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

[Tigranes]

Emerging from the secret entrance, we discover that an unscrupulous halfling had been maintaining the maze for whatever purpose. This guy is actually pretty dangerous sometimes; due to the crowded room, usually one character ends up entering the area directly next to the halfling. If it was Tale, there would be risk of a quick one-shot death; as it is, Greylord does just fine.

 

We receive a small reward from the halfling village of Gullykin. Sadly, there's not really anything to do here, but I always thought it looked nice.

 

As we make our way out, though, we meet yet another assassin - this time, a group of 4 (the others are in the fog). Look! He's already casting a spell while talking to us, the little cheater. How dare they act like player characters?

 

We show them what's what by opening with our new Golden Combo of Web & Silence, which hits 3 of them.

 

Somehow, the webbed priest (purple, to the right of our melee fighters - kind of hard to see) manages to get off some kind of scroll, which puts all but Deraldin and Nepenthe to sleep. The odds are pretty even again.

 

So we turn the tables again with a successful Hold Person...

 

And another one, disabling their entire party for a time.

 

Deraldin: You know, this isn't why I memorised-

 

Versatility is the key to success in life, Deraldin.

 

Finally, our party members are back up, and Tale again hits the right wild surge to paralyse another of the assassins.

 

Tale: I'm on fire!

 

You probably will be, at some point. Literally.

 

Right. With all that done, it's time for us to take care of a few other quests. First of all, we are going to acquire perhaps the most powerful item in the world of Baldur's Gate, with which we can win almost every battle!

 

Oner: Seriously? Just like that?

 

Yep. Just one crazy mage between us and immortal glory.

[Tigranes]

Greylord quickly takes care of said mage. The slimes he summoned are immune to normal weapons, but Sorophyx still has Greywolf's +2 sword, and Nepenthe helps with the +2 war hammer, and we get there.

 

And now, in the mage's morose cave-dwelling, THE WAND OF MONSTER SUMMONING!

 

Oner: Wait, that's it? What's so great about that?

 

Silly Oner. Shops recharge wands upon sale, then when we buy them back, it will have 50 or even 100 charges! Roughly 4 to 10 low level monsters spawn with every use, but as BG places no limit on summoned creatures, we could drown any enemy under the weight of a hundred hobbos.

 

Oner: I thought we weren't going to cheese, though.

 

Well... yes, I said that, didn't I. I guess you guys really will die pretty soon, then.

 

Oner: Real soon.

 

Moving on, we encounter some guy that's pretending to be Indiana Jones...

 

And someone who's paying more to have him murdered.

 

Sorophyx: You're on, shadowy dude!

Tale: We're not killing the poor old man! We're the good guys!

Sorophyx: How is it 'good' to support low-paying jobs in favour of high-paying ones? You're oppressing our rights as free labourers, man!

Oner: He's right, actually. Your loyalty to the fop Charleston Nib sustains an economic model wherein capitalists might extort labour from the proletariat and retain profit for themselves. By betraying him, we can contribute to the demise of this unjust system.

Tale: We're not killing him!

 

We enter the excavated ruins, and the diggers start going crazy in bloodlust.

 

Deraldin: I would, too, with that haircut. Did they all get it done at the same place or something?

Sorophyx: Probably wigs, all of them.

Tale: Come on, guys, we'll have to put them down. Make sure you protect Charleston from their spears!

 

Sorophyx: Oops.

Tale: I said no killing the old guy!

Sorophyx: I was aiming for the digger! Their razor sharp spears might have cut through him at any moment! Oh, tis a pity that my bolt, intended to save him, has instead rent him in twain! Oh, cruel fate!

Tale: The diggers were already dead, Sorophyx.

Sorophyx: Really?

Tale: And they were all over here.

Sorophyx: Well, let's not get bogged down by details. Now that he's dead, we can take the idol and sell it off!

 

Note: if you don't give it up to Gallor, e.g. by letting Charleston live but taking the idol, a spirit comes looking for it and you have to fight him. We probably could have taken him on, but this way, I think the spirit goes looking for Gallor instead.

 

We round up the day by saving Brage, who was driven insane by his Cursed Sword of Berserking +3 and ended up killing his own family. We do this by solving his riddle correctly - can you guess what it is? I remember I found BG1/2's riddles quite difficult when I first played, and I was like 11.

 

Before we head out again, we invest all of the gold earnt so far - ~10,000 - on Shadow Armour for Sorophyx, mainly because he keeps taking 10 turns to hide in shadows and I'm getting tired of waiting for him. Besides, with his long sword proficiency, the normally excellent Dagger of Venom won't be as much use.

 

To round up today's session, we travel towards the coast to hit up some sirines, and fill out our XP. We first come across the proclivitous Shoal.

 

Shoal: Perhaps a kiss, to show my appreciation? *flutter*

Nepenthe: Ki...kiss?

Deraldin: I told you, adventurers get all the chicks. You have some personal time over there while I get my Hold Person ready.

Nepenthe: I... I... buh... buh..

Shoal: *kiss*

[Tigranes]

Deraldin: Oh, dude! That is NOT cool!

 

Not cool indeed. In previous playthroughs, I've lost count of the number of times I simply clicked on Shoal, which makes the protagonist initiate conversation, and leads to an automatic game-over. For our purposes, we won't count this in Nepenthe's 3 strikes, since once you beat Shoal down a bit, she resurrects him for free, anyway.

 

Shoal explains she is held captive by an Ogre Mage,though she seems pretty suspicious on her own anyway, as if she kind of enjoys the killing. I like this quest - nothing comes of it, but there is a curious ambiguity there (especially as the Ogre mage appears smitten on Shoal).

 

Once again, run-and-beat works pretty well on these guys, without the advantage of pre-buffing.

 

And now it's time for Sirine-hunting proper. Sirines can cast improved invisibility, then dire charm your party members from the safety of invisibility, and also fire arrows of biting. All in all, a quick party wipe is in order if we're not careful. Luckily, Nepenthe is a Cavalier, and by virtue of his kit, is immune to charm! Now it's time for him to shine.

 

As Nepenthe approaches, they turn invisible; Tale quickly nips in to cast See Invisibility, then runs back out again. Although, it wouldn't really hurt to have her dire charmed, since it's not like she can do any substantial damage.

 

Tale: Hey, you never know, I could Wild Surge a meteor swarm.

 

Some hobbos join in the fun too, but with Greylord helping from a safe distance, the Sirines are dead.

 

Deraldin is levelling up like crazy, and has caught up entirely; we finally have access to some useful spells, like Dispel Magic, Dispel Paralysis, and Animate Dead.

 

We check out the nearby cave before departing, one which is full of thankfully isolated flesh golems. Sorophyx does well with backstabs.

 

There's one hairy moment when he manages to miss a completely stationery target three times as large as him, but in general, we persevere.

 

Sorophyx: Hey, it's not criminal to roll a 1 sometimes.

 

It's dangerous, but our rewards are great. From top left: a tome that increases Constitution by 1, a Cloak that lets you turn into a wolf, a wand of paralysis, and some other goodies. We decide to give the tome to Tale, since at Level 4 he still only has 11 HP; the cloak goes to Sorophyx, though we don't expect to use it much.

 

Right, that was a lot to get through. Next time, perhaps we can finally get to the Bandit Camp, though going their prematurely will mean the end of our adventure. Before I go, I'll field one question from the audience: Why does Deraldin use flails, and Nepenthe war hammers?

 

Nepenthe: I used to use swords because someone told me that a big sword impresses girls, though I'm not exactly sure why. Then someone told me a big warhammer makes people think you have a big brain.

Deraldin: What kind of question is that? Flails are great! Not only do you crush your enemies into soup, the spikes on these things cause excruciating pain!

Greylord: Flails Deal Crushing Damage Only.

Deraldin: You stuck-up bow fairy. There's more to life than damage type, you know.

[Deraldin]

Progress-wise I am currently doing most of what I consider the interesting stuff, and skipping a few minor two-minute quests and filler battles in terms of what I cover in the LP. Obviously I won't be visiting the Gnoll Stronghold, for instance - but if you want me to go somewhere in particular I can, just let me know.

 

Wait, you're not going to the Gnoll Stronghold? So no Gauntlets of Dexterity? When all the melee guys have 14 or less dex?

 

Nepenthe! See man! I'm looking out for you! What else is a wingman for if not to avenge your death and demand that your killer resurrect you?

 

I may not be dishing out the damage, but dammit that is one effective hold person spell.

Edited January 5, 2012 by Deraldin

[Tale]

What does Oner have against berries?

[Blarghagh]

I agree with Deraldin, Dexterity is pretty important in BG, plus aren't you missing out on quite some experience and gold kills if you don't go to the Gnoll Stronghold?

 

What rules does your version use regarding HP on level up? Is it the random number from BG1 and is Tale just unlucky, or does his constitution plus his class just make for a marshmellow (soft and easily flattened)?

[Oner]

Swallowed, hook, line and sinker.

Thanks, arse.

 

 

What does Oner have against berries?

I'd like to say something witty about the berries' connection to capitalism, but I'm not Tigs.

[Tigranes]

Tale had 13 CON, now 14. I think we are using vanilla BG1 HP rolls, although non-party NPCs may be getting max rolls.

 

Gold/XP is no longer a big deal as we are level 4/5, gnolls don't give that much. I might go down a bit later and pick up the gauntlets, maybe go at high level and have Tale solo the place.

[Deraldin]

I agree with Deraldin, Dexterity is pretty important in BG, plus aren't you missing out on quite some experience and gold kills if you don't go to the Gnoll Stronghold?

 

What rules does your version use regarding HP on level up? Is it the random number from BG1 and is Tale just unlucky, or does his constitution plus his class just make for a marshmellow (soft and easily flattened)?

 

Mages are very squishy. At level 5 he would have a maximum of 20HP with only 14 CON.

 

Also, this has made me load up my game of BG that I haven't touched since May. The Iron Throne is a terrible terrible fight with SCS!

Edited January 5, 2012 by Deraldin

[greylord]

What does Oner have against berries?

 

Put some in your back pocket, sit down, and see what comments get directed your way after you stand up.

Edited January 5, 2012 by greylord

[Enoch]

I agree with Deraldin, Dexterity is pretty important in BG, plus aren't you missing out on quite some experience and gold kills if you don't go to the Gnoll Stronghold?

Gnolls are relatively low-XP, and that stronghold is tedious as hell.

 

(Although, I also recall that one of the stat-boosting Tomes is down there.)

[Deraldin]

I agree with Deraldin, Dexterity is pretty important in BG, plus aren't you missing out on quite some experience and gold kills if you don't go to the Gnoll Stronghold?

Gnolls are relatively low-XP, and that stronghold is tedious as hell.

 

(Although, I also recall that one of the stat-boosting Tomes is down there.)

 

It's only the charisma tome and it's on the other side of about a billion xvarts. It would give Tale 19 Charisma. That would give a little extra store discount when buying things, but it's not huge.

 

The good part about the gloves of dexterity is that it's right at the beginning of the map. You only have to kill the enemy that holds them.

 

Does Tale have fireball yet?

Edited January 6, 2012 by Deraldin

[Nepenthe]

Shoal: Perhaps a kiss, to show my appreciation? *flutter*

Nepenthe: Ki...kiss?

Deraldin: I told you, adventurers get all the chicks. You have some personal time over there while I get my Hold Person ready.

Nepenthe: I... I... buh... buh..

Shoal: *kiss*

[Blarghagh]

I agree with Deraldin, Dexterity is pretty important in BG, plus aren't you missing out on quite some experience and gold kills if you don't go to the Gnoll Stronghold?

Gnolls are relatively low-XP, and that stronghold is tedious as hell.

 

(Although, I also recall that one of the stat-boosting Tomes is down there.)

 

Hrm, fair enough. I vaguely remember leveling up in there, but like I said, my experience with BG1 is mostly that I played it to complement BG2, I don't think I finished it more than once. Maybe there's some quest XP if you bring Minsc to find Dynaheir, I guess.

Edited January 6, 2012 by TrueNeutral

[Walsingham]

I think it's pretty clear you need to level up the party a bit. You aren't cheesing and you are having perma-death. Sort it out!

[Blarghagh]

This is currently my favourite thread on this board and I feel it is my duty to go bumpity bump to get it back around the top of the page.

[sorophx]

ditto

[Tigranes]

Will update within a few hours. I'm hoping to get a bulk of BG1 done before I start school next Wednesday, after which it'll be difficult to keep this pace up.

 

Bandit Camp will be taken on this update.

[Magnum Opus]

Man, I haven't played this game in years... this thread's likely to change, that, too.

 

Always like the commentary.

[Tigranes]

6. On Fireball

 

The party returns to Ulcaster, the scene of the Ferocious Army of Two Hobgoblin Elites that nearly took out half the party. But we are now bigger, stronger, and most importantly, decked out with phat loot. We are assigned a typical sidequest by the ghost of Ulcaster, though Tale suspects he's just another wild mage who had a Blur spell go horribly wrong.

 

Nearby is the serial killer-skeleton Icharyd, whose backstory I've never been able to divine. In SCS he is a monster - he's immune to normal weapons and has high magic resistance, and when you get his HP down a flash of lightning turns day into night, and Icharyd draws on the power of JRPGs to lay the smackdown.

 

Here, he's just a high-damage skellie.

 

Next is the Ulcasters ruins themselves. They are pretty mazy, and full of goodies but also wolves, spiders and traps. Sorophyx scouts out the place first, though it's slow going because his Move Silently is in the pits and he keeps popping back into view.

 

Sorophyx: I still don't understand why Tale can't just cast invisibility.

 

Because with her odds, it'll probably turn you into a giant floating pig.

 

Sorophyx: That wouldn't be so bad.

 

Being the Master Thief he/she/I forget what is, Sorophyx triggers a trap in front of four wolves.

 

Sorophyx: Screw this, I'm not going out alone!

 

Sorophyx runs towards the wolves, and the ensuing fireball damages two of them as well. And Sorophyx somehow remains hidden in shadows. Not bad going.

 

Sorophyx: I call it Indirect Kamikaze.

 

The scouting done, we reconvene the party at a nearby room, then hand Sorophyx our one oil of fiery burning. You see, out of view of the four wolves is a vampiric wolf, the ones we had to run like hell from near the Temple back in the day. They still pack a punch, so we aren't taking any chances.

 

Enoch: You know, if you were as careful back then, I probably wouldn't be dead.

 

Don't judge me.

 

The surviving wolves charge, but Deraldin casts Animate Dead just in time. Tale, hiding in a dark corner, fires the wand of frost to make sure the Vampiric Wolf dies before it regenerates HP. We only have one or two charges on it left now, though.

 

Which is why, of course, we came here to pick up the Wand of Fire. The party's Fireballness has just increased exponentially.

 

Tale: I'll finally contribute!

 

Indeed. You're lucky you're the protagonist, or I might have dropped you off a cliff a few times. Three times, to be exact.

 

Tale: Aww, you're just saying that.

 

And now, we are finally ready to advance the plot and tackle some meaty enemies. We pay a visit to Tranzig, the bandits' contact in Beregost, to discover the location of their camp. Although there is no true 'investigation' of any sort in the main quest, except in the parchments you pick up, I like how the plot progresses - it really makes a lot of sense that you first investigate a mine in trouble, you deduce that there is a connection with the bandits, and so on.

[Tigranes]

This update begins last page, so make sure to start from there.

 

Oh, right. Tranzig. Like all lone mages without pre-buff, he is rather easy to kill. As you can see, landing the killing blow automagically transfers his knowledge of the bandit camp onto our world map!

 

Tale: Spiffy stuff.

 

Indeed. I'm assuming this was so players who forgot to loot his corpse would still be able to continue the main plot. It's the kind of user-friendly design most people thought was invented with Oblivion. In fact...

 

Perfect.

 

Because BG does not feature such advanced systems, though, we have to search the forests of Larswood and Peldvale for the exact location of the Bandit Camp. Usually, I just kill a bunch of bandits, collect their scalps for cash, then sneak up on the camp. I've never seen this guy before, though.

 

Teven: Kill 'em, boys!

Sorophyx: Wait! We, uh- um, we want to join you guys! Yeah, that's right. Be bandits! Pew pew!

Greylord: Remember Kids, Charisma Score Important Too.

Teven: Ha! We've plenty o'mules now! What for we be needin' you?

Sorophyx: Grammar lessons?

Tale: Dude!

Sorophyx: Okay, okay. I mean, uh, you guys are... too good at your job! Yeah, that's right. You guys are so good it makes me all tingly inside.

Tale: Dude!

Teven: Save your sweet talk for the boss. I'll take ya to meet him but if he says ya die, then ya die.

Sorophyx: Alright!

 

Wait, what?

 

Dude, this is not alright!

 

Sorophyx: What? It's fine. Now we don't have to waste time looking for the camp!

 

But that's Tazok! We're meant to fight this guy in Chapter 7! He could probably kill us all!

 

Sorophyx: Really?

 

Well, if we fight him, you're going in melee.

 

Sorophyx: You ****-

 

Oh, and what do you know, he does want to fight us. I wonder who put us in this predicament?

 

Sorophyx: Dude! I'm sorry! Come on, I can't die now! I have to rob all the nobles over in Baldur's Gate!

 

Alright, alright. Let's take this seriously. A wand of monster summoning should buy us some time to shoot his health down...

 

...or not. Did he just kill four hobbos in two turns?

 

Sorophyx: More summons!

 

Luckily, just as we summon some skeletons and prepare to run for our lives, Tazok decides it was all a test. We end up being hired as the newest bandits - I've actually forgotten this was ever an option (is it, in vanilla BG?), and the party hadn't even rested from the Tranzig fight. Got a bit lucky there.

 

Tazok then leaves for 'the mines', and it's the lesser beings that get to wave their phalluses at us and assert their superiority. Figuratively, that is. If this was Dragon Age we'd probably have got a cinematic.

 

Unsure as to what we are meant to do now, the Obsidianites decide to check out the big tent for any clues about where Tazok's gone. Unfortunately, the people inside aren't quite as stupid, and decide to fight us.

[Tigranes]

We open by casting Charm Person on the gnoll, which actually works! The mage looks dangerous, but we're hoping to make use of Deraldin's Dispel Magic, or at least Silence.

 

Unfortunately, immediately afterwards Greylord ends up shooting Britik in the face, making him hostile once again. Deraldin moves up to cast something but the mage manages to put Nepenthe, Sorophyx and Tale to sleep.

 

We take out the other guys, but the mage also paralyses Oner. Poisoned by the hobbo's arrows, Deraldin still manages to get off a silence spell...

 

...but the mage casts vocalize, and even as Greylord's arrows remove his mirror images, takes out Deraldin with an acid arrow and magic missile.

 

Deraldin: I can't die yet! I haven't managed to Hold Person any chicks yet!

 

Or Animate Dead, for that matter. I kid, I kid.

 

In the end, that ends up as the only casualty, and we have secured the tent. We also find the Long Bow of Marksmanship - from memory, the best long bow in the game. Greylord now formally ascends to one-man Munchkin status.

 

Greylord: Boom Chikka Wow-Wow.

 

Tale is also finally Level 5, and gets access to fireballs. In addition to the Wand, we are now gonna kick some ass!

 

BG's chapter screens and cinematics use rather blocky 3D models, but I think they look good - they have a charm of their own. I'd have liked to play a 3D game with that kind of graphics.

 

Deraldin: I would, too. Imagine Female Commoner #2 in three-dee. Yee-haw!

 

Quiet, you're still dead.

 

I was al ittle worried exiting the tent, but it turns out nobody outside heard all the fighting, burning, crying and dying inside. One can only assume Tazok had invested in some great noise cancelling systems.

 

Deraldin: I hope you took a good look, Nepenthe. It's a must-have for any aspiring heartbreaker.

Nepenthe: I don't want to break hearts! I want to love! To live and die for my sweetheart, to truly become one with her!

Deraldin: Which is why you kissed that sirine, am I right?

Nepenthe: I-silence! She was an evil harlot, that's what she was. She must have bewitched me -

Deraldin: Yes, yes. Save all that for your mother, Nep.

 

Alright, boys. In any case, we're able to leave, revive Deraldin, and come back prepared for the Bandit Camp. In full SCS this is easily the most difficult battle in the entire game until the final chapter; becoming hostile with any one bandit eventually brings over fifty bandits into your area, as you might expect if you were to anger a well trained bandit camp in reality. I'm not sure how things will be in our lite version, but we'd best be prepared.

 

Our carefully prepared plan all goes to hell when Sorophyx once again misses a completely stationery target from behind.

 

Sorophyx: He sneezed!

 

He high-tails it back to the party, wasting a potion of healing to stay alive. Taugosz packs HP and deals a lot of damage; if he gets close to us it'll be bad.

[Tigranes]

Rather disappointingly, less than ten bandits converge on the area, and we are able to web and shoot down Taugosz unharmed.

 

So we send out Sorophyx once again to see what the other bandits are doing. Naturally, he is seen.

 

Sorophyx: I sneezed!

 

Actually, it's not the worst outcome. As the bandits in the area all charge towards Sorophyx, he quaffs our last potion of invisibility...

 

Then, tracking back a bit, lobs our last potion of explosions at the area. You can't see it here, but it caught most of the hobbos you saw earlier.

 

Finally, Sorophyx lures the survivors back to an entangle spell. Greylord gets himself entangled, too, but has no problem shooting between the vines to mop up the hobbos. He's like a machine-gunner with that new bow. We've cleared the bandit camp with only a single death!

 

As we return to Beregost, we stop by to kill some Ankhegs. Greylord is already wearing a suit of Ankheg armour, but another one couldn't hurt. They fall pretty easy at this point and give decent XP.

 

The area also sports a short quest, where Farmer Brun says his son is missing.

 

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.

 

Oner: -primordial womb. Why? What did you think I was going to say?

 

...I hope you realise you're all going to have to go down there in a moment.

 

Oner: If only I wasn't so damn smart.

 

Inside the womb, uh, hole, there are a lot of ankhegs, but we get by ok-ish, and eventually find a good stash of loot, including another wand of fire and Brun's son.

 

Oner: Told you.

 

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!

 

The Cloakwood Mines are located very deep inside the Cloakwood Forest - four areas deep, to be precise. In the first, we meet a rather British fop beset by some tree-huggers. We decide to help the former, mainly so that we can show off our newest and greatest spell, fireball.

 

Tale: Oh boy! Oh boy! Here we go!

[Tigranes]

Naturally.

 

Tale: You try getting it right with a big bear mauling you from the side!

 

I'm sure a magical hiccup really raises your chances of survival here. We take care of the druids sans fireball.

 

In the next area, Sorophyx once again proves her thieving credentials by stepping on a web trap the very moment she starts looking for traps. A cohort of huge spiders converge on her location.

 

Tale: Oooh! Oooh! Here, let me! Let me!

Sorophyx: Uh-

 

Tale: I did it! I did it! Look! Fireball! Look!

Deraldin: Look mommy, Tale set something on fire! Quick, get her a treat and pat her on the head!

Sorophyx: You got me too, you stupid bastard!

Tale: You're fine, you even made the save.

Sorophyx: Yeah, but half the spiders are still alive and they're on me now!

Tale: Sorry. I only had the one fireball.

 

Sorophyx survives, of course, because the Obsidianites are like, Level 5, and we're on the top of the world. In the same area we find Centeol the Putrid. Oner's really dying to know how she got so fat, but alas, the world will never know her secret.

 

More fireballs, baby.

 

Centeol is even uglier in death.

 

The greatest danger of the Cloakwood is not, in fact, any of these set pieces, but the random encounters inbetween area transitions. This mix, of spiders and wyverns, is particularly dangerous. Both types of enemies can poison you, and the wyverns can impede movement once they get close; worst of all, the area is littered with web traps, which can mean game over.

 

Sorophyx: RUN! Again.

 

Luckily, no traps this time. Or perhaps they're an SCS feature, too? If so, damn. Those guys are sadistic.

 

The final area of the Cloakwood mines features wyverns providing Bovine Flight Services. I bet Skyrim never had dragons that fly cows.

 

Sorophyx: Yeah, but that place is awesome for stealing. You can pick any lock even at Level 1! Also, if you put a bucket on people's heads they'll let you clean out the entire place.

Oner: How do they retain any semblage of order? It seems like the perfect conditions for anarchy.

Sorophyx: Oh, well, shopkeepers never have any money, so after a while nobody can buy the stuff you keep stealing. So the incentive to steal runs out pretty quickly.

Oner: Intriguing.

 

Anyway. We fight some wyverns, but they go down pretty quick and aren't worth mentioning. Our Level 5 party looks like it's passed the preliminary die-in-one-hit phase, and now sport an impressive range of spells, abilities and phat loot to get us past tricky situations. Next up is the Cloakwood Mines proper, and hopefully, we'll get a glimpse of Baldur's Gate, too!

[Enoch]

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?