, I wandered around Beregost gathering quests.
Here I get a quest from a guy named Bjorinin (Or something), asking me to rough up (Read: Kill) some half ogres south of Beregost.
Here I get a quest from Gurke asking to get his cloak back that he lost in Cloakwood. Fitting name.
At the Burning Wizard, I meat a guy named Zhurlong who wants his stealth boots back from some hobgoblins that are just south of Beregost. He also steals 15 gold from me. The jerk.
The town crier offers the information that a huge 5000 gold reward is being given to those who find, and kill, the heretic Bassilus! That is, as the Greeks say, a truck-load of gold. Well, it is at this part of the game. Sign me up.
So let's make a few 'quest' rounds!
I head west out of town to a little place called 'High Hedge'.
After the mandatory 8 hours of travel time, I arrive in High Hedge, and start exploring/working my way southward. However, I stumble upon a man! Well, an elven man! He sounds like Clint Eastwood, he's seeking revenge for the death of his wife...you guessed it! It's my friend and yours...
And we add him to our party!
Kivan is using a long-bow, so I'll keep him in the back with Imoen and Jaheria. 3 decent to good ranged fighters with two tanks? This early in the game? Also known as 'the kill squad'. Sweet.
We encounter a few Gnolls and skeletons in the area as we work our way south.
It turns out that Gnolls can explode if you hit them hard enough.
A few skeletons are no match for the kill squad! I picked up a skeleton skull here. For 'later'.
Eventually I finally made it to the bottom of the map, where I could continue on my hunt for this zombie guy!
The journey took a whopping 16 hours, so I rested upon arrival. No trouble there, so off to exploring! I wasn't in this new area for long when I stumbled upon a lone wolf! Not just any wolf! A talking wolf! No, just kidding. A talking wolf would be silly. It was a talking chicken being attacked by a regular wolf. That makes way more sense.
Apparently the chicken is some moron who transformed himself into a chicken and can't undo it.
Whoops! But his master, a big mage guy who lives in High Hedge (Which, I swear, sounds like a garden hang out for stoners), should be able to help him! Could I possibly take him there? Sure, Mr. Chicken. Why not? But first, exploring! Boy that was a mistake. Why? Well here is why:
Hobgoblins aren't normally a lot of trouble, but these three are different. There are two archers, and one melee guy. They all have plenty of HP, and decent THAC0s, which means they'll hit you often, and hard. I totally forgot about these guys. I rushed in.
Tanus and Khalid rushed for the melee guy, while Imoen, Jaheria, and Kivan all took aim at archer 1. Immediately, Tanus AND Khalid are taking hits. Bad news. Jaheria gets poisoned (Oh yeah, the archers both poison you with every shot. Did I mention that?), but takes an antidote. Archer number 1 falls, but Khalid is taking serious damage. He drinks his potion, now all healing potions are gone. Tanus starts taking hits, so I move him back and transform him back into human form for healing. Khalid takes a massive hit and goes down. Crap. Kivan puts his bow away, since melee guy is coming for my archers (And Tanus is still off healing), and pulls out a spear to fight melee guy and keep him off the archers while they work on archer 2. Imoen is forced to take an antidote, and fires off her wand twice (1 shot left). The 2nd shot kills the melee guy. Kivan rushes to attack archer 2 with his spear, gets hit once and nearly dies. I pull him out. Tanus finally arrives back on the scene, ready to kill! He runs in, immediately dishes out a solid hit, and kills archer 2.
Easily the hardest fight so far. Dang it.
I loot the bodies and get an unidentified short sword.
My priority is now getting to a temple to resurrect/heal Khalid.
I make a rush back north, the way I came, and get caught by a random ghast. Geez.
Everyone takes shots at him, Imoen fires the last shot in her wand, kills it.
Imoen levels up (Level 3 Thief)!
But I make it to the edge of the map! Hurray!
Now, to travel straight to Beregost...
Are you freaking kidding me?
Thankfully it's 1 half-ogre, and a pile of xvarts. Kivan, using his spear, drops the half-ogre like a fat man in aerobics class, and the xvarts are nothing more then an annoyance. No hits taken. Thank goodness.
We make it to Beregost, and head straight for the templw!
Khalid! You're alive! For only 100 gold! What a relief, and bargain!
After that healing, and ID'ing that short sword as a short sword +2 (Which I give to Imoen), I head for high hedge. Might as well help the chicken-man now, since he's closer. On the way there, we encounter a few gnolls, nothing serious. I only mention it because Khalid levels during this time (Level 2 Fighter).
Inside, I talk to captain cranky-pants (Also known as Thalantyr) and get him to try and help the talking chicken (Who actually stole from the captain of cranky in order to be a chicken). Turns out he needs a skull! Well what do you know! I have one! Ok, let's see if this spell works:
Hurray! The spell worked ! Even after the mage made the horrible 'cock-eyed' pun!
Now, it's time to hunt zombie man! I want my 5000 gold!
So I head south to where I got the chicken and begin exploring!
It sure doesn't take long to find him!
So I talk to the guy, and I think he's related to Marl.
Turns out I have to play Dr. Phil all over again...if by 'play Dr. Phil' I mean 'pretend to be his dead father'. After a back and forth where I say he was a disgrace to the family or something (Ever since that fateful thanksgiving in Zenthil Keep), all of his undead minions just flat out die, and I'm left fighting just Bassilus.
Bassilus, like any Magic user in this series, is freaking deadly if they get their spells off. Bassilus is a cleric, which means him spamming 'hold person'. And he can take a butt-load of hits and still succeed at casting his spell. He is a tough dude. Thankfully, my 3 long-range characters kept his casting at bay while Tanus and Khalid rushed in and pummeled him into the floor. Tanus got the fight-winning kill with a natural 20 of doom. And Tanus leveled again (Level 3 Druid)!
I grab Bassilus' holy symbol, as well as his awesome war hammer and some gauntlets (Which are cursed).
I head east to the road south of Beregost. After hitting the road, I go straight north (After finding and fighting 2 ogrillons and finding a letter to some chick in Beregost) to Beregost. I return the letter to the woman, get my 5000 gold reward (WOO!) and go crazy at the smithy.
Going east
Ogrillons!
Returning the letter
Khalid:
Plate Mail
Medium Shield +1
Longsword +1
Kivan:
Splint Mail
Composite Longbow
Jaheria:
Sling +1
Imoen:
Shortbow +1
Misc:
More arrows/bullets
Sold useless gear
Now that I'm geared up, it's time to head south to Nashkel!
I'm nearly there, and, of course, I run into a lovely little camp of Hobgoblins.
But I only mention it because of how hilariously fast it was over.
Oh no!
Oh. That was easy. Did someone hit a Staples button?
We encountered a handful (About 3) of bandits and 1 kobold, but that didn't last long either.
Eventually we strolled south, right into Chapter 3!
And so ends Part 4!
I tried to give more detail this time without being boring!
Any and all feedback is welcome!
I said I would do until Nashkel, and see what response I got, so let me know if I should keep going!
hey I just got the game and I am also heading to Nashkel and I got a question? Why does my character die so easily? like an enemey will attack me and ill lose 75% of my health and my character never seems to hit?
I am a level 1 Human Fighter, 18/99 str, wearing chainmail armor, and a Two-handed sword.
hey I just got the game and I am also heading to Nashkel and I got a question? Why does my character die so easily? like an enemey will attack me and ill lose 75% of my health and my character never seems to hit?
I am a level 1 Human Fighter, 18/99 str, wearing chainmail armor, and a Two-handed sword.
Well, simply, you're level 1.
What's your dexterity? Having that higher will lower your base AC. If it's 10, then Chainmail will only net you a 5 or so AC. And then, yeah, enemies will hit you. Plus your THAC0 is probably fairly high, since you're level 1. What's your weapon specialization? Do you have two points in Two-handed sword? Just 1?
It's always tricky starting out in Baldur's Gate. But you have to remember: Baldur's Gate is your character's story, but it's your entire party's game. It's a strategy game as much as it is an RPG, since you have to use your entire party to win. In the beginning, for example, you get Khalid and Jaheira near right away. That's great, because Jaheira is a decent support caster, and Khalid is a well-rounded fighter. Imoen you get immediately, and all you need to give her is a short-bow, some arrows, and distance from her target. She'll light enemies up, especially at lower levels.
During combat, have your people concentrate on enemies. You don't want 6 party members attacking 6 targets, usually (Unless they are weak enemies). Get 3 on 1. Or, heck, 6 on 1. Move people away if they are getting hurt, use potions, and (I cannot stress this enough) quicksave often. It's Q for me (I forget if BG1 has a quick-save button), but if there is no quick save: just save often.
My best character was a Half-Elf fighter/mage multiclass. By the end of the game, that guy was just destroying everything near-single handedly. How did he start out? Like crap. He was barely hanging on for dear life at first. But you grow, get good gear, get your levels up, and see the progression. That's one of the great things about BG (As I see it): You fight for each level, and you see the difference it makes. Games like Diablo (Which I love) make levels feel less special until way later. Levels start becoming rare, and therefore awesome, in Diablo around level 40 or so. With Baldur's Gate: every level is exciting, because you really fought for it. Hang in there, stick with your guy, and fight through it. You'll see what I mean.
hey I just got the game and I am also heading to Nashkel and I got a question? Why does my character die so easily? like an enemey will attack me and ill lose 75% of my health and my character never seems to hit?
I am a level 1 Human Fighter, 18/99 str, wearing chainmail armor, and a Two-handed sword.
Well, simply, you're level 1.
What's your dexterity? Having that higher will lower your base AC. If it's 10, then Chainmail will only net you a 5 or so AC. And then, yeah, enemies will hit you. Plus your THAC0 is probably fairly high, since you're level 1. What's your weapon specialization? Do you have two points in Two-handed sword? Just 1?
It's always tricky starting out in Baldur's Gate. But you have to remember: Baldur's Gate is your character's story, but it's your entire party's game. It's a strategy game as much as it is an RPG, since you have to use your entire party to win. In the beginning, for example, you get Khalid and Jaheira near right away. That's great, because Jaheira is a decent support caster, and Khalid is a well-rounded fighter. Imoen you get immediately, and all you need to give her is a short-bow, some arrows, and distance from her target. She'll light enemies up, especially at lower levels.
During combat, have your people concentrate on enemies. You don't want 6 party members attacking 6 targets, usually (Unless they are weak enemies). Get 3 on 1. Or, heck, 6 on 1. Move people away if they are getting hurt, use potions, and (I cannot stress this enough) quicksave often. It's Q for me (I forget if BG1 has a quick-save button), but if there is no quick save: just save often.
My best character was a Half-Elf fighter/mage multiclass. By the end of the game, that guy was just destroying everything near-single handedly. How did he start out? Like crap. He was barely hanging on for dear life at first. But you grow, get good gear, get your levels up, and see the progression. That's one of the great things about BG (As I see it): You fight for each level, and you see the difference it makes. Games like Diablo (Which I love) make levels feel less special until way later. Levels start becoming rare, and therefore awesome, in Diablo around level 40 or so. With Baldur's Gate: every level is exciting, because you really fought for it. Hang in there, stick with your guy, and fight through it. You'll see what I mean.
Well your THAC0 is decent for level 1, and with your dex being 12, that means your AC, with chainmail, is probably 4 (Which isn't bad, per se, but not great either). Everything I said before still matters. You will rarely have a character that kicks major butt right away. You've got to work to that point.
As long as your dexterity, strength, and constitution are all decent, since you're a fighter, you'll be fine. Since your strength is 18/99, and your Dex is 12, I'd hope your constitution is at least 14. Your guy sounds like he's on the right track, just keep doing quests, get leveled, get some money for better gear (Some nice plate-mail, perhaps), and stick with it. You'll eventually find a sweet two-handed sword in Cloakwood that I usually use right until the end-game of BG1. So you've got good gear to look forward to!
Just don't waste all your money on one character. Your whole party needs to be strong.
Well your THAC0 is decent for level 1, and with your dex being 12, that means your AC, with chainmail, is probably 4 (Which isn't bad, per se, but not great either). Everything I said before still matters. You will rarely have a character that kicks major butt right away. You've got to work to that point.
As long as your dexterity, strength, and constitution are all decent, since you're a fighter, you'll be fine. Since your strength is 18/99, and your Dex is 12, I'd hope your constitution is at least 14. Your guy sounds like he's on the right track, just keep doing quests, get leveled, get some money for better gear (Some nice plate-mail, perhaps), and stick with it. You'll eventually find a sweet two-handed sword in Cloakwood that I usually use right until the end-game of BG1. So you've got good gear to look forward to!
Just don't waste all your money on one character. Your whole party needs to be strong.
Started a new game with BGT, playing as a Chaotic Good Cleric of Lathander. Very enjoyable so far, though I've already met the level cap (though not the XP cap, yet) for BG1 with both CHARNAME and Dynaheir. I should think BGT will remove the caps (or at least switch it all around to let me hit the TOB one) though so...
Storywise I'm out of Nashkel mines and meant to be hunting down bandits, but I keep getting distracted by exploring and sidequests. I'd forgotten just how bloody many of them there are. Using CHARNAME, Imoen, Jaheira, Khalid, Minsc and Dynaheir.
Looking forward to the next update! Oh, and one last thing, what difficulty are you playing on?
Started a new game with BGT, playing as a Chaotic Good Cleric of Lathander. Very enjoyable so far, though I've already met the level cap (though not the XP cap, yet) for BG1 with both CHARNAME and Dynaheir. I should think BGT will remove the caps (or at least switch it all around to let me hit the TOB one) though so...
Storywise I'm out of Nashkel mines and meant to be hunting down bandits, but I keep getting distracted by exploring and sidequests. I'd forgotten just how bloody many of them there are. Using CHARNAME, Imoen, Jaheira, Khalid, Minsc and Dynaheir.
Looking forward to the next update! Oh, and one last thing, what difficulty are you playing on?
I mentioned it in the beginning of Part 2!
I'm playing on hardcore DND rules!
Part 5: The Mines of Nashkel
We last left our group just as they arrived in Nashkel! Huzzah!
At this point, both Kivan and Tanus are fatigued, so they need some rest!
Thankfully, there is an inn right nearby!
Well I'm sure this will be a simple rest, followed by a light breakfast!
Another bounty hunter, Neira, attacks us within the inn!
Neira is a priest-class, so it can be a tricky fight. Just like Bassilus, she can cast 'Hold Person' and totally screw up every single melee character you have that's chopping away. The best bet is to hit enough to disrupt her spellcasting, or hit her with a debilitating spell. As you can see in the info bar on that screenshot, I had Jaheira hit Neira with doom! After that, she joined in with everyone else in the 'hit Neira as much as you can-a-thon'. It was a rousing success! Neira didn't get a hit off, Imoen got the kill shot, and Kivan leveled up (Level 3 Ranger)!
We loot her corpse and get some splint mail, a medium shield, and a helm that is unidentified. We rest at the inn, healing everyone up full, and I get a dream! Weird! I wake up with the ability to cure light wounds! Now THAT comes in handy! I decide to celebrate this good fortune by taking the kids off the the carnival!
As we take in the sights and sounds of the carnival, a gnome, or dwarf, or some other small creature asks me if I'd like to save a poor woman from stone! He just so happens to have a scroll of Stone to Flesh, and he'd be willing to sell it to me for a fair sum in order to free the trapped woman!
I say 'sure!' as soon as he mentions she could be some sorceress in search of a concubine (Sold!), and pay the short guy. I use the scroll and BAAM! I'm a concubine. Naah, not really. But I am standing in front of a cleric who is looking to beat the snot out of the bandits that did this to her, plus she claims she owes me a debt for freeing her! So she asks if she can tag along, and I say: You betcha!
Branwen is a level 2 cleric, and I give her all the gear we got from Neira, except Neira's club. Cause it's just a stupid club. Remember Bassilus? And his Warhammer +2? Yeah. Branwen is swinging that baby now! So we decide to celebrate our full family by exploring the tents of this carnival! Surely they have all sorts of good wares for sale!
Turns out some mage is about to kill some woman for being...a magic user. Now, I may not fully understand what I'm saying and doing at any given time, but that seems like textbook hypocrisy. So I say to the guy 'Hey, Don't be an idiot. Idiot.' Turns out he doesn't like that! Yeah, I thought as much.
Zordral can be a tough fight for the same reason as most other magic users: Protective magic. At this level, what he uses right away is mirror image and then pelts you with spells. Since Mirror Image cast a zero casting time (Fires off virtually right away), it's extremely hard/lucky to get it interrupted. Thankfully, Jaheira was on the ball. She was close enough for the bullet to hit him before his casting completed, and rolled a hit! Casting interrupted! After that, it was just a beat down with Tanus getting the kill shot. I talk to the 'witch' and she gives me...an antidote. Well huzzah. We loot the dead mage and get some scrolls, but also a nice unidentified robe.
We we decide this carnival might not be the greatest idea, since it seems way too dangerous! We're on our way out when a gentleman asks me if I'd like to see something explode. Is a frog's butt watertight? Heck yeah I wanna see something explode! Turn out it's an ogre! Neat!
Boom!
Let's see it again! BOOM!
One more time! BO-What? Uh oh.
I guess the ogre had a bad union, because he went on strike. And by 'strike' I mean 'a rampage'.
He's not too hard though. Just your average, run of the mill exploding ogre.
We decide that the carnival is way too crazy for us, and we head back to Nashkel. We meet up with a dude named Berrun who asks us to look into some trouble in the Nashkel mines. Apparently, miners are going missing, and every piece of ore that comes out of the mine is tainted so badly that it's barely usable. Looks like a job for the dream team of awesome (That's us, by the way)!
We also run into a fat nerd who think we're some dork named Greywolf. We set him straight, though. Do we look like wolves? Or grey? What a nerd. He does tell us about a crazy guard captain everyone is looking for, as well as a emerald thief named Prism. We take a quick stop in the local store to ID the robe we got from the mage at the carnival, as well Neira's Helmet (That Branwen is wearing), and we're off to the mines!
So it turns out that it takes us 8 hours to get to these mines. Geez Louise! No wonder they have trouble keeping them safe! It's an 8 hour journey from the barracks to the mines! Why is everything built 8 hour apart? At any rate, we meet up with the mine-leader, or foreman, or whatever he is, and he agrees to let us traipse around down below.
The Nashkel Mines.
This is the first real dungeon you get to explore in the game. It's got 4 levels, and a steady progression of difficulty. Unless you've gimped your character in some weird way, though, I can't see anyone having any trouble until level 3, and that had nothing to do with the 'main' enemies you'll be fighting here. Just navigate the areas in a smart way, and you'll be fine.
I won't be going into huge detail about the first two levels, since they are extremely uneventful, and any combat that does happen is over so fast that it's barely worth mentioning. You won't find more then 2 or 3 enemies on level 1, and they are all the same:
Kobolds.
You also get a chance to walk around and talk to the miners about what they think the problem is.
One asks you to get a man named Kylee his dagger:
The entire level 1 floor, only 2 enemies killed.
Level 2 starts in a more exciting way then any other level in this dungeon. Right away you get a miner running up to you, terrified, talking about yipping demons. This leads to one of my favorite player lines in the whole game: "DEMONS!?" Awesome. Nothing says 'I'm a bad ass adventurer' like freaking out. I always pick that choice, no matter what character I'm playing. I just have to. After you do, 4 kobolds appear:
It is extremely rare to have the minor survive this encounter. I've only had it happen once in all my play-throughs of BG (And I've played this game a lot). This time was not that time. The miner will die, and the kobolds are left for you to kill. Thankfully, they are kobolds, and are usually killed with one hit. Honestly: Every time I encountered Kobolds, Tanus would explode at least one, every encounter. Enemies only explode when you hit them so that they go beyond -10 HP. So is a kobold has about 4 HP, and you hit it for 14 damage or more? It would explode. Awesome.
After a bit of exploring, I ran into Kylee, gave him his dagger, and he confirmed what we already know: Kobolds are running wild in the mines. They are nesting down below, so that's where we are headed.
The entire floor of Level 2.
There are multiple encounters on this level, but none of them are taxing. Like I said: Unless you`ve gimped your character in some weird way, kobolds are a breeze. Annoying, because there are a bunch of them, but rarely did I have combat go into 3 rounds. Wham, bam, goodnight kobold. Khalid took two hits the whole level, both were natural 20s (He has a -2 AC). I like the odds of that happening again.
Level 3 is where is really starts getting interesting. This is where kobold groups are at their biggest, and where there is more then simple kobolds in the tunnels. Not only that, but there are traps as well! So a thief, like Imoen, really comes in handy around this level.
Right away you find a ring on the ground belonging to some dude named `Joseph`. Sounds like we need to return it! Later, though, as Imoen also finds our first trap of the game! Clever! Easily disarmed.
We head left, and I send Imoen up ahead to scout while stealthed. From the screen cap above, you can see that there is a pile of those little buggers! So what to do? Well, the simple and easy thing to do would be to just bum-rush them. I mean, they're kobolds. They might get a hit in, but, for the most part, they can only hit me when they roll a 20. But I like making it interesting.
There are also few of the little guys sitting down south! No problem!
I send Kivan, Tanus, and Khalid down to take that lower group first.
It's a slaughter.
Then I set up the flanking attack!
Tanus comes from below, Jaheira and Branwen come from above, and Kivan, Khalid and Imoen rush right down the middle.
It's just a massacre. Khalid took 2 hits. You guessed it: 20s. Lucky buggers.
We head right after exploring the whole right side. This level is split horizontally down the middle, so I usually break it into quadrants to clear. As you can see by the second screenshot, there is some minor resistance, but nothing that a few arrows and a few werewolf punches can't explode. Piece of cake.
Imoen scouts ahead again to see yet another group of Kobolds waiting.
I send in Tanus, Khalid, and Kivan.
Easy. Tanus took a hit, but otherwise it was over very quickly.
With the whole top half cleared, we head down to the bridge crossing the chasm. There were two archers on the other end, but Kivan and Jaheira took care of them (Though not without Jaheira taking 2 hits). This bridge is the only way to the southern part of the map, so obviously I check for traps:
HELLO! Traps ahoy!
Imoen disarms them, and we begin our sweep of the lower half, starting by going left.
We do run into some kobolds, but the big surprise was the Ghoul!
He's removed quickly, and Khalid levels up (Level 3 Fighter)! Hooray!
A bit more searching and we run into another new foe!
Huge spiders! But since we're seasoned exterminators from Beregost, we handle them no problem.
We come to a small bridge and I send Kivan out to explore while all stealthy like.
Two kobolds, and a kobold commando. The commandos are much more of a pain, since they shoot fire-arrows and hit far more often then their lesser kobold brethren. They are removed from range, though, as the bridge looks way to small and important to not be trapped. Jaheira took some major hits here form the commando, so I moved her back and let the kobolds waste time chasing her while they walked into Kivan and Imoen's arrows. I check the bridge for traps, and move onto the area's end, which I also check for traps:
Good thing I looked!
All of Level 3.
Level 4 is small. Very small. It's basically the door to a cave where the boss guy is, and the boss guy's cave.
Imoen scouts ahead quickly. I have Tanus and Kivan rush in on the two kobolds and the commando, while Imoen back-stabs one of the kobolds. They all die, nobody gets hit! We're ready to get going to find the face of this evil plague on the good mines of Nashkel! But first I do a little bit of exploring around the rock...
Aha! A Ghoul! He's taken with no trouble.
Ok ok, no more screwing around. Time to end the reign of terror over these mines!
Here is the inside of Mulahey's Chamber:
Mulahey is just down in the carpeted area, and will trigger the fight as soon as he sees us.
My strategy has always been the same when dealing with Mulahey, and I'll explain it now. I have two 'OK' melee fighters (In this case, Branwen and Kivan) plug up the small entrance to his chambers. I have two 'good' melee fighters (In this case: Tanus and Khalid) concentrate on Mulahey. And I have the remaining two members helping both sides with ranged or magic attacks. Once Mulahey starts the fight, he summons a pile of minions (skeletons and kobolds) that aren't particularly hard to beat, but they are numerous. The two blocking the door ensure that we have free reign to beat on Mulahey without them getting in the way. Essentially, after combat starts, it looks like this:
When Mulahey is badly injured, he'll surrender! Hooray!
But then it's just a fake-out, and he'll summon more minions. The same number as when he first summoned them. That's another 4 skeletons, and 6 kobolds. And, depending on how good your two sets of fighters are, there can still be a bunch left over from the first group he summoned!
Eventually, though, Tanus gets a critical hit! And Mulahey doesn't just die, he explodes:
Booyah.
Everyone helps everyone else, at this point, mop up the remaining minions. You might have also noticed that guy standing there just above Mulahey's room! His name is Xan, and he was captured by Mulahey. He's also very very...depressing. He wants to know if he can join us, but I decline.
So off he goes, while I raid Mulahey's chest! I see a pile of scrolls, and some lettersd! Apparently Mulahey is in league with the bandits plaguing the sword coast! Looks like Branwen and Kivan are going to get their revenge! Huzzah! Mulahey's defeat also gives Imoen a level up (Level 4 thief)! And, at this point, I also dual-class Imoen to a mage!
So now, she's effectively a level 1 mage, and unable to use her thief skills until she reaches level 5 as a mage. I'm ok with that, though! You know that robe we got from the crazy mage in the carnival? Imoen has it now! Remember that ring I found outside of the Friendly Arm Inn? Imoen has it now (Ring of wizardry - Doubles the amount of level 1 spells you can memorize)! And all those scrolls we got from Mulahey? All added to Imoen's spellbook! She's ready to cast the crap out of people!
And we're ready to get out of this place!
Until next time!
The worst in BG1 are Basilisk I think. Suckers can turn you into stone with a single glance if you're not prepared to fight em, and there's one zone in the game absolutely full of the bastards plus a greater one hiding in the city of Baldur's Gate itself as I recall. Bastards!
Yeah, but it's not like they're gonna spring on you out of nowhere. I just had my caster cast invisibility on someone who'd go scouting ahead, and as soon as I found some I cast protection from petrification on my best fighter, who'd slice them into bloody ribbons, since they don't even defend themselves physically. And as I recall, a greater Basilisk gives you like 7000 EXP, which is a buttload in BG1. Well worth it.
The worst in BG1 are Basilisk I think. Suckers can turn you into stone with a single glance if you're not prepared to fight em, and there's one zone in the game absolutely full of the bastards plus a greater one hiding in the city of Baldur's Gate itself as I recall. Bastards!
Yeah, but it's not like they're gonna spring on you out of nowhere. I just had my caster cast invisibility on someone who'd go scouting ahead, and as soon as I found some I cast protection from petrification on my best fighter, who'd slice them into bloody ribbons, since they don't even defend themselves physically. And as I recall, a greater Basilisk gives you like 7000 EXP, which is a buttload in BG1. Well worth it.
Since they don't tend to move much, you could also stealth/invisible someone while abusing the Animate Dead Cleric spell (Level 3) since skeletons are immune to petrification. Even two skeletons are enough to take down a Greater Basilisk.
Protection from Petrification is a level 1 Mage Spell as well, so as long as you have a recent save just-in-case, you never have to worry about them. And yeah, 7000 XP is nice. 1166 XP per person in a six character party, and it only gets better the less people you have.
I mentioned it in the beginning of Part 2!
I'm playing on hardcore DND rules!
I am getting better, I am in the mines (been busy so havent played much) and at first it was hard but now im getting good at it, and living through many battles. sorry I wont be able to read your things until I beat the game becuase I dont want any spoilers.
The worst in BG1 are Basilisk I think. Suckers can turn you into stone with a single glance if you're not prepared to fight em, and there's one zone in the game absolutely full of the bastards plus a greater one hiding in the city of Baldur's Gate itself as I recall. Bastards!
Yeah, but it's not like they're gonna spring on you out of nowhere. I just had my caster cast invisibility on someone who'd go scouting ahead, and as soon as I found some I cast protection from petrification on my best fighter, who'd slice them into bloody ribbons, since they don't even defend themselves physically. And as I recall, a greater Basilisk gives you like 7000 EXP, which is a buttload in BG1. Well worth it.
Since they don't tend to move much, you could also stealth/invisible someone while abusing the Animate Dead Cleric spell (Level 3) since skeletons are immune to petrification. Even two skeletons are enough to take down a Greater Basilisk.
Protection from Petrification is a level 1 Mage Spell as well, so as long as you have a recent save just-in-case, you never have to worry about them. And yeah, 7000 XP is nice. 1166 XP per person in a six character party, and it only gets better the less people you have.
The Animate Dead is a good idea, but I've only got a Druid (Jaheira) so it's not an option. Doesn't matter since I just cleared the Basilisk area yesterday anyway. If this thread goes on much longer, and judging by BG1's length, it will, half the Escapist forum will be playing this game before long...excellent!
Myself, I've just gone through the first area of the Cloakwood. Problem is, I dualed Imoen to mage and it'll take her awhile before she reaches her old thief level, so I'm completely at the mercy of those damned web traps! Sure, I can detect traps with a spell, but I can't disarm or walk around them anyway, so whats the point? I'm just killing everything with ranged weapons and spells now.
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sorry I wont be able to read your things until I beat the game becuase I dont want any spoilers. 