Alesia_BH

Gaun's Pledge is for people who pre-ordered. I bought the game about a month ago.

Arcadia, Moon-Godlike, Wizard: Minor Questing Around Guilded Vale Before departing for Anslog's compass, the party did some clean up work in the vicinity of Guilded Vale. We liberated Tenfrith, picked up Fulvano's gloves, and collected the Fine Crossbow. In all of these screenshots, you'll see an excessive amount of casting, in light of the ease of the encounters. In Aotha's run, I proved to myself that all this isn't necessary: positioning and accuracy focused Talents and Abilities is enough, at least through much of the adventure, even on PotD. Nonetheless, I've decided to take an all-out approach early in this run in the interest of getting my action timing down. In BG, I always used Autopause: Spell Cast and Autopause: Round Ended. I'm unacustomed to pausing myself at the moment of action completion. I need to get that down. Our standard opening is now Action 1: Alena: Armor of Faith; Durance: Blessing; Alikae: Arcane Veil, Eldritch Aim; Arcadia: Arcane Veil, Eldritch Aim Action 2: Alena: Divine Terror; Durance: Consecrated ground; Alikae: Slicken or Arcane Assault; Arcadia: Curse of Blackened Sight or Chill Fog Specific protection are added as needed and subsequent damage spells are chosen according to context and taste. (This is usually over-kill in the early game. I'm just practicing.) Here we see the party just after Action round 2. Slicken and Chill Fog have granted Alikae the opportunity to move to the front line and cast Fan of Flames. Note that Kana is shooting over the top at the mama wolf. Variation on the same theme in the rescue of Tenfrith. In this case, positioning precluded use of Chill Fog, Slicken, and Fan of Flames, so Alikae and Arcadia went with their alternates, notably Arcane Assault. And when that happens, Alena reserves her Interdiction to avoid duplication of effort. Alena: Interdiction; Arcadia: Concehault's Parasitic Staff for the finish Best, A. Current Status: Arcadia, Wizard (lvl 3): Stealth:0; Athletic:0; Lore:5; Mechanics:1; Survival:4; Talents: Arcane Veil; Notable Gear: Cloak of Minor Protection; Grimoire: Level 1 - Concehault's Parasitic Staff, Chill Fog, Spirit Shield, Eldritch Aim; Level 2 - Curse of Blackened Sight, Infuse With Vital Essence Alikae, Wizard (lvl 2): Stealth:1; Athletic:0; Lore:2; Mechanics:4; Survival:0; Talents: Arcane Veil; Grimoire: Level 1 - Fan of Flames, Slicken, Eldritch Aim, Minoletta's Minor Missiles Alena, Priest of Wael (lvl 2): Stealth:0; Athletic:1; Lore:4; Mechanics:0; Survival:2; Talents: Interdiction Eder, Fighter- (lvl 3): Stealth:2; Athletic:5; Lore:1; Mechanics:0; Survival:2; Talents: Rapid Recovery; Abilities: Knock Down, Fighting Spirit, Defender Kana, Chanter (lvl 3): Still waiting to be respecced Durance, Priest of Magran (lvl 3): No one cares: no one

I like hatchets on casters. For a dual-wielding rogue, the consensus is that sabres with Annihilation are the way to go: Resolution + Purgatory

Thinking long term, my paramount concern is the size of the experience gap. It's smaller the sooner you recruit. Ideally, I'd recruit as soon as I reached L2, at 1000XP. That's not possible, though. (Also, I just wanted to add my peeps and get rolling ASAP. I don't have Gaun's Pledge in my install so cash is a little tighter)

Arcadia, Moon-Godlike, Wizard: The Eothasian Temple Despite our low levels, he Eothasian Temple quest went much smoother for Arcadia than it had for Aotha. This bodes well, I think, for Arcadia's prospects. In the early game, Aotha suffered from my Hard hangover. I had acquired some bad habits, on account of playing on a difficulty level that was too easy. Arcadia's play, in contrast, has benefited from a recent run on PotD. I did little different, here but I did what I did with greater precision and control. In the quest's focal encounter, we hung back and lured our enemies to us, rather than boldly charging forward. This gave us time to buff before engagement. Alena cast Blessing; Durance cast Armor of Faith; Alikae cast Arcane Veil->Eldritch Aim and Arcadia cast Arcane Veil->Spirit Shield->Concelhault's Parasitic Staff->Eldritch Aim. Upon engagement, Durance added Consecrated Ground and Holy Power. Arcadia and Alena debuffed with Curse of Blackened Sight and Divine Terror respectively. Alikae cast Fan of Flames Arcadia got the final kill with Concelhault's Parasitic Staff Same method for the large shadow group near the Cloak of the Eothasian Priest. Same result: Final kill to Arcadia with Concehault's In our next session, we'll retrieve Ranga's potion and visit Mahmar Bridge before moving on to Caed Nua. Best, A. Current Status: Arcadia, Wizard- (lvl 3): Stealth:0; Athletic:0; Lore:5; Mechanics:1; Survival:4; Talents: Arcane Veil; Notable Gear: Cloak of Minor Protection; Grimoire: Level 1 - Concehault's Parasitic Staff, Chill Fog, Spirit Shield, Eldritch Aim; Level 2 - Curse of Blackened Sight, Infuse With Vital Essence Alena, Priest of Wael (lvl 2): Stealth:0; Athletic:1; Lore:4; Mechanics:0; Survival:2; Talents: Interdiction Eder - Fighter (lvl 3): Stealth:2; Athletic:5; Lore:1; Mechanics:0; Survival:2; Talents: Rapid Recovery; Abilities: Knock Down, Fighting Spirit, Defender Alikae - Wizard (lvl 2): Stealth:1; Athletic:0; Lore:2; Mechanics:4; Survival:0; Talents: Arcane Veil; Grimoire: Level 1 - Fan of Flames, Slicken, Eldritch Aim, Minoletta's Minor Missiles Kana - Chanter (lvl 3): Still waiting to be respecced Durance- Priest of Magran (lvl 3): No one cares: no one

Arcadia, Moon-Godlike Wizard: The Early Game Arcadia has assembled her early party and is now ready to begin questing- despite a modicum of drama in the prologue. In our opening Glanfathan battle, Calisca had a series of astonishingly bad rolls, leading her to take significant health damage. When we rested, later on in Cilant Lis -post Heodan convo and for her benefit- she abandoned us, taking the waterskins, and thus our route to the Cloak of Minor Protection. Usually this wouldn't be a problem, since Calisca is typically killed by the traps in this case. But since we had already disarmed the traps, she was nowhere to be found. Where could she be? I was beginning to think that all was lost, until I saw this. I've never been happier to see a dead friend. With waterskins in hand, Arcadia returned to the ruins and claimed her prize using Arcane Veil->Spirit Shield->Eldritch Aim->Concehault's Parasitic Staff. Note to self: Cast Eldritch Aim last. (As you've surely inferred, Arcadia had taken her first level up by this point, selecting Arcane Veil. Her skill points went to Survival. I like all of my team members to reach Survival 4 for the +10 against creature type. That's too good to pass up.) At the Black Hound, Arcadia met an oddly familiar priest... who was traveling with an oddly familiar wizard. This trio will form the core of our party from here to the end. Seeking experience together -and in need of a tank- Arcadia, Alikae, and Alena added Eder and descended into the Eothasian Temple. We did just enough to level up here, pulling no punches, on account of our low levels. In the early game, setting aside per encounter abilities, the party's standard strategy was: Alena: Armor of Faith->Blessing->Barbs of Condemnation Arcadia: Arcane Veil->Spirit Shield->Curse of Blackened Sight->Concelhault's Parasitic Staff->Eldritch Aim Alikae: Eldritch Aim->Fan of Flames Eder: Stand in the door and suffer Alikae did most of the damage in these encounters Arcadia held her own, however- proceeding slower, but with more staying power Once Alena and Alikae leveled up, adding Interdiction and Arcane Veil respectively, we made out way to Caed Nua to collect Kana, picking up Durance's staff and clothes Durance along the way. In the early game, Concelhault's Parasitic Staff is an excellent weapon: 21 is a solid graze for a L3 character with middling strength 37 a decent hit Now with L2 priest slots, we added on Prayer Against Infirmity against the trolls. Alena got her first kill here. We'll return to the Eothasian Temple in our next session. Best, A. Current Status: Arcadia, Wizard- (lvl 3): Stealth:0; Athletic:0; Lore:5; Mechanics:1; Survival:4; Talents: Arcane Veil; Notable Gear: Cloak of Minor Protection; Grimoire: Level 1 - Concehault's Parasitic Staff, Chill Fog, Spirit Shield, Eldritch Aim; Level 2 - Curse of Blackened Sight, Infuse With Vital Essence Alena, Priest of Wael (lvl 2): Stealth:0; Athletic:1; Lore:4; Mechanics:0; Survival:2; Talents: Interdiction Eder - Fighter (lvl 3): Stealth:2; Athletic:5; Lore:1; Mechanics:0; Survival:2; Talents: Rapid Recovery; Abilities: Knock Down, Fighting Spirit, Defender Alikae - Wizard (lvl 2): Stealth:1; Athletic:0; Lore:2; Mechanics:4; Survival:0; Talents: Arcane Veil; Grimoire: Level 1 - Fan of Flames, Slicken, Eldritch Aim, Minoletta's Minor Missiles Kana - Chanter (lvl 3): Soon to be respecced, despite my reservations, because I'm sick of suffering his skeletons... Durance- Priest of Magran (lvl 3): Soon to be booted...

@Semiticgod. Sorry for your loss, but congrats on your defeat of the lions! Looking forward to your next run! Best, A.

Arcadia, Moon-Godlike Wizard Game Version: 3.7.0.1318 with White March I & II Difficulty: PotD Settings: Maim Before Death: On; Injuries: On; Expert Mode: OFF Mods: None Character Description: When Lady Greymore-Landsworth, presumed to be infertile, became pregnant at the late age of 36, the nobility of Southern Aedyr celebrated. But when the Lady gave birth to one Arcadia Greymore-Landsworth, a Moon Godlike -with elven features no less- rumors started to spread. Had it been Earl Greymore Landsworth who had been infertile all this time? And had the Lady, in desperation, found a solution among the family's many elven servants? And was the fated child's godlike features a sign of favor or disfavor? A blessing or a curse? Lacking an heir -and as desperate for a child as the Lady- Earl Greymore-Landsworth strove mightily to sway public opinion in Arcadia's favor, at great personal cost. But years later, when Lady Greymore-Landsworth gave birth once again -this time to a human child- no one was surprised when Arcadia Greymore-Landworth quietly disappeared. Now alone, on the road, Arcadia Greymore-Landsworth merely calls herself Arcadia. There is no dignity in names, she has learned: only in actions. Gaming Notes: Following a lamentable (yet quasi-intentional) PotD NR near miss with our lovable Orlan Rogue, Aotha, I have decided to run a wizard similar to my successful yet unpublished Hard NR character, Alikae. I'm still a PoE novice, but I'm optimistic about this run: Alikae succeeded with ease on Hard and Arcadia can only benefit from my recent PotD experience with Aotha. We'll see what comes. Best, A.

Soon. The order of operations will be: 1) Complete a party NR on PotD (likely/hopefully this run) 2) Watch The Ultimate Rogue video, linked by Enuhal, from end to end, taking notes 3) Run a generic rogue on Normal, emulating The Ultimate Rogue strategies, but tweaking for RP plausibility and style 4) Run Alesia on Hard or PotD Best, A.

Thanks. It's kind of a bummer, but I'm okay with it. I was unfond of the White Forge quest. From an RP respective, it seemed like a whole lot of trouble to rehabilitate a small town's steel brand. And from a gaming perspective, I found the combat and gaming narrative styles counter to my liking. I wasn't enjoying myself. The other issue was that I was dreading uploading a zillion catch-up posts, in the event that Aotha succeeded. Part of me wanted to blind no reload the White Forge quest line, but a greater part of me was looking for a dignified exit-stage-left. The final White Forge battle granted that. Aotha did well for herself, falling in a moderately challenging battle that I had never seen before (and, in fact, didn't entirely expect). And at the same time, I don't have to spend an entire day posting on quests that are, for me, old now. Aotha's death was, in the end, an acceptable way out of an awkward situation that I had boxed myself into. In my next run, I'll keep posts current with progress. That should lead to more satisfying updates while also keeping me motivated. I haven't settled on a character yet. I'm considering a few options. Let me know what you'd like to see: 1) A variant of Alikae, my melee mage who successfully NRed PoE on Hard, but who I can't bring myself to post on 2) An Eoran version of Alesia, my BG rogue 3) An Eoran version of Alia, eleven archer, my first BG no reload candidate, who fell in the battle against Melissan and later escorted my first successful BG Trilogy NR character, a sorcerer, Alanis, through BG1 and SoA. 4) An all priest party, led by Alena (basically the opposite of Semiticgod's upcoming party) I'm leaning toward option 1 or 4, leaving the rebirth of Alesia and Alia (particularly Alesia) for a time when I'm more skilled at PoE. If anyone has a preference, please let me know! Best, A.

Aotha, Hearth Orlan Rogue: Final Update NW: White March Spoilers Hey, everyone! Sadly, Aotha has fallen. Her end came in the final battle of the White Forge quest. Resolve may be a relatively unimportant stat for a no reload character, but it is very important for a no reload player. My resolve failed catastrophically by the end of the White March. I've never enjoyed dubiously motivated massive dungeon crawls. Nor do I like Iceland Dale style wave after wave combat or gimmicky one trick enemies. Those who have tried White March can imagine, then, my thoughts on the White Forge quest line. By the time we reached the final battle, I was eager to be done, one way or another, and I honestly didn't care either way. And so when the final battle (which I thought I might be able to talk myself out of) opened like this: I basically just sighed and gave up. Sorry, Aotha: I just wasn't feeling it. While Aotha failed to meet her goal, her run was, in a gaming sense, a moderate success. She had reached L10 and had she not taken a detour to blind run an expansion that I ended up hating, she would have had an excellent chance of completing her run. Not bad for a first play-through on PotD. Setting aside the outcome, and Aotha's achievements, my coverage of Aotha's run -obviously- left much to be desired. From here on out, I'm going to stop letting my character's progress get ahead of updates: it leads to detail impoverished update and I invariably find myself losing the will to catch up on posting (once again, my personal Resolve score is to blame...). I'm not sure what my next run will be, but I can promise you this: I'll keep you all posted, every step of the way. Best, A.

@Borco. That you for your kind words. And thanks, too, for updating us on your intentions. Best wishes for a successful journey in Faerun. We hope to see you back in Eora soon. Cheers, A.

Great post, Serg! I'm glad you're making progress. (Btw, I've always appreciated your character status summaries at the bottom of your posts. I think I'll start doing that, too) Best, A.

Aotha, Hearth Orlan Rogue: Raedric Hold It looks like Jazz Wit and Aotha are on the same schedule. You're charging the front gate? Ok, we're climbing the vines. High fives! See you in the Throne Room! There great thing about the Raedric Hold quest is that you get to kill so many people. And they're not even hard to kill. You just shoot them in the face... or skewer them in the kidney. And they die. What's better than that? (If some of you are starting to worry about me -what with comments like that and all- don't: I'm fine. I rarely do this stuff in real life.) Anyhoo. We choke pointed the chapel blokes. We also choke pointed Osrya's crew, which was a questionable call, seeing as how we had the melee advantage, despite lacking numbers. Quicker access to the casters would have been nice. Not to be out done in the questionable call department, Osrya blew herself up. Ok, Osrya: you win this round. But the next time I come back here, I'll do something stupider than you. You can count on that! To the Throne Room. But where's Jazz Wit? Oh yeah, he's over in the corner, chillin' with his ghost, waiting his turn. Hey, Jazz Wit! Keep being awesome! Meanwhile...Alena opened with Scroll of Protection; Aloth opened with Scroll of Defense; Pallegina opened with beetles; Aotha opened with shoot'em-in-the-face. Pallegina and Eder engaged the grunts while the Archmages played with the beetles. Alena got herself in trouble with some back line chargers, but Whispers of Treason, via the Arret, quickly got her out of that jam. The Munacra Arret is a nice item to have on a backliner. It also looks great on Alena, matching her portrait better than any of the alternatives (NW: Inventory screenshot taken at a later date.) (And, btw, If you're thinking Aloth's Leather would match her better, I agree. Selling that was a mistake) Some damage spells now from Aloth. Alena, wearing chain, with a low dex, is still buffing. Nobody's perfect, mkay? Finishing up now. Pulled Alena because we didn't need her spells anymore. Fin! Best, A.

Yeah. It's not that Pillars of Eternity names are so long in comparison to BG names, really, it's that I know that you'll know what I mean when I say MI + II + SI:A + SI:D but I have no idea if you'll understand AV(H) + LLDI + IS + LLS. Best, A.

It's the range, the attendant positioning flexibility, and all that entails. It's also style and the special attributes of Tall Grass. When people calculate DPS in the abstract, they often over-look contextual factors that modulate actual damage output in practice. As a pike rogue, Aotha can engage in melee from a safe distance, while Eder and Pallegina tank, letting her switch off her ranged weapon quicker and more frequently. She can also engage at choke points in spaces where a dual-wielding rogue would be crowded out. That matters and it adds up. Note, too, that her reach allows her to wear lighter armor, narrowing the attack speed gap. Is it a superior approach to dual-wieling? I'm not sure. I'd need to run a dual-wield rogue to compare. Perhaps I will in my next run, using sabres in particular. For now, I'll merely note that pike rogues work, and that I'm glad my White the Wend Orlan is thriving in hide armor, wielding a spear (pike). She kicks butt and she looks great! (And she still hasn't been knocked out, as of L9, now blind running the White March, on my first PotD run.) In general, I'll note that one of the cool things about PoE is that virtually nothing is useless- everything has its place. Slow, heavy weapons do start to shine against high DR enemies. They are also superior when using single strike abilities, like Finishing Blows. Try them. You may find that they have a place in your game plan, even if you tend to prefer fast attacks. Best, A.

I agree that scrolls (notably Scroll of Protection, Scroll of Defense, Scroll of Valor, and Prayers Against X) can eliminate the need for priests. I'll note, though, that priest builds needn't be "passive," using your terms, Semiticgod. In fact, they can be heavy damage dealers with some might, perception and Scion of Flame, among other tweaks.

Nor do I. The issue isn't Shadowing Beyond: it's initiating and de-initiating combat for strategic advantage, leveraging the free healing and recovery from unconsciousness, along with the opportunity to rest, that's problematic. I'd love to see a play-through that made heavy use of Shadowing Beyond. If you'd like to try a 6 rogue play through, please do!

Aotha, Heart Orlan Rogue: Defiance Bay By the time Aotha reached Defiance Bay, her most challenging days were behind her. I, as a player, had made the adjustment to PotD and she, as a character, had access to the resources she needed to thrive, while faced with unthreatening enemies. Happy days! Upon arrival, the party had a drink at the Goose and Fox, taking the opportunity to get to know their new traveling companion: Sagani. We then completed a few minor quests, starting with the recovery of Ossric's breastplate (peaceful resolution). Our first fight in the D took place at the Valian Trading Company, where we chose to defend Verzanno from the Doemenels. In the past I had opted for an all out casting barrage in this encounter despite the fact that it had appeared trivial. As a test, I let Aotha take a minimalist approach. Sure enough, she prevailed with very little casting support. After adding Pallegina, our party was set. Or at least I thought it was set. My intention had been to run with Durance this time. But when it comes to Durance I'm: (I have finally found a use for Durance, though, particularly in evil playthroughs. You know the supplicants that come to Caed Nua seeking an escort? Right- you probably see where I'm going with this. In evil play-throughs, you send them off with Durance. Because what's more evil than that? Killing someone: that's cold. Making them go on vacation with Durance: that's ice.) Anyhoo, we decided to recruit a replacement priest, once again, even if that meant having a party member continuously behind everyone else. Since we were close to L5, the EXP gap would be closer if we waited, so we took Durance along for one last quest: Never Far from the Queen. IIRC, we didn't rest on this quest. In any case, we used very few spells. At this stage of the adventure, I was finding PotD easier than expected- far easier than my very first playthrough on Easy, for example. And I began to suspect that that ease was less a function of my use of items, spells, and abilities, and more a consequence of non-declarative knowledge of positioning and action timing, intersected with builds and upgrades emphasizing accuracy. It was, I suspected, subtle, virtually unnoticeable things that were making the difference. And so, as a test, we cast and used items little in the early mid-game. We even refrained from using our per encounter abilities, on occasion. Interestingly, doing very little sufficed in this phase of the adventure, as I suspected. For the quest's focal battle, Consecrated Ground + Prayer Against Infirmity (initially withheld) + positioning proved sufficient. A Potion of Infuse With Vital Essence restored Pallegina's lost health (And, btw, Semiticgod, I agree: PotD spell names are long!) . Positioning alone sufficed for the oozes. We infiltrated the temple, taking the peaceful route, and then celebrated by giving Durance the boot. Enter Alena: Old Vailian collagist and performance artist, devotee of Wael. Hooray! Off to Purnisc's. Emulating Enuhal, we took advantage of the deceptively spacious room and then eliminated Nyrid with an opening salvo. Arbalests may do comparatively little damage if fired continuously, over the course of a long fight, but like very nearly every weapon in PotD, they have their uses. They're great for opening salvos from melee fighters. On Hard, I preferred Arquebuses for this role. On PotD, I've moved to Arbalests, mostly on account of the accuracy penalty associated with fire arms. I now reserve firearms for wizard fights and arcane veils, with the exception of St Garam's Spark. Zealous Accuracy and Inspiring Radiance sufficed in these fights. Aotha's melee criticals are starting to get good. And they happen often, thanks to a perception of 21, Minor Threat, Dirty Fighting and Vicious Fighting. We're looking forward to Tall Grass. Not only will Tall Grass increase our hit crit conversion by another 10%, it will cause prone on those crits. Should be fun. In honor of our Priest of Wael, we took on the Parable of Wael next. We used some scrolls here because I wanted to study their time to effect in a safe environment. We also used food items for the first time. We could use them more, but that would be wasteful, in my opinion. In party play they're rarely needed and the cost does add up. Nice opening crit from Aotha here. Note that Iben is prone, too- another benefit of using arbalests for opening salvos. Next, we recovered Tuatanu's crate, killing some trolls along the way. I usually collect Tuatanu's crate sooner, but in light of Enuhal's remark about the Bandit Leader's regen, I decided to wait. I'm not sure what he would have been like sooner, but at L5, he was, happily, a pushover. We finished the session by clearing L1 of the Endless Paths. Just a couple notes on this: 1) pike rogues build really shines in chokepoint encounters 2) In open field, I like Nature's Embrace + Shod in Faith for lightly armored melee rogues. Raederic is next. Best, A.

Thank you for your perspective, Jaherias Witness. A hard and fast rule was never under consideration. As you may recall from the intro post, the challenge explicitly declines to police tactics. It does, however, encourage players to be mindful of norms and to render personal judgements with those norms in mind. My intention was to sound out others, to solicit opinions, and therefore put players in a position to make an informed judgement. If anyone else has an opinion, do feel free to share.

Yeah. I could imagine using it myself as a desperation escape and reset, if I were late in a run, liked the character, and had no other option. The run would be asterixed, in my head, likely, but I'd probably ascent to the character's entry in the Hall. (Kind of like the one SCS/Ascension solo NR run where I resorted to using the Rod of Resurrection to heal once during the midgame: She's in the Hall, but that run felt lesser to me, personally)

I'd be curious to hear what others think of the legitimacy of this tactics (and the related Shadowing Beyond idea). I noticed early on that I could run away from conflicts, end them, and re-engage, whittling away enemy groups while effectively gaining free healing. It's particularly effective if you lure enemies away from their spawn points, insuring they will walk back, allowing free resuscitation of any fallen party members. I found it unsatisfying and exploity. As a matter of fact, when I composed the intro post, I considered signaling this tactic out as an example of something cheesy enough that audience members might find it off putting. In the end, though, I decided to refrain from citing any examples, since I didn't want to canalize player options. I've personally chosen to allow combat to resolve -one way or another- in the interest of avoiding what I see as an exploit of the game's fundamental engagement/recovery system. Are others inclined to see this the same way? Best, A.

Sorry for your loss, Semiticgod. I haven't found Searing Falls yet and after reading your post, I'm glad I haven't. It seems like a trap for a low level party. Looking forward to your next run!

That assassin group is from the Leaden Key, I think. They drop Woedica Hoods, in any case. They usually start appearing after your first convo with Lady Webb.

I noticed that. That's in part why I mentioned it. Not to discourage you from resting, mind you, but to contextualize the comparative dearth of spells in Aotha's run. So far, we've completed every quest without leaving to rest or purchase camping equipment. We'll probably leave the Burial Isle to sell equipment and thus afford upgrades, though. I'm in no position to judge. Between the latter half of Ashoka's run, Alikae's run, and the last 9/10ths of Aotha's, I'm over two full runs behind... I'll definitely redress, starting with my next run. Best, A.