Let's Play: Baldur's Gate Trilogy - Ch26 (Mae'Var)

[Deraldin]

Oner's really dying to know how she got so fat, but alas, the world will never know her secret.

Isn't she the character who, if you get her talking a little, provides BG1's only mention of Jon Irenicus?

 

Yup, that's the one.

 

And Tig, really? The only death in the bandit camp and it had to be the cleric? What do you have against clerics? Don't think I didn't notice that I was the one standing right beside Tazok just before he stopped attacking!

Edited January 7, 2012 by Deraldin

[Blarghagh]

Magical Hiccup. It's funny because Tale's useless.

[greylord]

Oner's really dying to know how she got so fat, but alas, the world will never know her secret.

Isn't she the character who, if you get her talking a little, provides BG1's only mention of Jon Irenicus?

 

Yup, that's the one.

 

And Tig, really? The only death in the bandit camp and it had to be the cleric? What do you have against clerics? Don't think I didn't notice that I was the one standing right beside Tazok just before he stopped attacking!

 

Nice Bow!

 

Boom Chikka Wow-Wow.

 

On this stuff on Jon Irenicus, I don't think I got her talking on any of my walkthroughs that I recall on Irenicus. What exactly is said?

[Deraldin]

On this stuff on Jon Irenicus, I don't think I got her talking on any of my walkthroughs that I recall on Irenicus. What exactly is said?

 

The actual quote you get from Centeol is this:

 

But I only had eyes for one man, Jon Icarus. He was a great and powerful wizard, the only man worthy of my affections, or so I thought. Though I lusted for Jon, he cared little for me, for he had another to whom he was married, lady Tanova.

 

The name is slightly different, Icarus vs Irenicus, but the powerful wizard part is accurate. Tanova was one of the named vampires in Bodhi's lair.

[Blarghagh]

I think you gotta charm her pants off ( ) before you can talk to her. There's a related journal entry that says something like "this has nothing to do with our current adventure, but might come in handy in a sequel".

[Oner]

I think you gotta charm her pants off ( ) before you can talk to her. There's a related journal entry that says something like "this has nothing to do with our current adventure, but might come in handy in a sequel".

Subtle as ever Bio, subtle as ever.

[Zoraptor]

On this stuff on Jon Irenicus, I don't think I got her talking on any of my walkthroughs that I recall on Irenicus. What exactly is said?

 

The actual quote you get from Centeol is this:

 

But I only had eyes for one man, Jon Icarus. He was a great and powerful wizard, the only man worthy of my affections, or so I thought. Though I lusted for Jon, he cared little for me, for he had another to whom he was married, lady Tanova.

 

The name is slightly different, Icarus vs Irenicus, but the powerful wizard part is accurate. Tanova was one of the named vampires in Bodhi's lair.

He probably would not have been called Irenicus at that point anyway, since that was the name he was given when he went bad ("Shattered One" or similar, iirc). I thought that his old name was mentioned in BG2 but that may just have been Bastilla Femshep whatshername calling him "Joneleth" instead of Jon.

[Blarghagh]

It was probably just an early version of the concept, these sort of things tend to get rewritten once you start expanding them.

[MrBrown]

I prefer the Composite Longbow +1, which Fuiruim sells. It has thac0 +2 dam +3, while the markmanship bow has thac0 +3 dam +2.

 

And yes, you could "join" the bandits in vanilla BG.

 

By the way, how is Greylord using the Ankheg Plate Mail? I thought Archers were restricted to leather.

[Blarghagh]

I think they allowed it in BGT because Ankheg isn't metal or something. I believe they could not wear metal armour is the restriction, not can only wear leather.

[MrBrown]

I think they allowed it in BGT because Ankheg isn't metal or something. I believe they could not wear metal armour is the restriction, not can only wear leather.

 

That would kinda be missing the point, if the Ankheg armor is still statwise a +2 Plate Mail....

[Blarghagh]

Hey, I never said it was a good reason.

[Nepenthe]

We take the ankheg shell back to Taerom Fuiruim (I wonder if anyone at Bio realised his surname is impossible to pronounce), but he says it'll take a tenday to finish the suit. We decide to come back for it later; now, it's time for the Cloakwood Mines!

Taerom was one of the (many) people in BG that was used from existing Forgotten Realms material.

 

I think they allowed it in BGT because Ankheg isn't metal or something. I believe they could not wear metal armour is the restriction, not can only wear leather.

 

That would kinda be missing the point, if the Ankheg armor is still statwise a +2 Plate Mail....

BGs were kind of bendy with those rules, anyway, even in 2 at least the shadow dragon mail passed for leather/"organic".

[greylord]

Interesting with Jon Icarus. I think I probably preferred killing to charming in that instance of the game.

Edited January 7, 2012 by greylord

[Tigranes]

7. One Dungeon, To Go, Please

 

Right. A slightly shorter update today, as we tackle the Cloakwood Mines, and finally reach the city of Baldur's Gate.

 

As usual, we begin with a backstab. This time, Sorophyx gets it right.

 

Sorophyx: This one had a fat arse for easy aim.

 

Don't discriminate against the obese, Sorophyx.

 

The mages here are a bit more clever (with SCS,anyway), and somehow figure out that Sorophyx is skulking nearby.

 

Sorophyx: How does he know I'm around, anyway? That's just cheating.

 

It's probably the smell.

 

Sorophyx: I don't smell!

 

Clearly not.

 

Drasus: Draw your daggers and spells and let's have at 'er!

Sorophyx: You want to know what I always say? Always kill the mouthy one, that's what I always say.

Drasus: HAW! A good saying! I will use your head for a puppet and make it say it over and over while we drink large amounts of mead! Life is pretty good, you know?

 

I can never figure out if Baldur's Gate has good, quaint writing that suits the setting, or just writing so bad that it's good. I imagine not having voice acting makes it several times better.

 

The ensuing battle is a bit of a disappointment. As Sorophyx hotfoots it back, a well placed web spell is enough to take out most of their party (and our skeletons), and Greylord is able to shoot down the casters before they can do anything.

 

In fact, the pattern generally continues in the mines themselves. With spells like horror, web, entangle, hold person and charm person at our arsenal, and of course with Oner and Greylord the big damage dealers, we have little problem with the Black Talons. That is, as long as Tale stays right at the back. I had to reload a couple of times because I'd enter a new area and someone would immediately shoot Tale in the face, killing her instantly.

 

SCS's Better Calls for Help means that pretty much all the bandits in the level eventually converge on our location. We're doing well, but we can't afford to rush out into the room proper - there are about half a dozen more bandits at least in the other corridor who would get a free shot.

 

Nepenthe: You know, this is pretty cool.

Deraldin: What?

Nepenthe: Standing shoulder to shoulder, weapons at the ready, as waves and waves of the evil bandits come at us! It's... so heroic! We're like brothers in arms!

Deraldin: Dude, I took you on this gig so we can score some chicks. Don't come out of the closet on me now.

Nepenthe: Come on! Here, say it with me...

 

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc177/p...tsol/Sparta.gif

 

I don't think that movie helps your case, Nep.

 

Even Hareishan joins the party, and she's usually on the other side of the level. For a long time I couldn't figure it out as she stayed invisible somewhere in the room, but a fireball helped pinpoint her location.

 

Tale: I'm versatile!

 

Remove the loot icons, and it's like a massive orgy. Or someone was giving out free fried chicken and people just couldn't wait.

 

The next level generally goes well. Some bandits ambush us just as we enter the level, but Tale nips in behind the other party members and uses a wand of fireball.

 

Oner: Don't you cast any other spells? I thought D&D offers like four hundred spells, or something.

Tale: Well, I've still got Nahal's Dweomer memorised as backup.

Oner: Oh, so that's when Tig wants to end the LP.

Tale: Pretty much.

[Tigranes]

Another mage decides to detect Sorophyx, but the hobbos on this level are not much of a challenge.

 

And so, without further ado, we reach the bottom of the Cloakwood Mines. We make sure to get a bit of rest, buff up the party, and even quaff a few strength potions. The upcoming fight will be either very easy or fatal, depending on how Davaeorn decides to act. I haven't played without SCS's Improved Davaeorn for a while, so I'm not sure how it will pan out. We found a scroll of Haste in the mines, by the way, so Tale finally has a second useful spell!

 

Sorophyx rushes down to initiate battle.

 

Then runs back. Davaeorn teleports away somewhere, but of more immediate threat is the two battle horrors. They do a lot of damage, and I mean a lot. We use the wand of monster summoning to complement the skeletons. We try firing some Arrows of Biting and even Piercing, but they do no damage; without +2 arrows, it looks like Greylord is going to be entirely useless.

 

Greylord: Can't win every fight for you guys.

Tale: Don't you have a melee weapon?

Greylord: I have an axe.

Tale: An axe of what?

Greylord: A standard issue, 1d6 axe.

Tale: Oh.

 

Without Greylord, we'll have to make do with the melee fighters. Oner and Nepenthe move in to hopefully score some hits before the fodder die out, but trigger some kind of trap that nearly kills Tale.

 

Tale: Okay, I'm going to participate in this battle from about 20m away.

Nepenthe: What? But you have to help us! Cast some spells, or something!

Tale: You want me to cast fireball?

Deraldin: Here, me and Sorophyx will join in melee, too, just lure them back a little bit.

Nepenthe: Alright. Come on, Oner-

 

Battle Horrors, they be strong.

 

Nepenthe: What? I was at full HP like two turns ago!

 

Sorry.

 

Deraldin can cast lightning twice a day now, due to his Priest of Talosship, but obviously it's risky to do it in here. With Oner and Nepenthe out of the way he can now fire one, and manages to kill the first battle horror. (Sorophyx' trap fired, too.)

 

Deraldin: Booya. You watching, Nep? I'm so badass!

Nepenthe: I'm dead!

 

It rebounds at a nice angle to hit the second one, but he's still got a bulk of his HP remaining. Now it's gonna get ugly.

 

Tale sneaks back into the room and casts a magic missile, and ends up summoning some monsters. Thankfully, they're friendly, and actually help us against the battle horror. Still, it's slow to fall.

 

Deraldin: You know, me and my Flail +1 isn't doing a lot to this guy. Maybe I should stand back and...

 

Woops. Deraldin gets hit just as he's about to finish the healing spell. I feel like I could have avoided at least one of the deaths without the pause-lag, but as it is it's hard to maneuvre various characters finely enough.

 

Deraldin: You just hate clerics.

 

Look, I'm sorry! Once this is over I'll buy you something nice, ok?

 

Deraldin: Well... fine. But it better be real nice!

 

It'll make you swoon with delight. Now shut up and let me win this thing.

[Tigranes]

Deciding that the risk is too great, Tale pops back out and fires the last charge on the wand of frost, finally expending it. It was good knowing ya. After a couple more hits, the second battle horror too goes down.

 

Of course, in case you've forgotten, we were meant to be fighting Davaeorn. For some reason he had teleported himself to a random corner and did nothing in particular. Our objective now is to bum-rush him and get him down before he can do a lot. Sorophyx fails to backstab, and he puts up a globe of invulnerability; and of course, without Deraldin, we can't cast Dispel Magic. We'll have to hope he doesn't have stoneskin or the like...

 

Greylord: Too much talk, Tig. Watch and Learn.

 

Oh... right. Okay, or you could just kill him in a single turn.

 

Greylord: I am a beast.

 

And so ends our adventures in Cloakwood. Carrying two dead bodies up several floors, we make sure to stop by and flood the entire place, denying the Iron Throne further profits from its operations. We sort of assume the slaves made it out.

 

And two quick raise deads later, we are finally at the entrance to Baldur's Gate. That counted as Nep's first and Deraldin's second deaths, so we're still OK for now. It would be hell to carry a Level 1 character at this stage of the game.

 

Tale: Uh... what's with this place? The water's all green.

Oner: And now you see the vile consequences of civilization and feudal economies! All the pollutants from the decadent city-dwellers have turned the very water unto a sickly green. Hierarchical government structures not only breed repression of the people, but of nature itself!

 

Actually, it's just a graphics bug. I never got round to applying the fix.

 

Oner: More capitalist LIES.

Tale: But what about this drawbridge? It seems to be raised, but I can still cross it!

Nepenthe: I wonder what they do when there's an enemy invasion.

Tale: Maybe it's an elaborate trap. You know. You think you can't cross... but... YOU CAN!

Sorophyx: How the hell is that a trap?

Tale: I guess they didn't teach you reverse psychology where they grew up.

Sorophyx: You talk a lot of smack for having 11 HP, bunny dude.

 

We introduce ourselves politely to the Flaming Fist, the security corporation in charge of, uh, security.

 

Oner: More example of the privatization of public services at work.

 

Here's a full shot of the entrance to Baldur's Gate. We again meet Elminster, who talks some faffle. They could have done without him entirely in the trilogy, really. I think he helps you exactly ONCE, by... marking somewhere on your map.

 

Anyway, the real game-changer in Baldur's Gate is all the shops. We've said up a fair bit of cash in the meantime, and now is the time to invest. Tale buys up some useful 3rd and 4th level spell scrolls, and we also invest in a bag of holding. We buy a fully charged Wand of the Heavens for Deraldin as well.

 

Deraldin: Wait, this is what I get for getting myself killed?

 

What, you're not satisfied?

 

Deraldin: No, no. I'm just thinking it's a pity I can't die any more times.

 

Time to pick up some quests. I'm not sure how to handle the gazillion quests the city has for the LP, but we'll try and keep it manageable. Our first job is given by a fidgety, excited fellow called Brevlik.

[Tigranes]

Love this guy.We don't even know why he wants the telescope; seems like he just wants to do it for the lulz. In fact, he bears all the hallmarks of the original...

 

http://www.platformnation.com/wp-content/u...ogy-525x393.jpg

It all began with medieval telescope thievery.

 

We also check out the Thieves' guild. Note the fifth option for the entry password.

 

There, we are approached by one Narlen Darkwalk, who can't quite figure out whether he's a thief or a pirate. Nevertheless, we arrange to rendezvous at night for some good ol' thievery.

 

Finally, we'll also accept a task to infiltrate Shandolar's mansion and steal some magical thingamagickies.

 

Next time, shenanigans in Baldur's Gate!

[Deraldin]

Woops. Deraldin gets hit just as he's about to finish the healing spell. I feel like I could have avoided at least one of the deaths without the pause-lag, but as it is it's hard to maneuvre various characters finely enough.

 

Deraldin: You just hate clerics.

 

Look, I'm sorry! Once this is over I'll buy you something nice, ok?

 

Deraldin: Well... fine. But it better be real nice!

 

It'll make you swoon with delight. Now shut up and let me win this thing.

 

You know, if you had leveled me up after I killed that battle horror, I might have survived that next hit.

 

But it did get me a wand of heavens. <3

Edited January 7, 2012 by Deraldin

[Gromnir]

...

 

ok, we hesitate to share, but what the heck.

 

when we were at Cal in the late 80's, there were a quasi-popular punk lesbian band in town called "The Flaming Fist." gives the name a different spin for us.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[greylord]

Woops. Deraldin gets hit just as he's about to finish the healing spell. I feel like I could have avoided at least one of the deaths without the pause-lag, but as it is it's hard to maneuvre various characters finely enough.

 

Deraldin: You just hate clerics.

 

Look, I'm sorry! Once this is over I'll buy you something nice, ok?

 

Deraldin: Well... fine. But it better be real nice!

 

It'll make you swoon with delight. Now shut up and let me win this thing.

 

You know, if you had leveled me up after I killed that battle horror, I might have survived that next hit.

 

But it did get me a wand of heavens. <3

 

Are you swooning with delight now?

[Deraldin]

Are you swooning with delight now?

 

You know what would really make me swoon with delight? Surviving until I can cast raise dead.

[Blarghagh]

Is that Hareishan the same as that one vampire we murder in BG2?

[Walsingham]

Oner: Uh, there's a massive big hole in the ground like thirty metres to the left of your farm, man. Did you never think there might be a connection betwen that and your missing son?

Brun: No, of course not. Why would my son want to enter a big hole in the ground?

Oner: Well, your wife has been dead for some time, right?

Brun: Uh, yes. Why's that relevant?

Oner: Well, you see, the earth is traditionally related to the matriarch in premodern religions and myths, including ours. Your son may have been suffering from longing for a mother figure, or, psychologically speaking, a desire to re-enter and re-claim the mother and female in response to this lack. A gaping hole in the earth is therefore an indexical sign of a-

 

Dude! Family friendly forum.

 

:lol:

[Nepenthe]

Nepenthe: Come on! Here, say it with me...

 

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc177/p...tsol/Sparta.gif

 

I don't think that movie helps your case, Nep.

Dude, two words: Lena Headey.