Completed Let's solo Baldur's Gate on Insane (feat. The Codex)

[MicoSelva]

Update #30: Getting Gangbanged a Lot

Update #30

Last time on Baldur's Gate IS, we finished level one of Candlekeep catacombs, making The Codex more awesome in the process.

Word.

It's time to go to the second level.

Although technically, it's not another level, as it is on the same depth as this one, only being another part...

Shut up, nobody cares.

Shit. I knew taking that cow cure will bite me in the ass at some point.

And hell, did it bite.

Death count: 135

Loading.

That was a gangbanger, right? Fucking great start we have here.

We'll try to excercise some caution this time.

Try to one-shot me now, fuckwad!

Hey, where are you going? We're not finished here yet!

Good job, bow!

I'm not willing to rest just yet (yeah, I know - stupid), so we're going to explore this area cloaked hidden.

Who's that?

The dwarf giving the quest to kill the rats, I think.

Yup, definitely.

Yeeeeehaw! Decapitation!

With some imagination stretching... maybe.

You can keep your comfort to yourself, priest. I remember it no being very... comfortable.

BURN!

Try to feed someone candy now, bitch!

I don't get it. Does that mean they were all replaced by gangbangers even during the tutorial? If so, why didn't they kill me back then?

Or maybe they somehow absorb memories of people they replace.

Whatever. Die, abomination!

Some abomination died, but not the one we wanted to.

Death count: 136

Load game.

How about some healing? So I wouldn't die of every papercut?

That's actually a good idea.

Resting means new Mirror Image available.

Despite that, The Codex still gets hurt.

I've noticed that my newly acquired 19 STR is less of a gamebreaker than I expected.

Well, you already were rather strong before, so the difference is not all that great.

Major butthurt detected.

Hell yeah, sword!

Geez, that one green bottle was the desire of many people in the keep, it seems. If I knew that, I would've bought them a few at the temple.

No, you wouldn't.

True.

Mwahahahaha! Slaughter!

It's been w hile since you had an opportunity for that.

Too long.

Probably should have used Mirror Image before the fight. Oh, well.

I think I might have skipped You, actually. But if you want to fight, bring it on!

He brought it on.

Death count: 137

Loading.

Mirror Image, anyone?

Ok, ok.

Mwahahahaha! Slaughter!

Two in a row. Nice.

We find a trapped chest.

Must have awesome loot inside.

Not really.

There's a fuckload of skeletons in the center of the large room here. Sometimes they wander to the sides.

They're of course not a problem.

A badly placed FireBall does not reach the skeleton hidden behind a pillar. Nice touch by devs there. We kill the skeleton by other means (no screenshot, sorry).

There are three dopplegangers here (two regular, one greater), disguised as Elminster, Gorion and Tethtoril.

They're supposed to provide a mind-screwing dialogue in which they try to convince our hero that he has gone mad and actually killed real people instead of duplicates...

Mad? Me? Preposterous!

...but all is ruined by Bioware Humor (TM), breaking the fourth wall.

Oh, fuck! Fuckfuckfuck!

So yeah, we lost.

Death count: 138

Loading.

I'm predicting a lot of death at this spot.

During next attempt we try to summon some monsters to help us.

Good idea!

Shit, they're still after me!

It doesn't actually go that bad until the appearance of greater doppleganger, who enters the scene like a giant tornado of rape and death.

Say hello to the death count from me.

The Codex says hello.

Death count: 139

Loading.

How about we summon monsters before the fight?

I was also thinking that. Really.

Monster Summoning I gives us gnolls, war dogs and hobgoblins. MS II provides ogres, half-ogres and ogrillons. I can't wait to starting using MS III.

How does all this summoning write into "soloing" the game?

You complaining?

Never said anything.

Dispelling greater doppleganger's (I'll refer to it as GD from now on) Mirror Image.

Well, my guys didn't last long and they haven't killed anyone.

Yeah, this tactic needs some adjustment.

See you all after reload.

Death count: 140

Reload.

So, what do you suggest?

Let's stay out of their sight and cast spells blind.

Good enough for me.

We send the meatshields forward.

The screams of agony and sprays of blood suggest that our summons get raped without mercy. We send in Dispel Magic.

And Web.

Not to mention FireBall.

Hell yes!

One doppleganger is down!

Fiery death FTW!

Another one is tangled in the Web.

Boom! Headshot!

We still have GD to kill. He has cast another Mirror Image too.

Fuckshit.

We try to burn out the images with Magic Missile.

Obviously, it does not work.

Death count: 141

Loading.

I'm getting gangbanged a lot today. I don't like it.

I saved the game after our summons died (could've been a mistake), so we are without help from now on.

We start with Web.

One doppleganger was not affected and immediately rushes after our hero. We employ Wand of Lightning to help us deal with it.

Lightnig Bolt and a couple of sword swings take care of it, but our spell seems to have bounced of the wall.

HOLY SHIT ITZ COMING BACK!

Magic Resistance saves the day for us.

FireBalling the doppleganger area.

They both survived and are now seriously pissed. We turn to Wand of Lightning for help again.

And again.

I don't think it's doing enough damage.

We'll have to think of something else.

Death count: 142

Loading game.

This is getting silly.

Once more unto the breach.

I wish Web + FireBall combo worked as good as it does in Knights of The Chalice.

We manage to hide in shadows before dopplegangers arrive with their furious retaliation strike.

Whatcha gonna do now, reptillian fucktard?

Wand of Lightning finishes off the first one.

Finally some good news!

The second one is killed by bow & sword combo.

My most reliable friends ever!

Approaching GD with caution.

Side note: Everyone should approach GD with caution every time.

I have an idea that maybe some spell will affect it and provide us victory. Confusion doesn't work.

Yeah...

Death count: 143

Loading.

How good are this guy's saving throws, anyway?

Very good.

We'll settle for lightningbolting it repeatedly, and hope it works.

And we start The Death Race 2000, slaloming between skeletons and trying to outrun the deadly Greater Doppleganger, while shooting back.

To be honest, this doesn't look very good.

With this damage and this gangbanger's HP, it's going to take forever!

Well, it didn't take very long after all.

Death count: 144

Loading.

That was a stupid plan.

Hang on, we're going to try it again.

Confusion still sucks ass against this guy.

Trying to shoot him ends with a critical miss.

I sense death coming.

I remember Wands of Paralyzation working against these guys in Durlag's Tower. We start racing again (backwards this time), and try to stun him every round. He saves the first time.

And the second.

Shit!

The third, too.

This is fucking annoying!

Fourth also.

Fith...

You've got to be fucking kidding me!

There's no sixth try.

Death count: 145

Load game.

I'm thinking this guy has some boosted stats.

No idea. Maybe.

Fucking cheating game.

Trying another approach. Maybe backstab wil work?

I somehow doubt any tactics requiring coming close to this guy will work.

Indeed.

Death count: 146

Loading.

I got killed? Surprising.

So... Maybe magic arrows will deal more damage per second than Wand of Lightning?

I don't see much difference.

Lightning strikes. It was poorly placed, but Magic Resistance saves The Codex' ass.

And another one.

Side note: dopplegangers (both types) seem to have some kind of fast-hitting low-damage attack. It does single digit damage, but has a very high to-hit chance.

I have a revelation and suddenly remember having these in the backpack.

Boots of Speed were of little use earlier, when GD was also accelerated. But now, when it moves at a standard rate, we manage to outrun it.

Well, that was one fucking tedious fight.

Cleaning up some lost skeletons.

If You thought that was the end of dopplegangers here, you were wrong.

I don't think I'm able to fight even a single one in my current state.

True, we're out of resources here - the most vital of them being HP.

Death count: 147

Loading.

How about a rest?

Why not.

Five more minutes... Oh shit!

Desperate times call for desperate measures. But desperate does not equal effective, unfortunately.

Death count: 148

Loading.

I don't want to try to rest anymore.

Since the only enemies left here are dopplegangers, who we're bored with, and You, noble audience without doubt, too - we're going to sneak past the rest.

Winthrop here is not immediately hostile.

But the other three are.

Farewell, suckers!

Area completed!

Moving on to the next one.

Maybe I'll finally be able to rest here?

Nope.

Good thing there's that "resting while hidden" exploit, or I would be fucked now.

Yeah.

Death count: 149

Loading.

That hidden state doesn't last long after waking up, does it?

Nope.

Another attempt, another spider.

Backstabbing for maximum damage (25 from 22 before the STR upgrade).

Please, let me hit it again before it bites me...

Yes! Sword, you're awesome!

Our rest is interrupted by a spider again.

Uh... I don't see any spiders.

Let's try again then.

This time I see it.

We move to a side corridoor, discovering the previously spawned spider in the process.

My divine dream! Finally! Does that mean I managed to rest this time?

No, it doesn't.

Fuck! But hey, Draw Upon Holy Might sounds awesome.

And awesome it is.

We're lucky and manage to kill phase spider without dying.

I want to try out my new power now!

As You wish.

Temporary +2 bonus to STR/DEX and CON is not too shabby and translates to: +1 to hit (both melee and missile), +2 melee damage, +1 AC (well, -1, You know the drill) and +6 HP.

We are finally able to rest.

Fuck yes. It was getting ridiculous.

There's a group of Sarevok's assassins waiting for us here. They all have very short names - developers must have been running thin on creativity at this point.

Let's not fight them all at once.

Of course we shall.

Since we've got Spider's Bane, Web has been one of our favourite spells.

Mirror Image for added caution.

And it's time to check them for fireproofness.

It's so awesome to be a mage.

FireBall should be doing 6d6 damage at The Codex' level, so an average of 21. Halved after a save, it should be about 10-11. I guess our damage rolls suck.

One of them gets close and we try casting Hold Person on him, but he shadowdoors himself out of sight.

Fuck.

More appear, so we send in some Confusion. The Codex gets hit by Prat's Lightning Bolt for 20.

Shit!

Tam - the closest one to us, is affected.

Nice!

Don't get overjoyed just yet, he might still attack You.

He seems to be happy standing still, but we cast Blindness on him, just to be sure. It even works.

Wow, this guy's saving throws really suck.

The Codex resists Confusion but is hit by Prat for another 20 damage (not sure what it was specifically). Our own damage output of 5 is far from impressive in comparison.

This Prat guy is seriously getting on my nerves!

Refreshing Mirror Image. The Codex is the target of a fuckload of combat spell.

Chipping away Sakul's health at chunks of 5 points finally causes him to die.

This combat is really dragging.

Not any more, it's not.

Death count: 150

Loading.

We must have made some grave tactical mistake.

"Grave" indeed. Anyway, 150th death. Congratulations. Is there something You'd like to say to the audience?

Nothing that wouldn't make them never return.

Let's try that again. This time FireBall damage is more statistically plausible (except Tam didn't make his save...).

Fun fact: webbed enemies have issues with fighting back. We manage to easily kill off Bor and Sakul, while still keeping our health and images intact.

This is going suspiciously too well.

At add some balance to our luck, Confusion doesn't work this time. But since Tam got webbed anyway, it doesn't matter.

Boom! Headshot!

He dies soon.

Web wears off, but It's only The Codex vs Prat now. Fast-shooting, accurate archer vs unarmored mage. Which is better and why?

Boom! Headshot! Boom! Headshot!

Prat only manages to hit The Codex once (but for some insane damage), while being spiked with arrows, one after another. Lightning Bolt and Aganna zar's Scorcher are resisted with help from Cloak of Balduran. Two critical hits in a row seal our victory.

That magic resistance thing is much better when I have and they don't.

Prat manages to deal some post mortem damage to our hero. Fortunately, not enough to kill him.

Looting.

What a lame collection of spells. No wonder they were so easily killed.

This is the best item we find.

How come it does "piercing" damage when thrown?

I think every missile weapon counts as piercing - arrows, bolts, bullets, throwing axes, giant boulders...

It doesn't make any fucking sense.

Well, this is somewhat better.

Moving on. Hide In Shadows gives us the comfort of not having to fight every spider encountered, while Spider's Bane ensures we don't caught in accidentally triggered Web traps.

And there a lot of both here.

I would like to point out that I very much appreciate the opportunity to skip these spiders.

Not even mentioning these basilisks.

Defeating them is a matter of resting and using Protection From Petrification, but yeah - there's really no point.

And one more spider.

Area completed!

There some guy waiting near the area exit.

Stupidity is the only option while talking to him. You may pretend to be Prat at first, but eventually, You are forced to choose a dialogue option that will make him suspicious and escape. So this is all just thinly veiled exposition.

Lame.

We're back to the surface!

Immediately, Chapter Seven is triggered.

Nice! When do I get my new awesome divine powah?

Next update at the earliest.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next time: We expose Sarevok's malevolent plot!

Uh, yeah. What exactly is his plot? I haven't really been following very attentively. You must explain it to me at some time.

 

[taplonaplo]

Can you make a shot of the Codex usual spellbook? I'm kinda curious what are your spell choices.

 

[marooned]

Awesome, dude. I wasn't expecting an update so soon. Your LP is highly and incredibly entertaining for a Baldur's Gate game so keep it up. I hope your "cooling down" with BG doesn't take too long before the start of BGII. That can be epic and I eagerly awaits.

 

[Erebus]

Congratulations to our brave hero for his 150th death ! Since things aren't going to get any easier for him from now on, I guess he might reach the 200th by the end of the game.

 

[MicoSelva]

Can you make a shot of the Codex usual spellbook? I'm kinda curious what are your spell choices.

It will be easier to just list them:
level 1: 2x Identify, Blindess, 3x Magic Missile, Sleep, Charm
level 2: 2x Mirror Image, Web
level 3: depends, but I rarely bother with spells outside of this list: Lightning Bolt, FireBall, Hold Person, Haste, Dispel Magic, Slow, Flame Arrow (last two were never used actually, but had them prepared a few times). Also Skull Trap, but it became became obsolete when we got FireBall (ST has shorter range).

This is the usual all-purpose spellbook that I use 90% of the time. If You have any spell hints, I will take them into consideration, but I won't be able to use them in BG1 (finished the game today).

I hope your "cooling down" with BG doesn't take too long before the start of BGII.

I need to play at least one non-IE game before returning with BG2. I will probably choose something not very long, like Alpha Protocol. Even if I don't finish it, the cooldown will last no longer than a month (counting from today). Also to give oldmanpaco time to go ahead with his LP a little, so they don't overlap. In the meantime, we still have three updates incoming, and after that I will put up a poll, for the noble audience decide how You'd like BG2 to be played.

Congratulations to our brave hero for his 150th death ! Since things aren't going to get any easier for him from now on, I guess he might reach the 200th by the end of the game.

 

[Crooked Bee]

 

[ironyuri]

I need another update if I'm going to make it through this weekend in one piece, bro.

:dizzy:

 

[MicoSelva]

Rest in peace then.

 

[taplonaplo]

Can haz update anytime soon?

 

[bandaid]

I really need my fix. Please have mercy.

 

[MicoSelva]

I'm already on it. Should appear tomorrow. Friday at the latest.

 

[Malakal]

I think you should drop most of the direct damage spells for debuffs and buffs considering the pathetic damage they deal anyway...

 

[MicoSelva]

Update #31: The One With The Plot

Update #31

After the dramatic events in Candlekeep, we're back to the city of Baldur's Gate.

Ah, yes, the city. Nothing ever changes here.

Except that Flaming Fist wants to arrest You.

As I said: nothing ever changes. And, as always, I'm innocent.

Innocent.

Well, ok, no. But they should think so!

Actually a few things have changed here. Scar has been killed, as well as Entar Silvershield. Sarevok is to be crowned a grand duke to replace the latter, while his henchman Angelo has taken command of Flaming Fist, since Duke Eltan is very sick, being poisoned by his imposter doctor (really a doppelganger).

Wow, that's... actually mildly interesting.

Why exactly do I mention this Scar guy here. Have I even met him?

Very briefly.

Getting arrested by the Flaming Fist and escaping their prison with the help of a dwarven (gnomish?) childkiller is one of the new plot related quests here (saving Eltan is another). We're not doing that.

Instead, we outrun the enforcers using the Boots of Speed...

Bye, suckers!

...into in the nearest inn...

...where we hide in shadows...

...and leave.

These dumbassess wouldn't be able to arrest a flower pot.

Selling stuff we found and buying some essential equipment - before we move on with the plot, we have two places to revisit.

This is new. What are you talking about?

You see, some of our readers were questioning Your masculinity after we retreated from Degrodel's house. We are going to prove them wrong.

Oh, I have a better idea. Give me their names.

Uh... no. Better not. We'll just kill Degrodel.

But first - Maulers of Undermountain.

Talking to Gorpel Hind triggers the encounter with Maulers. We chose the dialogue option visble in the screenshot, which means that Gorpel's party will should help us in the upcoming fight.

A toast to me! I already like these guys!

Lol, "Gretek". That's a funny name.

Screw you and your Klingon attitude, fucktard!

(Explanation for people who follow the link: I couldn't find a shorter clip with the blood wine scene. I don't expect anyone to watch whole DS9 episode, unless You really want to.)

Situation immediately looks bad. There are six enemies. Two of them are already mirrorimaged (as is our hero) and their strongest warrior (Gretek) is very close to The Codex, who already got hurt. Only Gorpel Hind enters direct combat on our side. The other three only shoot from afar.

Reasonable people.

Web is essential here. Without it, we'd have no chance at all. In the meantime, enemies summon help, cast spells, shoot at and strike The Codex.

I'd really like to know whose idea this was.

Web changes the picture completely. Also, I make a misclick and cast Sleep instead of Charm (yeah...).

How retarted is that? Let me tell you: very retarded.

Also, notice the halfling guy is already dead - killed by the Merry Fools. One down, five to go.

Sleep isn't completely usless here, as it puts down the summoned tasloi. One of the enemy mages (Pargus), casts Lightning Bolt at our hero, while a cleric (Wilf) casts Glyph of Warding. Magic resistance saves The Codex, but others don't have that much luck. Gretek, Gorpel Hind and one tasloi die.

What a bunch of wimps.

Four to go.

Enemy cleric (Wilf) summons skeletons, but most of them get instantly webbed. We cast Charm Person on another mage (Arlin).

Yo, dawg. You look like a real BRO. How about a beer?

For some strange reason, it works. We get access to one Horror and five Magic Missiles.

Oh yeah, I rock.

Webbed Caturak seems rather unswordproof. We use it against him, with extreme prejudice. Three to go.

This is going ridiculously well so far.

Our new helper gets webbed and summoned monsters start clawing his health away.

Scratch my last sentence.

Nothing better for some reliable damage than a Magic Missile, especially against low HP mages.
Arlin makes save next round and I instruct him to cast Horror.

Fuck no! I am going to die! Someone, help!

Enemies have a similar idea - The Codex gets horrored. It would look really bad at this point, but...

...our own Horror brings some havoc into the mix too. Arlin made his save and is available (although very low on HP). I tell him to magic-missile Pargus.

HEEEEEEEEELP!

Pargus dies. His summons disappear with him. Two to go.

WAAAAAAAAAH!

Brave Arlin dies, killed by Wilf's skeletons. One to go. The guy mentioned in the screenshot, Farluck, is one of Gorpel Hind's archers.

They're killing me!

Wait. I'm actually winning, am I not? Hell yeah!

Horror wears off while our hero is surrounded by skeletons - which is actually a good thing.

Having a skeleton buffer between us and Wilf, we are able to hit him while being outside of his weapon's range.

Why does he receive so little damage? Some kind of damage reduction?

Maybe some clerical spell.

He finally croaks. His skeletons don't get unsummoned. We'll have to kill them by hand.

Standard tedious stuff.

They are no real threat.

Most of these guys don't drop anything good. A robe, a scroll.

Standard +1 longsword, Bracers of Armor AC 7.

Some magic arrows.

And here's the main prize.

Battle Axe +2, best HTH weapon in the game for Kagain and those poor bastards, who picked axes as the weapon of choice for their main char.

I'll never use it, and don't need money from selling it. Why were we fighting here again?

To prove Your manliness.

Well, is it proven?

Since You've been running around and screaming like a little girl for half the time, I'd say: no.

He wouldn't die if he wasn't such a stupid fuck. You're better off with finding a new leader.

Time to take care of Degrodel. We'll be fightning him without resting after the previous combat = no Web and only one Mirror Image.

I will shamelessly copy the tactics suggested by one of our readers. A combo of Potion of Absorption and Wand of Lightining. Having said that, I somehow forgot to drink the potion (and cast Mirror Image) before talking to Degrodel.

What.

Look on the bright side: at least You resisted Horror this time.

You are so fucking dead.

Two Lightning Bolts are enough to slay Degrodel, but The Codex gets his share of damage too - both from one of the Doom Guards and the mage.

Melf's Acid Arrow is one of those annoying spells that damage You over time, even if the original caster is already dead.

Help?

Besides bringing the Wand of Lightning, we also have 2x Lightning Bolt prepared in the spellbook.

Room's size and concentration of enemies in one place both are factors increasing LB's effectiveness.

Although I expected more increase than that...

Ok, one down!

One down. That would be fucking great if I wasn't almost almost down too.

I'm sure it will be better next time.

Death count: 151

Loading.

So, who exactly suggested this plan? Was it the same fucking brilliant person who thought of coming back here in the first place?

Calm down, we can make it.

This time we approach Degrodel prepared.

And the fight starts again. Similarly to the previous attempt - The Codex gets hit by a Doom Guard.

For some reason I decide to shoot Doom Guards first, instead of Degrodel. It's not a good idea - every Doom Guard will be immediately replaced by some other walking horror, and killing the mage would've decreased the number of direct damage dealers by one.

Next Lightning Bolt is correctly targeted. Also, Mirror Image saves us from another Melf's Acid Arrow.

This is still the same Lightning Bolt as in the previous screenshot. Some epic wall-bouncing here.

Wow, it actually is effective.

Yes. I think we might be using this tactic in BG2.

Casting another one.

More bouncing. Helmed Horror kicks the bucket.

Yes!

As does the Doom Guard (still the same spell!).

Yeah! Looks like we might actually pull this off!

Not so fast. We still have the Invisible Stalker to deal with. We start by some healing, so The Codex doesn't get one-shot killed.

Luckily, the stalker misses.

You're going down now!

We give him a taste of Lightning Bolt.

But it's cast at a bad angle - no epic bouncing and only 15 damage in total.

Let's try it again!

Yes. Maybe next time.

Death count: 152

Loading.

The damage dealt by these guys is insane.

Well, this is Insane difficulty level after all.

Back into the action.

Some bouncing happens. It's only mildly epic, but does its job. Degrodel loses a spell.

I decide to save wand for later (as it can't be interrupted). Casting the second spellbook Lightning Bolt.

I recently got an advice to get rid of direct damage spells in favour of buffs and debuffs, as the DDs don't do enough damage. I generally agree, but, as we can see, it depends.
Also: another spell failed for Degrodel.

YES! Eat lightning, shitfucker!

Lightning Bolt is back, wreaking havoc and killing one of Doom Guards.

Helmed Horror dies soon after.

One more Lightning Bolt is required for the other Doom Guard.

Let's not fuck this up now!

Indeed.

Argh! My bronchus! You'll pay for that!

This time the initial attack by the stalker is successful. Luckily, The Codex wasn't injured before.

After a little healing, we start lightningbolting the not-so-invisible-now-stalker.

It works like a charm.

Actually, it worked much better than charm.

Right. Anyway, one Lightning Bolt was enough.

Degrodel drops one heal lot of scrolls of Stone To Flesh.

What, does he have a pet basilisk that stones his servants when they feed it?

No, it's a quest thing. Besides, we met all his servants. They didn't seem to be the getting stoned bunch.

Except stalkers. Damned Russians.

Ukrainians.

Wow. You choose this scene from that movie to show.

Alright, here's a better one.

There's also a Splint Mail +1 in the cupboard. The funny thing is Degrodel summons Flaming Fist when You try to steal it, if he's alive. Calling the guards when someone tries to kill him doesn't seem to come to his mind.

No more resting at Helm & Cloak. The innkeeper croaked during the fight with maulers.

What a nuisance.

Not a problem, since we have to pass through another inn the way to our destination.

Which is?

Undercellar.

And why exactly are we going there?

Because it's the shortest plot route to the endgame.

Meta knowledge FTW.

Plot-wise, we are here to get both the incriminating evidence against Sarevok and an invitiation to his coronation. They are in possession of two assassins who are spending their leisure time here.

That sounds like my kind of people.

You may be disappointed.

Mirror Image is an absolute must here.

Meet Slythe and Krystin. You can tell they are EXTREME beacuse of they both have 'Y' in their names.

I don't know about extreme, but they sure are talkative.

What is this shit? Do they think they're some kind of Pumpkin and Honey-Bunny?

More like Natural Born Killers wannabes, I think.

Geez, enough already!

They are both pre-buffed. Slythe got Blur, Haste and probably some kind of STR increase, while Krystin is invisible, mirror-imaged and has Minor Globe of Invulnerability cast (so, she's immune to spells up to level 3 = all spells known by The Codex).

Fucking great.

We start with Web, hoping to paralyze Slythe, since - as You'll no doubt see - The Codex cannot dream of fighting him one-on-one.

It doesn't work very well. We still try the melee combat, and even have some success (mainly thanks to Mirror Image). But two hits from Slythe is all that out hero can survive. Escape is out of the question, even with the use of Boots of Speed.

I guess I'm done here.

To be honest, I expected that. I just hope we won't spend the rest of the day here.

Death count: 153

Loading.

Some other plan, maybe?

I'll try to think of something.

Web is a success this time, but instead of using the gained time to mercilessly pound on Slythe, I decide to cast FireBall in hopes of getting Krystin too.

Some random nobleman is killed. This counts as "doing something really stupid", so the LP rules allow me to reload the game and I do just that.

Another try, and another FireBall - this time it shouldn't hit any civilians.

It doesn't hit anyone, for that matter, except maybe some insiginificant damage to Slythe, who doesn't waste the gained time and deals significant damage to our hero.

FUCK! I need that liver!

Mirror Image is the last resort of survival here.

And it doesn't work.

Death count: 154

Reloading.

I don't see myself killing that Slythe guy without a shitload of buffs.

You may be right, but let's not retreat to the stash just yet.

Correction: Krystin is not shielded from spells at the start - she may cast the globe in the course of combat.

A new record damage by Slythe - I hope 32 is his maximum. Also: FireBall.

Since we are outnumbered, outspelled and outbladed, I decide to run for it. Mirror Image might just make that successful, except that Krystin decides to dispel it.

Fuuuuuuuck!

This may look like I don't know what I'm doing here, and that's probably true. But bear with me just a little longer.

Death count: 155

Loading.

NOW, can we retreat and get some more buffs?

One more try.

Slythe quickly destroys our Mirror Images (well, better than if he was to hit The Codex), and we're forced to renew it.

Do you actually have any plan, or are you just counting on some dumb luck?

Web allows us to wound Slythe slightly (sorry for the bad pun), while staying unwounded ourselves.

Now, there's a large time gap between this and next screenshot, so I'll try to explain what happened. At that moment, I decided to split our two killer lovebirds and made a run for it. Slythe followed, but I managed to make a turn behind a wall and then hide in shadows.

Wow, that was some serious dumb luck there.

Going back to the center of Undercellar, we meet Krystin following her lover. We don't want that.

We stop in a spot to see her, but outside of Slythe's sight range.

Readying magic arrows.

She doesn't fuck around and counters with Cloud Kill. That's actually a good thing.

It is?

We go back some more, luring here into her own spell AoE, while staying outside ourselves. Now, Krystin is fucked as she won't be able to cast any spells - getting wounded both by our arrows and her Cloud Kill, which is level 5 and therefore ignores Minor Globe of Pretection.

It doesn't last long after that.

I would shout "die fucking bitchwhore", but I'm not really angry with her. She didn't actually kill me before, it was all Slythe's doing.

Well, she did dispel Your Mirror Image once.

DIE FUCKING BITCHWHORE!

Oh, and look at all this stuff. Is it Christmas already?

This joke would've worked better if You really posted this update during Christmas, as planned.

True.

This would be an unremarkable dagger, if not for its 1d6 damage (instead of standard 1d4). So, it's basically a +2 short sword, except using dagger proficiency and slightly faster.

I'm still keeping my dagger of venom.

Yes. Not that we'll be doing any more backstabbing in this game...

One of the scrolls dropped by Krystin was meatshield buffer Monster Summonning. This should change relations between The Codex and Slythe.

I just hope these monsters last long enough.

Yeah, me too. And they might not. Wait, I have an idea.

Slythe got webbed on occasion, which means he's not (very) spellproof. Let's see what he says to Hold Person.

HA!

I guess we won.

Here, let me show You how much I appreciated all the times before when You've stabbed me. Not very pleasant, is it?

He's already dead, I think.

I wish I could kill him more than once!

Slythe drops both plot scrolls and one good magic item.

Not sure why it's called "of backstabbing" even if it's just a regular +3 short sword. Anyway, it is another fine addition for every party's armoury for the last one hour of the game...

A very open letter from Sarevok.

Conveneniently containing all information needed to unveil his plot.

And the invitation to the palace.

I like it how the developers tried to make it idiot-proof with the "don't throw this out!" notes.

Before we move on, we get some crucial supplies. Like a Wand of Monster Summoning.

I approve of this. I was just thinking we should be using this spell all the time.

I was skipping it on purpose, as it would make the LP dull and uneventful - not to mention reducing death count by two thirds at least. But not anymore. Prepare for some epic monster spamming in the near future.

And Arrows of Piercing.

We also bought other things (for different tactical approaches), but ended up not using them, so I'll skip the screenshots.

Resting. Never too much of this, if You're waiting for Your new divine power to appear.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that.

Me too, so all is good.

Final setup before the coronation ceremony.

But we have one thing to do before we head to the palace.

We do?

Now, this is what I call: area completed!

What. We have a spell that does that?

We only got it recently.

I hope you're not lying. For your sake.

So, I can enter the coronation armed to the teeth and carrying a fuckload of magic wands? Your security sucks, you do know that?

Mirror Image is a viable precaution.

Dialogue is automatically initiated when You enter duke Belt's sight range. For all You plot whores out there, here it is, completely uncut:

Immediately after last words are spoken, all the nobles turn into their true form - Greater Doppelgangers.

Right. I have two questions.

Yes?

First: if they are all Sarevok's gangbangers, why were they arguing with each other just a minute ago?

Uh... Realism?

Second: HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DEFEAT SIX GREATER DOPED GANGBANGERS!?

That is a good question...

...for which I have no immediate answer.

Death count: 156

Load game.

Time to employ more precautions, or rather pre-castings.

Fun fact: palace guards don't care if someone casts combat spells in the palace, during coronation ceremony.

Greater doppelgangers nortmally have high (= low) saving throws, but while in nobleman form, they suck at everything. As You see, all got webbed. Combat doesn't start until one of them makes a save in the following rounds. That gives us time for more pre-castings.

Here's the first one - immediately changes into his predatory form and charges against The Codex, Belt and Liia.

I try to surround it with monsters, so it doesn't have access to the targets.

Whoa, what's going on?

The bad thing is our summoned monsters suck at resisting Web. Meanwhile, another doppelganger wakes up.

Belt is the more badass of the two dukes. He even manages to kill one doppelganger on his own.

He only made the killing blow. Pure luck. That could've been anyone.

Another doppelganger wakes up.

We now have two of them very close, while Belt is webbed and Liia is useless. I cast Slow to even the odds a bit.

Yet another one joins the party. This is starting to look bad.

How can you tell what's going here? I can't see anything in this crowd!

I summon more monsters to aid us. Meanwhile, Web wears off and we now have five active doppelgangers to deal with. That's probably at least three too many.

I think we're doing fine. I still have my mirror images and wasn't hurt even once!

What? Haven't I told You? This is an escort mission.

We're supposed to save Liia and Belt. Or at least one of them.

That Liia there?

Yup.

Just making sure - the one being chewed by a gangbanger?

The same one, yes.

I'm fucked.

Unsurprisingly, Liia dies. We try Hold Person as a last resort substitute for Web (and it doesn't work). Two doppelgangers are missing from the screenshot (we can see two near The Codex and one in the upper-right corner, being chased by hobgoblins, gnolls and palace guards) - not sure if they've been killed or are just obscured by others.

Another one dies. Looks like there are really only two left!

I told You it was going fine!

One of the last two panics, meaning we only have to deal with the last one. All would be great, but he's a bit too close to Belt...

Yeah, this is what I meant.

FUCK! What happens now?

You die.

Failing to protect the dukes means Death By Pillar Of Fire. The same thing happens if You try to kill duke Eltan in chapter five.

Death count: 157

Loading.

You will be surprised, but I'm not angry. We were really close there. I think this is a good plan. Let's try it again.

Ok.

Following the previous battle plan. Here's how the situation looks after the dialogue.

Not bad.

We manage to summon some more hobgoblins before the first doppelganger wakes up. I should probably summon them around Liia, but whatever.

And Web wears off... Yeah. We now have all six doppelgangers to deal with at once.

You have failed me.

Don't give up yet.

Belt makes the first kill. It seems that the one from previous attempt wasn't a fluke.

Hmpph.

Since we already have everyone present, why not cast Slow? Maybe it will even work on someone (and it did work on two doppelgangers, I think).

Ha! 36 damage! Suck it, Belt!

Oh yeah, who's the boss!

*KILLING SPREE*

And another one dies offscreen, killed by summons or maybe guards.

And of course everything was going too well. Liia charges the one doppelganger alive with her dagger and gets herself killed.

What a stupid bitch!

No worries though - Belt is fine and doppelganger itself croaks moments after.

And who's the best and killed four bigger doped gangbangers? I am!

Here's some more plot for the people who care:

Sarevok does not take all this very well.

He also does not have a chance here, being surrounded by three million summons.

Good thing this game does not have "shooting into melee" rules implemented.

Two arrows of piercing later, the villain flees with the aid of Winsky Perrorate, his mentor and sidekick.

First Angelo, then Tamoko, and now this Wanky Pirate. Where does he get all these guys?

Pst, You were supposed to pretend Y ou never met Tamoko. I did not screenshot talking to her.

What? you're sending me alone? Why?

They just think you are awesome enough to not need any help.

Well, ok, they are right. But still, it doesn't make any fucking sense!
--------------------------------------------

Next time: Endgame.

 

[taplonaplo]

I thought you would resort to some cheese in the undercellar, since you can abuse line of sight like hell.

Also the short sword is supposed to give you +1 backstab multiplier too, making it a nice offhand weapon.

I guess Sarevok will be dealt with with shitloads of summons instead of chain backstabbing

 

[Merkwürdigliebe]

This is the part where you should leave this place and go for whatever boss the expansion offers and then call the LP completed.

:trollface.jpg:

 

[Orgasm]

Great stuff. Last update next?

 

[marooned]

I can't wait to see the final battle.

 

[ironyuri]

This is the part where you should leave this place and go for whatever boss the expansion offers and then call the LP completed.

:trollface.jpg:

 

[Crooked Bee]

Cool. Looking forward to the glorious finale.

 

[Erebus]

If I remember the FR books I've read correctly, the four Dukes of Baldur's Gate are all supposed to be very high-level (Belt is level 20 or something). I guess the game needed to make them a lot suckier so you weren't able to let them do everything by themselves.

 

[MicoSelva]

If I remember the FR books I've read correctly, the four Dukes of Baldur's Gate are all supposed to be very high-level (Belt is level 20 or something). I guess the game needed to make them a lot suckier so you weren't able to let them do everything by themselves.

Yeah, I wish Sarevok was forced to kill two level 20 NPCs. That would be hilarious.

I thought you would resort to some cheese in the undercellar, since you can abuse line of sight like hell.

I try to avoid cheese when possible - unless I'm too lazy to think and/or don't want to die.

Also the short sword is supposed to give you +1 backstab multiplier too, making it a nice offhand weapon.

Are You sure this feature is implemented? I know there were some mistakes in item descriptions in vanilla (like Battle Axe +2), but they were corrected in the patch.

I guess Sarevok will be dealt with with shitloads of summons instead of chain backstabbing

No chain backstabbing, true. Nevertheless, I'd still prefer to backstab with Dagger of Venom than with the +3 short sword.

This is the part where you should leave this place and go for whatever boss the expansion offers and then call the LP completed.

:trollface.jpg:

If I had Your patience, Merk, I would. Unfortunately, I tend to go berserk when trying to play through Durlag's Tower, so no go.

The final update shall appear soon (probably not today though) - but "final" does not mean "last", as there will be one more bonus update coming after that (nothing special though).

 

[ironyuri]

If I remember the FR books I've read correctly, the four Dukes of Baldur's Gate are all supposed to be very high-level (Belt is level 20 or something). I guess the game needed to make them a lot suckier so you weren't able to let them do everything by themselves.

Yeah, I wish Sarevok was forced to kill two level 20 NPCs. That would be hilarious.

I thought you would resort to some cheese in the undercellar, since you can abuse line of sight like hell.

I try to avoid cheese when possible - unless I'm too lazy to think and/or don't want to die.

Also the short sword is supposed to give you +1 backstab multiplier too, making it a nice offhand weapon.

Are You sure this feature is implemented? I know there were some mistakes in item descriptions in vanilla (like Battle Axe +2), but they were corrected in the patch.

I guess Sarevok will be dealt with with shitloads of summons instead of chain backstabbing

No chain backstabbing, true. Nevertheless, I'd still prefer to backstab with Dagger of Venom than with the +3 short sword.

This is the part where you should leave this place and go for whatever boss the expansion offers and then call the LP completed.

:trollface.jpg:

If I had Your patience, Merk, I would. Unfortunately, I tend to go berserk when trying to play through Durlag's Tower, so no go.

The final update shall appear soon (probably not today though) - but "final" does not mean "last", as there will be one more bonus update coming after that (nothing special though).

I want an update now.

 

[marooned]

Also the short sword is supposed to give you +1 backstab multiplier too, making it a nice offhand weapon.

Are You sure this feature is implemented? I know there were some mistakes in item descriptions in vanilla (like Battle Axe +2), but they were corrected in the patch.

What taplonaplo probably means is this (taken from avenger's rogue rebalancing mod readme):

In PnP AD&D this sword is supposed to have some extra features when wielded by a Thief. Here's a passage from the The Complete Thief's Handbook:

"Short sword of Backstabbing: In the hands of any character this is a +2 magical weapon, but in the hands of a thief it is especially potent. When a thief makes a backstab attempt with this short sword, it allows him to attack as if four levels higher than his actual experience level, with corresponding improvements in THAC0, attack rolls, and damage multiplier on a successful hit."

Consequently giving the thief a +1 backstab multiplier.

 

[Yeesh]

I'm very

 

[ironyuri]

I'm hungover and I want everyone to die. So I want to see an update. Watching the Codex die will make me feel much better. Please oblige, sir.