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

[Enoch]

I have highly unpleasant memories from Durlag's Tower and the werewolf shipwreck.

Same here. I found the gameplay elements emphasized by TotSC to be predominantly tedious. Way too much "creep forward 5 feet a at time and wait to detect traps," punctuated by an occasional "encounter difficult enough to more-or-less require cheese tactics." I've never gone more than 2 or 3 levels into the dungeony portion.

[Blarghagh]

So there's a good chance there's going to be a few deaths? *hopeful*

[Tigranes]

9. In This Chapter, Stuff Happens

 

Our former home demands a Great Bribe for re-entry. It's a sound policy, in that each visitor allows them to accrue more and more books, and thus forego sending out scholars of their own.

 

Oner: It's fascism, that's what it is. The bourgeoisie just want to keep the common folk from the wisdom of the ancients!

 

That's.... not what fascism is, man.

 

Oner: Oh, I know. They're communist, too. Bastards.

 

I blame the education system, really.

 

The inside of candlekeep is probably one of the best looking interiors in the game. Good light sources, and some objects even cast preset shadows (like the bench by the entrance)! Everyone we talk to tell us something fishy is going on with the Iron Throne visitors, however.

 

A good man called Koveras sees fit to warn us about the dangers ahead.

 

Tale: Did he actually expect us not to notice? I mean, he still talks in that DEEP BOOMING VOICE.

Sorophyx: Villain Soundpack #2.

Tale: What's #1?

 

Sorophyx: One day, I'll laugh just like him. *swoon*

 

Now, the real reason for our visiting Candlekeep - an audience with the leaders of the Iron Throne, including Rieltar, the head honcho. I've actually never understood this part of the plot; OK, so you find some fishy documents in the Iron Throne HQ about their involvement in the iron crisis, you know Sarevok is somehow involved with them and after you. But, uh, obviously we don't have enough evidence to formally convict them (or we could do that without coming here), and there seems to be no mechanism for us to try and FIND any incriminating evidence, say, by eavesdropping on their meetings. In fact, why they're even here is unclear - Sarevok is clearly looking up texts by Alaundo on the Bhaalspawn, but that's probably him making the best of the trip.

 

In any case, we really only have two options; kill them in our QUEST FOR GREAT JUSTICE and get thrown in jail, or ignore them in our Lawful Goodness, get falsely accused and get thrown in jail anyway. Since Tale is technically Lawful Good, we'll just make do with a terrifying parting remark.

 

Tale: I'll be back!

 

Yeah, that.

 

Sorophyx:Wait, you're saying we have some bags of phat loot here that will die no matter what we do, and we'll go to jail no matter what we do, and we're NOT looting them?

Tale: We can't kill them, we don't even have an arrest warrant.

Sorophyx: Dude, screw this. You can't tell me what to do, you have less HP than a ripe banana.

 

Sorophyx: FOR XP!

Oner: FOR XP!

 

Oh, uh.. these guys are a bit tougher than I expected. That's No.2 for you, Sorophyx.

 

Sorophyx: But.... my XP!

 

Sorry. More for the rest of us, I guess.

 

No matter how sneakily we kill them, we're soon found out and apprehended by the Watchers. I mean, how sneakily can you slaughter five people in a library, anyway?

 

Ulraunt vents the frustration of not having a single line until now by pronouncing the most horrifying of judgments:

 

Ulraunt: YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS WILL BE PUNISHED IN THE MOST SEVERE FORM!

 

I'm guessing that means no dessert AND an early bedtime.

 

Seconds after Ulraunt leaves, Tethtoril comes and teleports us to the Candlekeep catacombs. If this were an Advanced RPG we would be left with a single lockpick to sneak our way out, but no, we'll just kill some undead. :decline:

[Tigranes]

The first level of the catacombs decides to do some loot balancing by providing various trapped tombs with goodies. Tale finally reads a tome of strength so taht she can carry more than 15 pounds, and also learns some fourth level spells she can't even cast yet.

 

Dopplegangers appear to be the main asset for the Iron Throne's seedier parts. They try to tell us that Gorion didn't really die, he was just magically poisoned into pretend-dead, and nobody told us because they didn't want us to cry.

 

It's frightening to think that just a few years later, this kind of stuff actually becomes the main storyline...

 

The Greater Doppleganger in particular is powerful; while he has a mirror image up he can damage us, and cast spells like hold person and confusion. Still, by this point we are pretty well equipped.

 

Greylord relives the first moment of his Badassery with a spare potion of mirrored eyes.

 

Greylord: This is how it all began. Me, Potion, and XP. *sniff*

 

And thus we make a rather uneventful escape from Candlekeep. We're meant to be ambushed by 4 ogre magi, but they never turned up - I think that's a SCS component we didn't get. Before returning to Baldur's Gate, though, it's time for us to begin the Tales of the Sword Coast content. We're terribly underleveled for some reason (~50k XP, ~45 for Deraldin & Nepenthe), perhaps because we missed a few things, but we sport enough phat loot to handle the challenge... I think.

 

First, we are confronted by Shandalar, whose home Sorophyx had robbed totally without anyone noticing.

 

Sorophyx: Exactly, so how does he know we stole his crap?

 

We're all on rails, my friend.

 

He uses his terrifying magic to send us to the Ice Island, instead of, I don't know, destroying us all. Our mission is to find his cloak, because they had a party here last week and he left most of his clothes behind. *wink wink*

 

The place is full of trapped and insane wizards. We have the metagaming foresight to send only Greylord (in the corridor, hardly visible) ahead to trigger conversation, with Sorophyx invisible behind the Green mage. This should be quick..

 

Or not. I think Sorophyx hit a mirror image (the pause-lag means I couldn't stab immediately), and the 1 damage was only the extra ice damage, or something. Doesn't make much sense to me, either.

 

With the initial move not working out, we retreat and summon some undead. Unfortunately, someone there has a wand of summon monsters, too...

 

...and he's not afraid to use it, clearly. Deraldin fires a dispel magic to try and neutralize wizards' buffs but can't get to any of them.

[Tigranes]

The monsters are all low level, and we manage to create a pile of flesh and blood before long. More problematic are the wizards; our only real option is to charge them head-on, now.

 

Which we do, with great effect. The place is filled with traps, and for some reason the enemy mage didn't set it off.

 

Mage 1 falls as Sorophyx finally gets it right.

 

But the other mage seems to be the one with the wand, as he summons more critters to annoy us. He has shield, mirror image, globe of invulnerability, and protection from normal missiles, making him pretty invulnerable at the moment.

 

In fact, after about ten turns, we've yet to make a dent on him, and now he's starting to run out of spells, he's firing all the low level ones. Tale is in hiding after taking an acid arrow to the face; it deals more than half of her entire HP each turn in acid damage, so she's pretty much overdosing on healing potions to stay alive. Sorophyx is in a similar situation.

 

And now Greylord, too. We're going to run out of potions soon.

 

Thankfully, he ran out of spells before anybody died, and eventually, his protections ran out - I think it took us 30 turns or so to get him down. That's what happens without 4th/5th level spells, kids.

 

I was all puffed up for the grand finale against the Ogre Mage, but I forgot - Unfinished Business restores a second level to the Ice Island. It's kind of disappointing, actually. The last level of the Candlekeep catacombs is reskinned, and the Ogre Mage is nowhere to be found - instead is this guy, who packs a lot of high level spells and controls some bears.

 

It's just a pity he doesn't have a lot of health.

 

Shandalar is ever so grateful for getting his cloak back. It's what gets all the ladies' knickers in a twist, you know.

 

Deraldin: It's flamin' pink.

 

Hey, what do you know about fashion?

[Tigranes]

This update begins on the previous page.

 

Tale's not particularly pleased about the business and manages to get a magic missile in his face, but the mage teleports away anyway. I wonder what would have happened if we got a poisoned arrow there or something - would he die off-screen?

 

Alright. Now it's time for what we're really here for. THE GREAT TOUR OF IKE CASCADION VENDAR!

 

Deraldin: This guy's really good!

 

Really? You think so?

 

Deraldin: Yeah, he's got the hook, line and sinker deal all set to go, and all you gotta do is cough up the cash. He's centuries ahead of his time, this fellow.

 

Well, it must be true, because we signed up, too.

 

Before we go, we stop by the Ulgoth's Beard inn, one of the 2 new stores in the expansion. We can't quite afford the Invisibility Ring (mainly because Tale tried wild magic in the Ice Island and it made half our gold disappear), but the Cloak of Displacement is useful, as are some high level spell scrolls we can't cast yet.

 

Ominous.

 

And in front of Durlag's Tower is the other salesman. We invest in many potions of healing, antidotes, and potions of perception; Sorophyx will be the only thing stopping the Tower from blowing everyone into nasty little chunky bits.

 

The tower shows it means business even from the exterior; two battle horrors. If you remember, they wiped out Deraldin (and Oner? I think?) at the Cloakwood Mines. Sorophyx can't hit them. Again.

 

But this time, we're bigger, stronger, and...

 

Deraldin: EAT FIRE, BIT-

 

No swearing.

 

Deraldin: EAT FIRE, BREECHES!

 

Indeed.

 

Even while spamming the wand of heavens, they are alive for long enough to do serious damage. Eventually, Tale manages to paralyze one of them with a wand, and that gives us enough time to beat them down.

 

And we are here. Roughly at level 6, still without level 4/5 spells. Who will live? And who will die? Because somebody will die. Next time, a blow-by-blow look through Durlag's Tower.

[Deraldin]

Huzzah! Another update and another not a death for me! And the wand of heavens comes in handy for killing the bastards that killed me last time. EAT FIRE AND LIGHTNING! AHAHAHAHAHA!

[Blarghagh]

"(mainly because Tale tried wild magic in the Ice Island and it made half our gold disappear)"

 

Tale is like some kind of unlucky charm to this group.

[Oner]

"(mainly because Tale tried wild magic in the Ice Island and it made half our gold disappear)"

 

Tale is like some kind of unlucky charm to this group.

Good thing I'm not the wild mage. Half the group would be disintegrated by now and one turned into stone. Or a dragon. Maybe a stone dragon.

[Tale]

I keep hoping I'll color spray the group from behind. I remember doing that during one of my BG2 plays. Good times.

[greylord]

Some nice backstabs there by Sorophyx.

[sorophx]

yeah, especially that triple damage for 1

 

the part where I'm responsible for the whole party's safety is a bit overwhelming. I don't know if I can do it

[greylord]

yeah, especially that triple damage for 1

 

the part where I'm responsible for the whole party's safety is a bit overwhelming. I don't know if I can do it

 

 

Just don't die. IF you bite it I say everyone leaves the tower ASAP! I'd say your character could be important for survival in the tower.

Edited January 13, 2012 by greylord

[sorophx]

well it's your fault, guys. why didn't anybody become a thief/something? now I have to do everything myself

[Morgoth]

God this game has aged badly.

 

Why are people still wasting time playing such a....

 

Bored?

[Drowsy Emperor]

God this game has aged badly.

 

Why are people still wasting time playing such a....

 

Bored?

 

Volourn hijack your profile?

[sorophx]

I agree that BG1 isn't the best example of a Infinity game, never appealed to me. BG2 is the best of the lot, with IWD close behind. personally I like IWD best

[Blarghagh]

God this game has aged badly.

 

Why are people still wasting time playing such a....

 

Bored?

 

And Captain Buzzkill comes to ruin the day once more to give his scathing review nobody asked for, which essentially ridicules the OP and adds absolutely nothing worthwhile to the thread other than putting people on the defensive. Have you ever been positive about something? Between you and Volourn every thread on this forum eventually turns into some kind of negativity spiral of hopeless bashing and elitism over video games. It'd be better for the community if you'd both, assuming you are not the same person, just left, but since you're not going to due to your obvious need for virtual attention I'm going to do the only thing that comes close and make delicious use of the board's ignore function. Also, games you don't like > games you like. Toodletoo.

 

Please continue Tigranes, I do so enjoy the Obsidianites blundering about.

Edited January 14, 2012 by TrueNeutral

[Nepenthe]

What's this, I thought I was the one who ruined this forum for everybody!

 

More seriously, though, am enjoying this a lot, I've always personally found that the thought of playing bg1 is actually a lot more appealing than actually playing it, so this kind of gets me the best of both worlds. Thinking of digging my old bg1 saves up and giving 2 a spin, soonish.

 

Keep up the good work, Tigranes.

[Walsingham]

Captain Buzzkill - strapline "he clears the officers' mess"

 

~~

 

What cracks me up hthose two are the most negative people on here, yet ostensibly they are also worse than the handful of clinically bipolar chaps around.

[Oner]

Captain Buzzkill - strapline "he clears the officers' mess"

 

~~

 

What cracks me up hthose two are the most negative people on here, yet ostensibly they are also worse than the handful of clinically bipolar chaps around.

Clinically bipolar? You mean the guys who hate a game before release but love it afterwards?

[Blarghagh]

To clarify, I don't mind people having a negative view of a game at all, I'm not that fond of BG1 myself and opinions just work that way, this is the gaming portion of the board after all. I just can't stand it when people try to derail threads into pissing contests about whose taste is better with no better arguements than "it sucks", and I swear if I see one more thread becoming a rating battle over subjective issues like which Bioware title is the best ("FACT. R00fles!") it'll trigger my dark side and I might kill someone in a mall and have Counterstrike discovered on my laptop. I'm sure none of you want that on your conscience.

[sorophx]

I couldn't care less about CS or Valve

[Blarghagh]

I'm more concerned on how it even found it's way to my computer because I don't have Half Life or Counterstrike.

[Nepenthe]

Captain Buzzkill - strapline "he clears the officers' mess"

 

~~

 

What cracks me up hthose two are the most negative people on here, yet ostensibly they are also worse than the handful of clinically bipolar chaps around.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

 

That was a joke.