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For what it's worth, Drizzt's items are pretty crap anyway. But, from what I've read, the Harpell encounter is rather buggy, so it's fine to disable it for that reason (as opposed to because it's a load of shit, which it very much is).
Re: Grandmastery, I personally find a whole extra attack at five dots a bit much. The only time I used a grandmastery edit, I changed it to an extra half attack instead (that was an uncapped solo FMC run; it was very silly). By and large, though, I find mods like that to be a bit too much like cheating, so I've avoided it ever since.
Delaying HLAs was probably a good idea, especially without the exp cap.
The grandmastery thing is a theoretical problem anyway. I'm not planning of going grandmaster for any weapon. I'm considering either getting a third point in some proficiencies (2HS, maybe short bow?), or just getting more proficiencies at 1-2 points (halberds? warhammers?).
I'm fairly sure (going by memory alone, mind you) that the third dot does very little of note. If you're powergaming, naturally you'll want dual-wielding and whatever your main weapon is, and the rest is just garnish. You're not doing that, of course, so... I don't think it really matters. There are a few nice halberds, but they're mostly overshadowed by other two-handed weapons in the end. Warhammers have little going for them. Flails, maybe, if you foresee needing it use FoA at some point in the future. Maces if you want to easymode the vampire lair with MoD (though with enough fighter levels, you can go without the proficiencies fairly well). Honestly, with unnerfed GM, two-handed would be worth taking that far, as four attacks per round is quite solid. But I think that's a little much.
Here are the proficiency tables from the BG1 and BG2 manauals:
BG1
Level of Proficiency Points Spent Bonus To Hit Bonus Damage Attacks per Round
Proficient 1 0 0 1
Specialized 2 +1 +2 3/2
Master 3 +3 +3 3/2
High Master 4 +3 +4 3/2
Grand Master 5 +3 +5 2
BG2
Level of Proficiency Points Spent Bonus to Hit Bonus Damage Attacks per Round
Proficient 1 0 0 1
Specialized 2 +1 +2 3/2
Master 3 +2 +2 3/2
High Master* 4 +2 +2 3/2
Grand Master 5 +2 +3 3/2
*Moving from Master level to High Master improves the speed factor of the specialized weapon.
I'm not sure if the True Grandmaster fix restores the bonuses for Master and High Master back to BG1 levels, but it looks like it doesn't based on the earlier description:
In IWD, BG and AD&D guidelines, going from four to five proficiency points in a weapon reduces THAC0 by one, adds one to damage rolls, and gives an extra attack per round to 5/2. In BG2, it only adds one to damage. Rather takes the "Grand" out of "Grandmastery" I think. Install this patch to restore Grandmastery to what it was.
Edit: stupid formatting, I actually aligned those columns, but the white space got collapsed. You can see the data in tabular form here, half-way down the page.
Even with the patch, it seems pointless to increase a proficiency to 3 or 4 points, if I'm not going for Grandmaster. Without the patch it is completely pointless to go beyond 2 points.
Thanks for the clarification.
MotherMachinae Sorry, there is no way to make You a birthday present and post an update on the 8th. This is a very busy weekend for me.
On an unrelated note, the second level of Watcher's Keep is not going smoothly at all. Not that it is too hard (it is quite hard; fucking Ice Golem), but it drags and drags and does not want to end. Also, inventory space.
The original BG2 had a retarded NPC spawn a few days after you've killed Drizzt and steal back his scimitars and mail., ie: remove them from your inventory. I believe you've disabled it.
Iirc he can be killed by sucking his brains out as a Mindflayer (that lvl9 shapeshift spell), after a few respawns he didn't come back. But ya it's pretty annoying and buggy.
Anyway, if you want to cheesekill some of the guys who are not supposed to be killed, Mindflayer is a pretty safe bet.
Was it even possible to become grandmaster in BG1 through regular means? Iirc even as a fighter you could only get 4 levels in any one proficiency because you had to spend on two proficiencies at the beginning of the game.
Was it even possible to become grandmaster in BG1 through regular means? Iirc even as a fighter you could only get 4 levels in any one proficiency because you had to spend on two proficiencies at the beginning of the game.
You're right, you needed to be level 9 if you wanted grandmaster proficiency. However, BG1 had an experience cap of 89,000, raised to 161,000 in TOSC, which is only enough for a level 7, respectively 8 fighter.
Was it even possible to become grandmaster in BG1 through regular means? Iirc even as a fighter you could only get 4 levels in any one proficiency because you had to spend on two proficiencies at the beginning of the game.
You're right, you needed to be level 9 if you wanted grandmaster proficiency. However, BG1 had an experience cap of 89,000, raised to 161,000 in TOSC, which is only enough for a level 7, respectively 8 fighter.
Thieves/bards, mages and druids could become level 10. They don't get proficiencies every three levels obv. It's useful to dualclass a fighter as they can become more proficient and have more hitpoints without any downsides (other than not being able to become specialist mages).
Was it even possible to become grandmaster in BG1 through regular means? Iirc even as a fighter you could only get 4 levels in any one proficiency because you had to spend on two proficiencies at the beginning of the game.
You're right, you needed to be level 9 if you wanted grandmaster proficiency. However, BG1 had an experience cap of 89,000, raised to 161,000 in TOSC, which is only enough for a level 7, respectively 8 fighter.
Experience tresholds for each level are bonkers for mages in AD&D - they gain levels slower at the start when they are super weak, then at level 5, when the trshold lower they start leveling faster than anyone save thieves. Then around level 13 once again they start trudging levels/ at pathetic pace.
Update #38: The main character has been killed. You must restart the game.
This does not bode well at all...
Relax, we have the wardstones, so it's cool.
Sure, I'm always keen on lifting lids from sarcofags.
Sarcophagi.
What I meant.
I would have been mildly excited, but you've already spoiled that there will be no lich fight.
Sorry.
It is totally possible to avoid combat in Baldur's Gate 2.
Only in the expansion.
It's nice to get 20K XP, but it's even nicer to have one inventory slot free.
Cheat notes on the sleeve. He must have attended a Polish school.
The final item we need is right here at the altar.
Our attempt to pick it up is interrupted by a couple of suddenly alive statues.
I. Fucking. Hate. Jump. Scares.
THE FUCK!?
Outnumbered and outweaponed, our hero falls.
Death Count: 188
Loading.
I did not like that at all. They just went ahead and killed me, like I was some two-bit accidental adventurer. No respect!
Let's try that again, this time wearing actual armor, not a bunch of sewn-together rags named after a dead guy.
This was a bit risky, but RNG was on our side.
Fuck yeah!
But the stoneskin is out of charges already.
I don't need it.
I mean, I don't need stoneskin because I have the next best thing. That's why. Mirror Image. There.
Huh. I actually thought we would win there.
Death Count: 189
Load.
These guys are mightily annoying.
Let's see if this helps.
Nope.
I think I should have cast stoneskin.
I concur.
Death Count: 190
Load game.
Ok, this is getting silly. Let's do it properly this time.
Since protection from normal weapons did not work, the logical conclusion would be that this one will.
Unfortunately, this spell has a really short duration.
Fuck this! I'm not dying again!
Seriously, I'd like to see some progress made here.
Death Count: 191
Load the game.
When was the last time I've died four times in a fight?
Firkraag, probably.
Who?
The red dragon.
Oh, yeah.
A friend in need is a friend indeed, but due to lack of those, I can always use meatshield summons.
Go forth and die in my name!
RAAAAAAAAGE!
HA! HA! HA! HA!
AH! AH! AH! AH!
FUUUUUUUUUURY!
Hold the line, you're doing great!
MOOOOOOOOOOMMMY!
You guys are useless.
Our summons die horribly, but they provide enough distraction for The Codex to defeat both statues. Great success.
This sword looks pretty nice now when it doesn't have my blood on it.
It's a pretty good weapon and it can be further upgraded, I think.
I've seen better.
Visual clues, how neat.
It wasn't that easy to catch this shot, it is only there for a fraction of a second before dialogue is initiated automatically.
Ritual details are spoilered below.
By completing the ritual we have opened the portal to Level 2.
But reaching it is another matter.
I know it is sort of our tradition to try to win every encounter unbuffed first, but I can assure you this won't fly.
Told you.
Alas, poor Codex, I knew him well.
Death Count: 192
Reload.
I want a strategy that will win us this fight without any more deaths on my part, and I want it now.
Fine, fine, just stop whining.
Lock and load montage below.
Get him, LEE!
You had no permission to die, useless elemental!
I missed the opportunity to catch a shot of the first statue being destroyed, but here's the second one.
And the third.
Also, the archer, previously offscreen.
Time to claim our spoils of war.
There are so many good unique bows in this game, that there is really no point in using any of the regular +X ones, especially that they don't provide damage bonuses.
There are not so many good unique halberds in the game, two or three, but how many do You need anyway?
Looks Japanese... I mean Kara-Turan.
And it's actually decent. But not my style at all.
One more thing to do before we leave.
My awesomness knows no bounds.
A few more levels and True Sight will become obsolete, which is good, because we can't really spare the spell slot.
Actually, I lied. There's another thing we will do before leaving. Indulge in some DEGENERATE GAMEPLAY.
Dropping the wardstones...
...makes the golem hostile.
Protection from magical weapons lasts long enough to net us victory.
But not long enough to save me from broken ribs.
You'll heal.
One more golem to kill.
Our ragtag bunch of misfits ready to take the big guy on.
Give magix!
Why no magix?
Now we're done here.
Take that, Sawyer!
Area completed!
But that's not all for today.
You might remember from the last update that we were supposed to meet with Teos in the Planar Sphere.
The plot thickens.
WTF is going on?
It's a trap!
No link to Akbar?
Too obvious by now.
Watch the birdie!
Sergeant Natural is pretty badass, it seems. Good thing he's confused too.
Fuck, that hurts. Shouldn't Tyrion by a dwarf or something?
Not the same guy, obviously?
I'm not dying to a bunch of random faggots!
Should have stayed in the kitchen!
They all suddenly look very hostile.
Confusion has worn off.
Obey The Codex!
What do you know, it worked.
Natural and I make a good team.
Why is all that blood outside of my body...?
Nec Hercules contra plures.
Death Count: 193
Reloading.
Fuck those losers.
This time Seargant Natula was not confused, so we decide to try to sway him to our side.
And again, it works.
Having his help from the start means a lot.
Since he is friendly, we get all the XP from his kills.
And he's a great meatshield.
Win-win, basically.
The Shining!
This is just in case their confusion ends prematurely.
That is, before they die.
Unfortunately, Horror did not do much and confusion is indeed wearing off, so our hero protects himself with stoneskin.
Seems they are not immune to fear after all.
Enough of everybody running around like headless chickens, time to calm the situation down a bit.
We used lightning bolt here for some reason...
...And of course it backfired painfully. The Codex got badly hurt and Seargant Natula became hostile. Luckily, it did not end in death #194.
Luckily for you. I would have gone and ripped your heart out through your nostrils.
Our good seargant is still hostile to his remaining friend, which helps dispose of the latter. The Codex scores the killing blow, so no XP is lost.
Time to take care of you too. Freeze!
Seems like he was pretty beaten up already. Also, Teos reappears. Dialogue below.
tl;dr: Use the rune to imprison a bad guy and return.
The more rewarding (XP-wise) thing here is to just kill Teos (one backstab is enough), but there's a fight waiting on the proper path of resolving this quest and The Codex does not turn away from a fight.
Damn right.
Moving to city gates.
That's a nice name for an inn.
Using the rune makes the lord and his guards go hostile.
And also triggers this short exchange.
Presto! For my next trick, I am going to disappear these four guards too!
Not sure what spell we tried to cast here. Fireball, maybe?
Take a sniff of this, boys.
Although, as always when you tell me to cast this spell on myself, I question your judgment.
And when You agree, I question Your sanity.
Suddenly, all this seems like a really bad idea...
Run away!
Check this out, the other archer is still here.
Kinda busy.
Fuck-yeah!
Let's see if I can aim this right...
My stomach... There's a steel blade in it... Hurts.
The second man-at-arms dies of cloud kill. Just the archer left now.
I got this.
Just look how he dies helpless and scared.
This isn't right.
I can't believe this actually happened.
Death Count: 194
The load.
Well, that sucked.
Let's do it a little smarter this time.
The minor globe should save us from any unwarranted webbing.
First, we imprison lord whatshisname.
Second, we fall back a bit and introduce the webbed guards to some incineration.
Also, cloudkill.
One down.
Let's see if this works and saves me some time.
It didn't.
Casting spells just for the sake of some variety.
We're half way there.
Almost done...
Actually, we are done. The last archer died of severe burns and suffocation.
Good.
That's all, basically. Only the talky bits left. In case You dig that, feel free to click the spoiler tag.
Talking to a random guy. I don't remember if this is a quest at all.
Hopefully not.
tl;dr: Morul will make free potions for us, which seems like a rather sucky reward for all the effort we've put into this. But hey, it's better than nothing.
He will also have to regularly clean up in here, because I am obviously much too busy for that. And look after everything when I'm away. And make me pancakes.
Mmm, pancakes.
---
Next time: We will run out of inventory space. Again.
Next quest selection details:
We will roll after the next update. So far it looks like this, unless I missed something:
1. Watcher's Keep, level 3 [Azira]
2. Illithids in Athkatla [Darth Roxor]
3. Illithids in Athkatla [MotherMachinae]
4. Korgan's Quest and General Screwing Around the Gravayrd [Aeschylus]
5. Shadow Thieves' Guild [ALchymist]
6. Shadow Thieves' Guild [Erebus]
7. Korgan's Quest and General Screwing Around the Gravayrd [Rake]
8. Korgan's Quest and General Screwing Around the Gravayrd [t]
9. Korgan's Quest and General Screwing Around the Gravayrd [Abelian]
10. Korgan's Quest and General Screwing Around the Gravayrd [Insane Psychic]
11. Korgan's Quest and General Screwing Around the Gravayrd [T(D?)-Bag]
12. Watcher's Keep, level 3 [Desmodus Rotundus]
13. Illithids in Athkatla [Storyfag]
14. Watcher's Keep, level 3 [Bilgefar]
15. Illithids in Athkatla [Sodafish]
I considered linking to it, but I'm not a much of a Bon Jovi fan.
BTW, this LP will take a little break now, because I want to make a short LP of Wasteland 2 early beta (already in the making). Not sure how much time that will take, but The Codex' adventures will resume right after.
There should be a few familiar faces in the W2 beta LP, btw.
I don't think it's really a quest. You can meet the couple in question upstairs and tell them they should defy their families and stay together. It's then implied that their staying together may have some unfortunate consequences, but I don't think I ever found out why. Possibly they're some sort of Bonnie and Clyde couple.
I played the unmodded version, and there was a minor side-plot contained to the Crooked Crane.
As Erebus and Azira said, there's a couple in the inn that seem to be like Romeo and Juliet, but they're actually closer to Bonnie and Clyde.
The player can either tell them to break up or to ignore what the world says and continue their relationship and continue their activities. If you do the latter, the next time you visits the gate area there will be an announcer who says that the couple resumed their activities, which were criminal in nature and they dedicate their new crime spree to CHARNAME who encouraged their relationship. A funny example of overturning the player's expectations.
There's also drunk in the inn, who will hint that the couple are up to mischief if you ask him before advising the couple.
Bros, my company is currently switching its corporate firewalls. Since I'm mostly accessing The Codex from work (and writing this LP while slacking off), let's all pray I will be able to post from tomorrow onwards, or the updates will become very, very sparse, as my free time at home is mostly absorbed by a one-year-old minor chaos demon.
