I just looked it up, and there is a Cat wildshape that the Druids can do, and it can get into those little burrows. So you were right.
I got Astarion up to 3rd level, and subclassed him as an Assassin. One of the abilities he got from that gives him Advantage at the beginning of every fight. So that gives him a Sneak Attack right out of the gate now.
I have been playing with him in the party tonight. I found a couple of mods that change his appearance, one that gives him a softer face, and another that gives him long black hair. So now he looks like an androgynous anime hero/villain. Which I find works much better for me.
I am working the sneak attacks better now, getting that extra party member in close to his targets to trigger the sneak attacks. I think it makes the sneak attack automatically, even if you don't specifically click on the button to make it a sneak attack. Or at least that was how it looked when I was reading the combat log.
Full Version: Baldur's Dale
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 13 2023, 10:44 PM) 
I just looked it up, and there is a Cat wildshape that the Druids can do, and it can get into those little burrows. So you were right.
I got Astarion up to 3rd level, and subclassed him as an Assassin. One of the abilities he got from that gives him Advantage at the beginning of every fight. So that gives him a Sneak Attack right out of the gate now.
I have been playing with him in the party tonight. I found a couple of mods that change his appearance, one that gives him a softer face, and another that gives him long black hair. So now he looks like an androgynous anime hero/villain. Which I find works much better for me.
I am working the sneak attacks better now, getting that extra party member in close to his targets to trigger the sneak attacks. I think it makes the sneak attack automatically, even if you don't specifically click on the button to make it a sneak attack. Or at least that was how it looked when I was reading the combat log.
Yeah I’m not a big fan of Astarion’s appearance or his manner really. The first conversation I had with him at camp was a come on. Like geez dude, we just met!
His skills do make him a star though.
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 13 2023, 11:14 PM)
Nautiloid Crash
One of the reasons for the Nautiloid crashing
January is a Paladin
After the crash
She is more or less intact
Great pics!
What Oath is January?
My youngest son is playing the game. He tells me that the story is really good. I've watched a bit and aside from some nit-picking details it's a WOW
Khajiit: I am finding that Astarion is growing on me. Having restarted January's game a few days ago, I discovered that one of the recent updates changed your first encounter with him. Originally he ambushes you and holds a knife to your throat, accusing you of being a Mind Flayer thrall. In the new version he ambushes you and pulls a knife out, and accuses you of being a thrall. I think it is because people were just instantly killing him with the original way.
And I think his come on in the camp was something more. I don't think I am spoiling anything when I say that he is a vampire. I mean, the red eyes and fangs that he has are kind of dead giveaways. He is looking for a new source of blood.
January is the Oath of the Ancients I think? Is is the nature-based one, that gives Speak to Animals and other nature stuff. The emphasis on kindness and hope it tenets has is what I thought aligned best with January's own moral compass. It is the same reason she is a Kind Wayfarer in the Pillars of Eternity games.
Macole: It is a very, very complicated game. And it can be very unforgiving. But it is also very addictive. It really draws you in. The story is indeed well done. It starts out appearing simple. You and you party were abducted by Mind Flayers and had their tadpoles implanted in your brains. You escaped, and now have to get them out before the turn you into Mind Flayers. But it very quickly becomes more complicated. There is a lot more going on than originally meets the eye.
And I think his come on in the camp was something more. I don't think I am spoiling anything when I say that he is a vampire. I mean, the red eyes and fangs that he has are kind of dead giveaways. He is looking for a new source of blood.
January is the Oath of the Ancients I think? Is is the nature-based one, that gives Speak to Animals and other nature stuff. The emphasis on kindness and hope it tenets has is what I thought aligned best with January's own moral compass. It is the same reason she is a Kind Wayfarer in the Pillars of Eternity games.
Macole: It is a very, very complicated game. And it can be very unforgiving. But it is also very addictive. It really draws you in. The story is indeed well done. It starts out appearing simple. You and you party were abducted by Mind Flayers and had their tadpoles implanted in your brains. You escaped, and now have to get them out before the turn you into Mind Flayers. But it very quickly becomes more complicated. There is a lot more going on than originally meets the eye.
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 14 2023, 04:14 PM)
Khajiit: I am finding that Astarion is growing on me. Having restarted January's game a few days ago, I discovered that one of the recent updates changed your first encounter with him. Originally he ambushes you and holds a knife to your throat, accusing you of being a Mind Flayer thrall. In the new version he ambushes you and pulls a knife out, and accuses you of being a thrall. I think it is because people were just instantly killing him with the original way.
And I think his come on in the camp was something more. I don't think I am spoiling anything when I say that he is a vampire. I mean, the red eyes and fangs that he has are kind of dead giveaways. He is looking for a new source of blood.
January is the Oath of the Ancients I think? Is is the nature-based one, that gives Speak to Animals and other nature stuff. The emphasis on kindness and hope it tenets has is what I thought aligned best with January's own moral compass. It is the same reason she is a Kind Wayfarer in the Pillars of Eternity games.
Teach him to grab us like that. Hrmpf!
I’ll admit, he is very useful to have around.
One of the characters I’m playing in a tabletop D&D game is an Oath of Vengeance Paladin. Paladins in general are very enjoyable to play. So strong.
I think January head-butted Astarion my last time around too!
Skorge has a soul patch!
You can actually talk to the animals you come across in the game, like rats, bears, and the like. You won't learn anything critical from them, but it is cool that they took the time to implement that much in the first place. The same with dead bodies. In some cases they do have things they can tell you that are quest-related.
A note on multiclassing. When you take your second class, you will not get a tab for its spells/abilities on your action bar, like you do with your starting class. So you have to manually put all their actions into the Custom tab.
Skorge has a soul patch!
You can actually talk to the animals you come across in the game, like rats, bears, and the like. You won't learn anything critical from them, but it is cool that they took the time to implement that much in the first place. The same with dead bodies. In some cases they do have things they can tell you that are quest-related.
A note on multiclassing. When you take your second class, you will not get a tab for its spells/abilities on your action bar, like you do with your starting class. So you have to manually put all their actions into the Custom tab.
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 14 2023, 07:22 PM)
Skorge has a soul patch!
He do! Fun fact about Skorge: he was originally a character that I played in a tabletop one shot. Lizardfolk Path of the Storm Herald Barbarian. As part of this path, his rage produced an aura of lightning that you could use to damage foes within it (on command, it wasn’t a constant effect).
I’ve been wanting to try a Druid class to try talking to animals. The forest Gnomes come standard with speak to animals.
This game has so much stuff in it that I never would have expected. I did not know that the Forest Gnomes could do that.
Sorcerers have to pick a sublcass at chargen. One of them is the Dragon Disciple (so there is the old prestige class worked into the regular system). When you pick that, you have to pick a sub-sub type, of which kind of dragon your ancient ancestor was. I took Blue for January, because it comes with a lightning spell.
Likewise, Wild Magic is one of the other Sorcerer subclasses. That was in BG1EE as a separate class, one their new NPC Neera was one. So there is that class also folded into the regular structure.
Wizards also have to pick a subclass later on. Theirs are all the standard Wizard specialties, like Evocation, Abjuration, Necromancy, etc.. You get some bonuses with spells in that school. But thankfully you don't get locked out of casting spells from certain other schools, like in the older versions of D&D.
Fighters have something like that too, and so do Barbarians. So it seems that every class has a subclass that you have to pick at Chargen or at level 3.
Sorcerers have to pick a sublcass at chargen. One of them is the Dragon Disciple (so there is the old prestige class worked into the regular system). When you pick that, you have to pick a sub-sub type, of which kind of dragon your ancient ancestor was. I took Blue for January, because it comes with a lightning spell.
Likewise, Wild Magic is one of the other Sorcerer subclasses. That was in BG1EE as a separate class, one their new NPC Neera was one. So there is that class also folded into the regular structure.
Wizards also have to pick a subclass later on. Theirs are all the standard Wizard specialties, like Evocation, Abjuration, Necromancy, etc.. You get some bonuses with spells in that school. But thankfully you don't get locked out of casting spells from certain other schools, like in the older versions of D&D.
Fighters have something like that too, and so do Barbarians. So it seems that every class has a subclass that you have to pick at Chargen or at level 3.
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 15 2023, 05:07 PM)
This game has so much stuff in it that I never would have expected. I did not know that the Forest Gnomes could do that.
Sorcerers have to pick a sublcass at chargen. One of them is the Dragon Disciple (so there is the old prestige class worked into the regular system). When you pick that, you have to pick a sub-sub type, of which kind of dragon your ancient ancestor was. I took Blue for January, because it comes with a lightning spell.
Likewise, Wild Magic is one of the other Sorcerer subclasses. That was in BG1EE as a separate class, one their new NPC Neera was one. So there is that class also folded into the regular structure.
Wizards also have to pick a subclass later on. Theirs are all the standard Wizard specialties, like Evocation, Abjuration, Necromancy, etc.. You get some bonuses with spells in that school. But thankfully you don't get locked out of casting spells from certain other schools, like in the older versions of D&D.
Fighters have something like that too, and so do Barbarians. So it seems that every class has a subclass that you have to pick at Chargen or at level 3.
Yes, this is mostly how D&D 5E handles it. Clerics, Warlocks, and Sorcerers get theirs at lvl1, right off the bat. Then Wizards and Druids get theirs at lvl2. All the others are at 3. The main differences here are Warlocks which I believe get their subclass at lvl3 in Baldur’s Gate 3, and Paladins who also get theirs at lvl1 when they get it at 3 on tabletop.
The team takes in a concert
Rocking out
Withers, the guy who respecs your characters and provides your hirelings
January thinks he looks a little sketchy
Meet the team Tiefling Barbarian - Karlach
January speaks to the dead
Karlach is hot
January has a lightning bolt
Karlach has a knack for killing demons
My new and improved Astarion looks he stepped out of a historical K-Drama
Jan needs a bath
Auntie Ethel is a real sweetie
This is really a messy team
This book sure looks sus
Taking the elevator to the Underdark
January updated her threads
Animals don't always have a lot to say
Rocking out
Withers, the guy who respecs your characters and provides your hirelings
January thinks he looks a little sketchy
Meet the team Tiefling Barbarian - Karlach
January speaks to the dead
Karlach is hot
January has a lightning bolt
Karlach has a knack for killing demons
My new and improved Astarion looks he stepped out of a historical K-Drama
Jan needs a bath
Auntie Ethel is a real sweetie
This is really a messy team
This book sure looks sus
Taking the elevator to the Underdark
January updated her threads
Animals don't always have a lot to say
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 17 2023, 09:55 PM)
Wow! I definitely like this look for Assy (as I’ve affectionately come to call him) a lot better!
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 17 2023, 09:55 PM)
Or at least a little Prestidigitation!
Our own travels aren’t going very well. I keep wanting to try other characters!
Nice pics. January's threads has got style galore.
One thing about this game that is becoming very frustrating is that it often punishes you for attacking monsters, at least if you are a paladin. The problem stems from the fact that the developers want you to be able to play either the good or evil route. Which means you either wind up working for the Big Bad - a cult called The Absolute - or against them. To make that possible the cultists won't be initially hostile to you. So you can walk right up to goblins as they are torturing people and they just say hello to you. Which really ruins immersion for starters.
It also makes playing a paladin difficult. If you just attack them, you become an Oathbreaker, basically a fallen paladin. Nevermind that the goblin you attacked literally just regaled you with how he tortured, murdered and ate someone, and put added emphasis onto the latter fact by pointing out the meat from said person roasting on the fire. Killing that guy is evil. Being chummy with him is good.
Riiight.
The only way you can fight the members of the Absolute without breaking your oath is by walking up to them and talking to them. Then you have to find a dialogue option to start a fight. The important thing here is that way you are not attacking them - who are as far as the game is concerned - a neutral NPC. They go hostile before you swing on them, so killing them does not break your oath.
Sometimes there are no dialogue options to start such a fight however. So then you cannot fight the bad guys. It gets very frustrating, especially in the ruined temple at the end of Act I, where the Absolute have an outpost.
I am not sure how this works for non-Paladins. I suspect that the game does not care if you just attack them on sight. There is no Alignment system in this game. So there are no points for good or evil, or lawful or chaotic acts. Except where Paladins are concerned with their Oaths.
It also makes playing a paladin difficult. If you just attack them, you become an Oathbreaker, basically a fallen paladin. Nevermind that the goblin you attacked literally just regaled you with how he tortured, murdered and ate someone, and put added emphasis onto the latter fact by pointing out the meat from said person roasting on the fire. Killing that guy is evil. Being chummy with him is good.
Riiight.
The only way you can fight the members of the Absolute without breaking your oath is by walking up to them and talking to them. Then you have to find a dialogue option to start a fight. The important thing here is that way you are not attacking them - who are as far as the game is concerned - a neutral NPC. They go hostile before you swing on them, so killing them does not break your oath.
Sometimes there are no dialogue options to start such a fight however. So then you cannot fight the bad guys. It gets very frustrating, especially in the ruined temple at the end of Act I, where the Absolute have an outpost.
I am not sure how this works for non-Paladins. I suspect that the game does not care if you just attack them on sight. There is no Alignment system in this game. So there are no points for good or evil, or lawful or chaotic acts. Except where Paladins are concerned with their Oaths.
I finished Act 1 finally, after doing everything (I think) there is to do. There is a lot of stuff, hidden away in little nooks and crannies on the maps.
I finally got to meet the mysterious Guardian, whom you are prompted to create the appearance of at the start of the game. They appear to you in a dream, where you meet them in astral space as a battle goes on in the distance. They tell you that they have already saved you once, and replay a flashback of the nautiloid crash, and how after you were thrown out of it, some force held you up in mid air to prevent you from splatting across the landscape.
This was the second appearance of the Guardian I think. The first was also in a dream sequence, but with even less.
I was made instantly suspicious however. I have no evidence to back it up, but I think the Guardian is the mysterious leader of the Absolute cult, the Big Bad of the entire game. I think they are trying to groom you to work for them.
But maybe I am just being paranoid.
I finally got to meet the mysterious Guardian, whom you are prompted to create the appearance of at the start of the game. They appear to you in a dream, where you meet them in astral space as a battle goes on in the distance. They tell you that they have already saved you once, and replay a flashback of the nautiloid crash, and how after you were thrown out of it, some force held you up in mid air to prevent you from splatting across the landscape.
This was the second appearance of the Guardian I think. The first was also in a dream sequence, but with even less.
I was made instantly suspicious however. I have no evidence to back it up, but I think the Guardian is the mysterious leader of the Absolute cult, the Big Bad of the entire game. I think they are trying to groom you to work for them.
But maybe I am just being paranoid.
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 19 2023, 08:23 PM)
I finished Act 1 finally, after doing everything (I think) there is to do. There is a lot of stuff, hidden away in little nooks and crannies on the maps.
I finally got to meet the mysterious Guardian, whom you are prompted to create the appearance of at the start of the game. They appear to you in a dream, where you meet them in astral space as a battle goes on in the distance. They tell you that they have already saved you once, and replay a flashback of the nautiloid crash, and how after you were thrown out of it, some force held you up in mid air to prevent you from splatting across the landscape.
This was the second appearance of the Guardian I think. The first was also in a dream sequence, but with even less.
I was made instantly suspicious however. I have no evidence to back it up, but I think the Guardian is the mysterious leader of the Absolute cult, the Big Bad of the entire game. I think they are trying to groom you to work for them.
But maybe I am just being paranoid.
I suspect it is the creature behind your eye.
That could be too. Though they *say* that they are keeping the tadpoles in check. And clearly something unusual is going on there. Numerous people point out that ceremophosis should have happened already. Somehow the tadpoles have been hijacked, or mutated, and turned the people infected with them into the lieutenants of the Absolute.
The main menu of the game has a picture of a subterranean temple with a skull. I remember that from the previous games. I think it is a temple to Bhaal. So I wonder if the three lieutenants of the Absolute are the Dead Three - Bhaal, Bane, and Myrkul. There was a book in the game about them, and there is a loading screen blurb. That might make the Absolute the original god of Death, Jergal.
I have seen some speculation online about who the Guardian is. Some people think they are Mystra. Though I suspect not. Given how the Guardian makes a comment in your head about Mystra after Elminster comes to talk to Gale, and deliver a new revelation.
That was interesting btw. Elminster appeared in Baldur's Gate 1 as I recall. He has the same opening line here as he did there. After that he is Gandalf. They seriously made an effort to not just make him look like Gandalf, but the voice actor was making a real effort to sound and speak like him as well. As I am a LOTR stan, I love it.
The main menu of the game has a picture of a subterranean temple with a skull. I remember that from the previous games. I think it is a temple to Bhaal. So I wonder if the three lieutenants of the Absolute are the Dead Three - Bhaal, Bane, and Myrkul. There was a book in the game about them, and there is a loading screen blurb. That might make the Absolute the original god of Death, Jergal.
I have seen some speculation online about who the Guardian is. Some people think they are Mystra. Though I suspect not. Given how the Guardian makes a comment in your head about Mystra after Elminster comes to talk to Gale, and deliver a new revelation.
That was interesting btw. Elminster appeared in Baldur's Gate 1 as I recall. He has the same opening line here as he did there. After that he is Gandalf. They seriously made an effort to not just make him look like Gandalf, but the voice actor was making a real effort to sound and speak like him as well. As I am a LOTR stan, I love it.
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 20 2023, 10:33 AM)
That could be too. Though they *say* that they are keeping the tadpoles in check. And clearly something unusual is going on there. Numerous people point out that ceremophosis should have happened already. Somehow the tadpoles have been hijacked, or mutated, and turned the people infected with them into the lieutenants of the Absolute.
The main menu of the game has a picture of a subterranean temple with a skull. I remember that from the previous games. I think it is a temple to Bhaal. So I wonder if the three lieutenants of the Absolute are the Dead Three - Bhaal, Bane, and Myrkul. There was a book in the game about them, and there is a loading screen blurb. That might make the Absolute the original god of Death, Jergal.
I have seen some speculation online about who the Guardian is. Some people think they are Mystra. Though I suspect not. Given how the Guardian makes a comment in your head about Mystra after Elminster comes to talk to Gale, and deliver a new revelation.
That was interesting btw. Elminster appeared in Baldur's Gate 1 as I recall. He has the same opening line here as he did there. After that he is Gandalf. They seriously made an effort to not just make him look like Gandalf, but the voice actor was making a real effort to sound and speak like him as well. As I am a LOTR stan, I love it.
Lol, I still haven’t made it past the Druid grove.
The maps in this game are small by comparison to the Elder Scrolls or Fallout verses. But there is so much packed into them that it takes forever to go through every nook and cranny. I spent days in the Druid Grove alone.
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 20 2023, 10:46 AM)
The maps in this game are small by comparison to the Elder Scrolls or Fallout verses. But there is so much packed into them that it takes forever to go through every nook and cranny. I spent days in the Druid Grove alone.
I love how gross the nautiloid is in the intro. All the gaping wounds, items in jars. Good stuff!
I kind of accidentally found out who the Guardian is by looking at the wrong article. Suffice to say, we were both wrong.
I am well into Act 2 now, and I can say that the Githyanki and Mind Flayer involvement is not tangential to the story. They are central to it. Read every book and Gith disc you can, in order to familiarize yourself with their history.
I still don't know who the Absolute is. So I am not sure if they are a Gith or Mind Flayer, I suspect neither. Somehow they have hijacked the Mind Flayer tadpoles, and they are using them to create a cult of super telepaths to take over/destroy the world. I still suspect the Dead Three gods: Bhaal, Bane, and Myrkul are their lieutenants, because I keep seeing subtle references to them in the game. I kind of wonder if the Absolute is the goddess Shar. As both Shar and Selune are prominent in the game.
The Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast had a good episode on Mind Flayers
Edit: And I just found out that Volo (who you meet in the Druid Grove, and later in the game at the Goblin Camp) is a character from the Faerun setting. He is the author of a bunch in in-game books, the Volo's Guide to ... series
I am well into Act 2 now, and I can say that the Githyanki and Mind Flayer involvement is not tangential to the story. They are central to it. Read every book and Gith disc you can, in order to familiarize yourself with their history.
I still don't know who the Absolute is. So I am not sure if they are a Gith or Mind Flayer, I suspect neither. Somehow they have hijacked the Mind Flayer tadpoles, and they are using them to create a cult of super telepaths to take over/destroy the world. I still suspect the Dead Three gods: Bhaal, Bane, and Myrkul are their lieutenants, because I keep seeing subtle references to them in the game. I kind of wonder if the Absolute is the goddess Shar. As both Shar and Selune are prominent in the game.
The Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast had a good episode on Mind Flayers
Edit: And I just found out that Volo (who you meet in the Druid Grove, and later in the game at the Goblin Camp) is a character from the Faerun setting. He is the author of a bunch in in-game books, the Volo's Guide to ... series
I started a new Warlock character today.
It feels really good so far.
It feels really good so far.
The Eldritch Blast visuals and sound effects are based AF in this game.
K-Pop Astarion
The Myconid King
A friendly Mind Flayer and Bugbear
Elminster is totally Gandalf
The White Raven
Even in combat, you can right click on any character, then go to Examine, and it will show you their stats and resistances
What's this about a Bhaalspawn plot from a hundred years ago, that Jaheria was a part of stopping?
My version of the Guardian
A displacer beast!
K-Pop Astarion
The Myconid King
A friendly Mind Flayer and Bugbear
Elminster is totally Gandalf
The White Raven
Even in combat, you can right click on any character, then go to Examine, and it will show you their stats and resistances
What's this about a Bhaalspawn plot from a hundred years ago, that Jaheria was a part of stopping?
My version of the Guardian
A displacer beast!
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 24 2023, 12:56 PM)
The Eldritch Blast visuals and sound effects are based AF in this game.
K-Pop Astarion
The Myconid King
A friendly Mind Flayer and Bugbear
Elminster is totally Gandalf
The White Raven
Even in combat, you can right click on any character, then go to Examine, and it will show you their stats and resistances
What's this about a Bhaalspawn plot from a hundred years ago, that Jaheria was a part of stopping?
My version of the Guardian
A displacer beast!
Nice pics! That Miconid is beautiful!
On Warlocks, I had so much fun fighting the hostile party at the chapel above the dank ruins using the repelling blast evocation. I had my character, Saryn, and Assy go to the side and second floor and brought Lazy and Shady in through the front. The ranged guy on the second floor died so quick and got yeeted off the box he was standing on down to the ground floor. The mage lady did manage to put Lazy to sleep but she died not long after thanks mainly to Assy’s bow. Once the top folks were dealt with Saryn had some fun knocking the melee thugs around with her Eldritch Blast. They were flying all over the place!
Just wait until you get to some fights in high places. You will be blasting bad guys off of cliffs to their doom, sometimes into rivers of lava below.
Good times.
Good times.
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 25 2023, 04:36 PM)
Just wait until you get to some fights in high places. You will be blasting bad guys off of cliffs to their doom, sometimes into rivers of lava below.
Good times.
I can’t wait, lol
And I love your nicknames: Assy, Lazy, and Shady are awesome. That means you have Karly, Gally, and Wyllie coming up.
In other news, I took Gale out for a bit. He becomes a lot of fun once you pass 5th level. Fireballs! He can clean out half a room in the first turn.
I am about half way through Act II now. Maybe more. It is weird because you start the Act with two options for how to move forward. Take the road west toward Baldur's Gate, or go through the Underdark in the same direction. I read that either way you pick, you wind up in the same place at the end. And apparently you can still go back afterward and explore the other path.
Edit to Add: Ok, I looked it up. If you take the Underdark route from the Grymforge, it leads you to the Shadowlands. It just puts you closer to the Inn of Last Light, which you want to find sooner rather than later as a lot of quests start from there. Plus you can get protection from the curse on the Shadowlands. I think you just get on an elevator in the Grymforge, and appear in the Shadowlands, with nothing between. But I am not positive. So it is the quicker route.
However, if you go the aboveground route you go through a small-ish map on the way. It has some outdoor encouters. But more importantly there is a destroyed Lathander temple with monsters, and under it is a Githyanki creche. This is directly tied to Lazy and her personal quest. And you will find out more about what is going on with the Artefect, and who might be in it, and why it is so important.
I took the aboveground route, which took me into a really cool (as in, really horrific) area that had been taken over by Shadows. I think I am basically at the end of the act now, as I just assaulted Moonrise Tower, the stronghold of the Absolute. I am not sure, by my guess is that the Underdark route also leads you to Moonrise Tower? I am not sure. Or it could just be that the Underdark route leads you to the Shadowlands.
Shar and Selune are really central to what is going on in the Shadowlands, which was cool. You got to a lot of insight into the inner workings of the Sharrans. It made me uncomfortable having Shady in the party. Because the Sharrans are so plainly evil and manipulative. On one hand I feel sorry for Shadowheart. Shar is plainly using propaganda and manipulating her emotions to make her a puppet. OTOH, she is seeing all this horror in the Shadowlands caused by Shar, and all she can think of is how wonderful it would be to become one of Shar's chosen Dark Justiciars. It does come to a very dramatic head at the end of her personal quest (which is also tied in to the main quest at this point). There is a chance to bring her back from the Dark Side. But I had to roll a 20 to do it.
I also just found out who/what the Absolute is, and the same for their 3 lieutenants. I am not going to spoil it.
In other news, I took Gale out for a bit. He becomes a lot of fun once you pass 5th level. Fireballs! He can clean out half a room in the first turn.
I am about half way through Act II now. Maybe more. It is weird because you start the Act with two options for how to move forward. Take the road west toward Baldur's Gate, or go through the Underdark in the same direction. I read that either way you pick, you wind up in the same place at the end. And apparently you can still go back afterward and explore the other path.
Edit to Add: Ok, I looked it up. If you take the Underdark route from the Grymforge, it leads you to the Shadowlands. It just puts you closer to the Inn of Last Light, which you want to find sooner rather than later as a lot of quests start from there. Plus you can get protection from the curse on the Shadowlands. I think you just get on an elevator in the Grymforge, and appear in the Shadowlands, with nothing between. But I am not positive. So it is the quicker route.
However, if you go the aboveground route you go through a small-ish map on the way. It has some outdoor encouters. But more importantly there is a destroyed Lathander temple with monsters, and under it is a Githyanki creche. This is directly tied to Lazy and her personal quest. And you will find out more about what is going on with the Artefect, and who might be in it, and why it is so important.
I took the aboveground route, which took me into a really cool (as in, really horrific) area that had been taken over by Shadows. I think I am basically at the end of the act now, as I just assaulted Moonrise Tower, the stronghold of the Absolute. I am not sure, by my guess is that the Underdark route also leads you to Moonrise Tower? I am not sure. Or it could just be that the Underdark route leads you to the Shadowlands.
Shar and Selune are really central to what is going on in the Shadowlands, which was cool. You got to a lot of insight into the inner workings of the Sharrans. It made me uncomfortable having Shady in the party. Because the Sharrans are so plainly evil and manipulative. On one hand I feel sorry for Shadowheart. Shar is plainly using propaganda and manipulating her emotions to make her a puppet. OTOH, she is seeing all this horror in the Shadowlands caused by Shar, and all she can think of is how wonderful it would be to become one of Shar's chosen Dark Justiciars. It does come to a very dramatic head at the end of her personal quest (which is also tied in to the main quest at this point). There is a chance to bring her back from the Dark Side. But I had to roll a 20 to do it.
I also just found out who/what the Absolute is, and the same for their 3 lieutenants. I am not going to spoil it.
I have reached the end of Act II. Some quests and places in the world do have to be done in order, otherwise you get locked out of them for good. For example, once I completed the main quest for Act II, I found I cannot go back to the Act I areas at all.
I tried going back to the Grymforge from the Shadowlands. I found a small temple of Shar area that was empty, and the elevator down to the Grymforge. But it would not let me use the elevator, and the fast travel waypoints are gone from the map.
I also found that some quests I did not finish are now impossible to complete. Most notably there is one to fix the Shadowlands.
I also got lucky, in that I accidentally did one in the right order. Save the Tieflings is one you want to do before you make your final, big assault upon Moonrise Tower. I did this by accident. I went in the tower and found them first. Apparently if you do the big attack, you get locked out of saving them, and fail the quest.
Likewise, if I had not done the Githyanki creche already, that would now be locked out as well.
The Find Mol quest cannot be finished in Act II. It goes on to Act III, so you don't have to worry about being locked out of that one.
So be careful before you finish the Acts, and make sure you have done everything there is to do first.
I tried going back to the Grymforge from the Shadowlands. I found a small temple of Shar area that was empty, and the elevator down to the Grymforge. But it would not let me use the elevator, and the fast travel waypoints are gone from the map.
I also found that some quests I did not finish are now impossible to complete. Most notably there is one to fix the Shadowlands.
I also got lucky, in that I accidentally did one in the right order. Save the Tieflings is one you want to do before you make your final, big assault upon Moonrise Tower. I did this by accident. I went in the tower and found them first. Apparently if you do the big attack, you get locked out of saving them, and fail the quest.
Likewise, if I had not done the Githyanki creche already, that would now be locked out as well.
The Find Mol quest cannot be finished in Act II. It goes on to Act III, so you don't have to worry about being locked out of that one.
So be careful before you finish the Acts, and make sure you have done everything there is to do first.
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 25 2023, 06:27 PM)
And I love your nicknames: Assy, Lazy, and Shady are awesome. That means you have Karly, Gally, and Wyllie coming up.
I was thinking Karry for Karlach, but Karly does work too!
A question about Karlach and Wyll(sp?). I have yet to encounter Karlach in any play through, but the first thing out of Wyll’s mouth is how he’s hunting this one horned Tiefling, which I’m sure is Karlach. You don’t have to go into any detail, but is there trouble if you bring them both into the party?
I would say it is actually best if you have Wyll in the party when you find Karlach, as I think there is more dialogue that way. Talk to Karlach first. There is a lot more going on than Wyll is aware of. You do not have to kill her to keep both her and him in the party.
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 26 2023, 03:06 PM)
I would say it is actually best if you have Wyll in the party when you find Karlach, as I think there is more dialogue that way. Talk to Karlach first. There is a lot more going on than Wyll is aware of. You do not have to kill her to keep both her and him in the party.
Good to know, thank you.
Lots more adventuring tonight. I finished Astarion's quest, and faced down his master Cazador. Cazador's plot to make himself a Daywalker vampire ala Blade was already looking pretty horrific. But it was a lot worse than imagined. However, with friends like Minsc and Boo at our sides, evil was most handily smoted.
This quest - and Astarion - were really well done. There is not much to recommend him at first. He's pretty much straight up Chaotic Evil. But my K-Pop facelift makes him more likeable. Also, as you get to know him, it becomes very plain that he is a victim himself, of Cazador. He was never even allowed to feed on, much less kill any of the people he hunted for over a century. He had to bring them all back to Cazador. He has never actually fed on anything other than animals. H really strikes me very much as the victim of an insanely abusive relationship, which is quite accurate really. It was portrayed with extraordinary depth and emotion.
The final confrontation between him and Cazador was really good. You have an opportunity to redeem him, or go the opposite route and embrace the evil. It should be no surprise what route January guided him on. It made for a very satisfying and cathartic ending.
Besides the choices of Astarion going fully evil or good, there is a second choice to make as well, concerning the other vampire spawn in Cazador's lair. You have to decide to kill them all, or set them free (on the condition that they keep their fangs to themselves). There are no really good choices here. You get to meet them first. They are people. They have names, histories, personalities. They are all victims like Astarion was. Killing them is clearly mass murder. But the alternative is loosing a lot of vampires on the world. And who knows how many deaths they will precipitate?
January again followed her conscience. She could not kill them, even though they were vampires. Everyone deserves a second chance. That brought a familiar feeling of loss. She broke her Oath. Again. Sigh.
In the past I just reloaded and tried a different route. I just did not feel like doing that all over again. So I went back to camp and met the Oathbreaker Paladin waiting for me there. He explained that he does so for every paladin who breaks their oath. He can guide you in the new path as an Oathbreaker. Or he can redeem you and let you reaffirm your Oath.
January paid the man 1,000 gold, and redeemed her Oath. She is not going to be become an Anti-Paladin any time soon. The little ceremony of her doing so was again, nicely done.
I just met this guy, and already I do not like him
Neither does Astarion
Redemption
January retakes her Oath - to defend life itself, to protect all that is good and natural, and repel wickedness wherever it threatens
Reaching for the Light
Ugh, lawyers
Servants of Bhaal
Didn't I kill this guy in a previous game?
We will just have to kill him again
This quest - and Astarion - were really well done. There is not much to recommend him at first. He's pretty much straight up Chaotic Evil. But my K-Pop facelift makes him more likeable. Also, as you get to know him, it becomes very plain that he is a victim himself, of Cazador. He was never even allowed to feed on, much less kill any of the people he hunted for over a century. He had to bring them all back to Cazador. He has never actually fed on anything other than animals. H really strikes me very much as the victim of an insanely abusive relationship, which is quite accurate really. It was portrayed with extraordinary depth and emotion.
The final confrontation between him and Cazador was really good. You have an opportunity to redeem him, or go the opposite route and embrace the evil. It should be no surprise what route January guided him on. It made for a very satisfying and cathartic ending.
Besides the choices of Astarion going fully evil or good, there is a second choice to make as well, concerning the other vampire spawn in Cazador's lair. You have to decide to kill them all, or set them free (on the condition that they keep their fangs to themselves). There are no really good choices here. You get to meet them first. They are people. They have names, histories, personalities. They are all victims like Astarion was. Killing them is clearly mass murder. But the alternative is loosing a lot of vampires on the world. And who knows how many deaths they will precipitate?
January again followed her conscience. She could not kill them, even though they were vampires. Everyone deserves a second chance. That brought a familiar feeling of loss. She broke her Oath. Again. Sigh.
In the past I just reloaded and tried a different route. I just did not feel like doing that all over again. So I went back to camp and met the Oathbreaker Paladin waiting for me there. He explained that he does so for every paladin who breaks their oath. He can guide you in the new path as an Oathbreaker. Or he can redeem you and let you reaffirm your Oath.
January paid the man 1,000 gold, and redeemed her Oath. She is not going to be become an Anti-Paladin any time soon. The little ceremony of her doing so was again, nicely done.
I just met this guy, and already I do not like him
Neither does Astarion
Redemption
January retakes her Oath - to defend life itself, to protect all that is good and natural, and repel wickedness wherever it threatens
Reaching for the Light
Ugh, lawyers
Servants of Bhaal
Didn't I kill this guy in a previous game?
We will just have to kill him again
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 31 2023, 05:17 PM)
Miniature Giant Space Hamster!
I am closing in on the finale of the game. Just a few more quests left to go.
Showdown in the Bhaal temple
The devil has 666 hit points
Showdown in the Bhaal temple
The devil has 666 hit points
*Important Safety Notice*
It seems that Larian made a little stealth update in one of the recent patches. They removed the need to use a Mod Fixer to make mods work. However, the same fix causes the game to lock up whenever you need to make a dice roll if you still have a Mod Fixer. So for example, if you want to pick a lock, or make a Persuasion attempt. So delete your old Mod Fixers. That means physically removing them from your Mods folder, thanks to how the game works.
It seems that Larian made a little stealth update in one of the recent patches. They removed the need to use a Mod Fixer to make mods work. However, the same fix causes the game to lock up whenever you need to make a dice roll if you still have a Mod Fixer. So for example, if you want to pick a lock, or make a Persuasion attempt. So delete your old Mod Fixers. That means physically removing them from your Mods folder, thanks to how the game works.
I beat the game like a red-haired Tiefling stepchild.
Act III in the game takes place in Baldur's Gate, and it is huge. I would guess it took about as long to go through Act III as it did for me to do Acts I and II combined. Every building has something go on inside it, usually related to one quest or another, even if you do not know it until later.
The endgame was good. It was very exciting, not to mention challenging. There are about 4-5 basic endings you can choose, depending on your actions at various points. Mainly they boil down to the Good vs Evil camps. Either you destroy the Elder Brain, or you take control of it and become the Absolute.
The Good route has some more wrinkles in how you go about it. I am going to try to avoid getting too spoilery. You can stick with your Guardian the entire way. But that means betraying the Gith, and killing someone that is very important to the destiny of the Gith races (not Lae'zael). Or you can betray the Guardian and side with the Gith. If you go that route someone has to turn into a Mind Flayer. Either you, the special Gith person in question, or Karlach.
So either way you go the Good route, you have to betray someone, which I did not like. I hope they change that in a patch, and make it possible for the Guardian and the Gith to cooperate, instead of being forced to choose between them. It leaves a sour note to the ending of an otherwise grand adventure.
I think they set up Karlach to be the go to for most people to pick becoming a Mind Flayer if they sided with the Gith. But that was just unthinkable for me. I suspect a lot of other people agree. She seems to be the most beloved of all the companions. She certainly was for me. She is awesome! Even more so than Minsc (way hotter to... and I do mean that literally).
I also figured out who the weird undead guy Withers is (the one you respecs your character and whom you can hire adventurers from). At an early point he asks you what the value of a mortal life is. Later I read an in-game book, where a certain god did the same thing.
There is a post credits cutscene in which he pretty much gives it away.
Battling an Undead Dragon
This guy is in our side. Seriously, he is.
They don't have Beholders in this game, but they do have Spectators
January has the three Netherstones
The first battle against the Elder Brain
Needless to say, you cannot win the first encounter with it
The Elder Brain is loosed upon the world
With the Crown of Karsus fueling it, it can complete the Illithid Grand Design, the enslavement of the entire multiverse
It brought more Nautiloid ships as backup
But the Army of Light has dragons
It also has this guy, who is kicking a lot of butts for Goodness
Time for the final assault upon the Elder Brain
The Crown of Karsus, which at one time destroyed all magic, and with it the Netherese Empire
Regicide
The fall of the Elder Brain
The Army of Light victorious
I am not going anywhere without you Karlach
Act III in the game takes place in Baldur's Gate, and it is huge. I would guess it took about as long to go through Act III as it did for me to do Acts I and II combined. Every building has something go on inside it, usually related to one quest or another, even if you do not know it until later.
The endgame was good. It was very exciting, not to mention challenging. There are about 4-5 basic endings you can choose, depending on your actions at various points. Mainly they boil down to the Good vs Evil camps. Either you destroy the Elder Brain, or you take control of it and become the Absolute.
The Good route has some more wrinkles in how you go about it. I am going to try to avoid getting too spoilery. You can stick with your Guardian the entire way. But that means betraying the Gith, and killing someone that is very important to the destiny of the Gith races (not Lae'zael). Or you can betray the Guardian and side with the Gith. If you go that route someone has to turn into a Mind Flayer. Either you, the special Gith person in question, or Karlach.
So either way you go the Good route, you have to betray someone, which I did not like. I hope they change that in a patch, and make it possible for the Guardian and the Gith to cooperate, instead of being forced to choose between them. It leaves a sour note to the ending of an otherwise grand adventure.
I think they set up Karlach to be the go to for most people to pick becoming a Mind Flayer if they sided with the Gith. But that was just unthinkable for me. I suspect a lot of other people agree. She seems to be the most beloved of all the companions. She certainly was for me. She is awesome! Even more so than Minsc (way hotter to... and I do mean that literally).
I also figured out who the weird undead guy Withers is (the one you respecs your character and whom you can hire adventurers from). At an early point he asks you what the value of a mortal life is. Later I read an in-game book, where a certain god did the same thing.
There is a post credits cutscene in which he pretty much gives it away.
Battling an Undead Dragon
This guy is in our side. Seriously, he is.
They don't have Beholders in this game, but they do have Spectators
January has the three Netherstones
The first battle against the Elder Brain
Needless to say, you cannot win the first encounter with it
The Elder Brain is loosed upon the world
With the Crown of Karsus fueling it, it can complete the Illithid Grand Design, the enslavement of the entire multiverse
It brought more Nautiloid ships as backup
But the Army of Light has dragons
It also has this guy, who is kicking a lot of butts for Goodness
Time for the final assault upon the Elder Brain
The Crown of Karsus, which at one time destroyed all magic, and with it the Netherese Empire
Regicide
The fall of the Elder Brain
The Army of Light victorious
I am not going anywhere without you Karlach
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Sep 4 2023, 08:30 PM)
Lol that’s hilarious!
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Sep 6 2023, 04:53 AM)
I beat the game like a red-haired Tiefling stepchild.
Act III in the game takes place in Baldur's Gate, and it is huge. I would guess it took about as long to go through Act III as it did for me to do Acts I and II combined. Every building has something go on inside it, usually related to one quest or another, even if you do not know it until later.
The endgame was good. It was very exciting, not to mention challenging. There are about 4-5 basic endings you can choose, depending on your actions at various points. Mainly they boil down to the Good vs Evil camps. Either you destroy the Elder Brain, or you take control of it and become the Absolute.
The Good route has some more wrinkles in how you go about it. I am going to try to avoid getting too spoilery. You can stick with your Guardian the entire way. But that means betraying the Gith, and killing someone that is very important to the destiny of the Gith races (not Lae'zael). Or you can betray the Guardian and side with the Gith. If you go that route someone has to turn into a Mind Flayer. Either you, the special Gith person in question, or Karlach.
So either way you go the Good route, you have to betray someone, which I did not like. I hope they change that in a patch, and make it possible for the Guardian and the Gith to cooperate, instead of being forced to choose between them. It leaves a sour note to the ending of an otherwise grand adventure.
I think they set up Karlach to be the go to for most people to pick becoming a Mind Flayer if they sided with the Gith. But that was just unthinkable for me. I suspect a lot of other people agree. She seems to be the most beloved of all the companions. She certainly was for me. She is awesome! Even more so than Minsc (way hotter to... and I do mean that literally).
I also figured out who the weird undead guy Withers is (the one you respecs your character and whom you can hire adventurers from). At an early point he asks you what the value of a mortal life is. Later I read an in-game book, where a certain god did the same thing.
There is a post credits cutscene in which he pretty much gives it away.
Battling an Undead Dragon
This guy is in our side. Seriously, he is.
They don't have Beholders in this game, but they do have Spectators
January has the three Netherstones
The first battle against the Elder Brain
Needless to say, you cannot win the first encounter with it
The Elder Brain is loosed upon the world
With the Crown of Karsus fueling it, it can complete the Illithid Grand Design, the enslavement of the entire multiverse
It brought more Nautiloid ships as backup
But the Army of Light has dragons
It also has this guy, who is kicking a lot of butts for Goodness
Time for the final assault upon the Elder Brain
The Crown of Karsus, which at one time destroyed all magic, and with it the Netherese Empire
Regicide
The fall of the Elder Brain
The Army of Light victorious
I am not going anywhere without you Karlach
I just met Karlach, lol
I haven’t been playing any games much. I get about 2 hours in before I have to get ready for work in the morning and that’s about it.
Congrats of finishing the game! Thanks for your insights throughout. Not gonna play it now but great to know where to find some good tips/perspectives. Just in case, you know.
Nice to see Minsc still buttkicking for goodness.
Um. . . don't want to thing too hard on where netherstones come from.
Always good to have dragons on your side!
Karlach has absolutely beautiful ears.
Nice to see Minsc still buttkicking for goodness.
Um. . . don't want to thing too hard on where netherstones come from.
Always good to have dragons on your side!
Karlach has absolutely beautiful ears.
The game does not seem to be ideal for archers. Usually your team archer in an RPG is a Ranger. But BG3 Ranger class does not seem to have much of any archery based abilities. I was pretty unimpressed with it overall. But maybe I just was not giving it as much of a chance as I should. You could go with a Fighter and pick the Archery combat style (it gives you a bonus to hit, plus allows you do the equivalent old Power Attack feat, taking a penalty to hit in exchange for a bonus to damage). The main thing is that Fighters get a lot of extra attacks in this game, way more than anyone else. I made Minsc a Fighter, and I think he was attacking 4 times a round by the end.
Bows are also nerfed compared to Crossbows, which do more damage, and have no reload speed penalties at all. There is a mod that evens bows out with them however.
Magic works pretty well, especially for a D&D game. Wizards, clerics, paladins and the like will have a lot of spells that they know. When Clerics and Paladins level up they automatically learn all the spells for the next level. Wizards pick a few they can learn every level up. But they can also learn spells from scrolls, which more than makes up for that.
They still have to prepare spells from their full list in order to cast them, with a smaller number of prepared spells than total. However, unlike the older games you do not have to prepare the same spell multiple times in order to cast it that many times. You can only prepare a spell once, then you can can cast it as many times as you have spell slots.
Spell Slots are the old how many times you can cast a spell of each level per rest. As you level up you get more Spell Slots. The max seems to be 4 per spell level. But it goes pretty far.
So for example Magic Missile is a 1st level spell. You only prepare it once. But if you have 4 Spell Slots, you can cast it 4 times.
In addition to this all spellcasting classes get bonus spells, which do not need to be prepared. They are always castable. They still use a Spell Slot when you cast them. Well usually they do, there might be a few freebies once per long or short rest. I don't remember for certain. What those bonus spells are depends on your subclass. For example, a Light Domain Cleric gets Ray of Fire, Fireball, and Flame Strike as bonus spells as they level up.
Then there are Cantrips. In the old days they were just really weak spells. Now they are pretty cool. Cantrips do not have to be prepared, and they do not use a Spell Slot. So you can always cast them anytime, as often as you like. They are not overly powerful. But the damage ones do scale up. As a High Half Elf January automatically received a Firebolt Cantrip. It started doing 1d10 damage. But by the end of the game it was doing 3d10.
Many spells can also be Upcast. You can use a higher level Spell Slot to cast them, and get more damage by doing so. Typically you are adding a 1d8 or 1d10 to damage for each level up you go. So you can cast a 1st level spell with a 5th level slot and do insane damage. The Ray of Fire spell is normally just ok. But when you upcast it, it becomes a magical minigun.
The Short Rest Tweak mod and the Action Resources Replenish After Combat mods essentially make spellcasting per encounter. Your Spell Slots replenish after every battle, and you can cast spells continually while out of combat. That also makes spellcasters much more spell castinging.
Sorcerers of course do not have to prepare spells. All their spells can be cast at any time. But as before they get a lot fewer of them, and they can't learn them from scrolls. Sorcerers also get access to Meta Magic feats, which the other spellcasters do not (it seems like Wizards ought to get it too). These are various feats that allow you to do things like cast spells even when silenced, double the range of your spells, cast two spells when normally you can only cast one, etc... There is even one that allows you to recover expended spell slots during combat.
The Sorcerer/Paladin is an Uber multiclass. The reason is Paladin's level up their Spell Levels and Spell Slots slowly. And their main attack is a Smite, which is basically a spell that enhances your weapon attack and adds more damage. But each smite uses a Spell Slot. So you use them up quickly, especially at low levels.
One thing about this game is that you only have one set of Spell Slots for all you spells, even across different classes. So a Cleric/Wizard has just one set of Spell Slots for the spells of each class. So when you add in some Sorcerer levels, that gives your Paladin much more Spell Slots, and at higher levels. In the late game January was using her Smite at level 5, making multiple attacks, and easily dishing out over a 100 points of damage in one round if I really wanted to. This really cuts Boss enemies down to size quickly.
Also, the Counterspell is really cool. Make sure all your spellcasters who have access to it take this spell. If an enemy tries to cast a spell at you or a nearby party member, your Counterspell will go off and interrupt their casting. That stops them from casting the spell. This will save your group from many fireballs and lightning bolts. Best of all you can still act normally later in the round if have not acted yet. And you can still do this after taking your actions for the round. But I think it does use a Spell Slot every time. That is not really a big deal though.
Misty Step is also a really handy low level spell. I think it is 2nd level. It allows you to teleport a short distance, to any place you can see. There is a lot of jumping up and across to places in their game. But some locations are too far to jump. But you can still Misty Step there. It is also a way to move a huge distance. You can use your full movement for a round. Then you can Misty Step even further ahead, about the same distance. And on top of that you can expend your main action to use the Dash ability (which everyone gets), and once more double your base movement. This came in really handy in covering vast distances in the late game, where there are some timed missions, and you have to get things done fast.
Dimension Door is a 4th level spell that does the same, but allows you to take one other party member with you. Arcane Gate is a 6th level spell that is even better. It allows the caster to create a gateway, placing each end where they want it. Then anyone can go through the gate and pop from one side to the other. This helped a lot in the final battle when I had to cross a battlefield that was filled with ensnaring tentacles and a dragon. I had Gale create a Gate around most of it.
Bows are also nerfed compared to Crossbows, which do more damage, and have no reload speed penalties at all. There is a mod that evens bows out with them however.
Magic works pretty well, especially for a D&D game. Wizards, clerics, paladins and the like will have a lot of spells that they know. When Clerics and Paladins level up they automatically learn all the spells for the next level. Wizards pick a few they can learn every level up. But they can also learn spells from scrolls, which more than makes up for that.
They still have to prepare spells from their full list in order to cast them, with a smaller number of prepared spells than total. However, unlike the older games you do not have to prepare the same spell multiple times in order to cast it that many times. You can only prepare a spell once, then you can can cast it as many times as you have spell slots.
Spell Slots are the old how many times you can cast a spell of each level per rest. As you level up you get more Spell Slots. The max seems to be 4 per spell level. But it goes pretty far.
So for example Magic Missile is a 1st level spell. You only prepare it once. But if you have 4 Spell Slots, you can cast it 4 times.
In addition to this all spellcasting classes get bonus spells, which do not need to be prepared. They are always castable. They still use a Spell Slot when you cast them. Well usually they do, there might be a few freebies once per long or short rest. I don't remember for certain. What those bonus spells are depends on your subclass. For example, a Light Domain Cleric gets Ray of Fire, Fireball, and Flame Strike as bonus spells as they level up.
Then there are Cantrips. In the old days they were just really weak spells. Now they are pretty cool. Cantrips do not have to be prepared, and they do not use a Spell Slot. So you can always cast them anytime, as often as you like. They are not overly powerful. But the damage ones do scale up. As a High Half Elf January automatically received a Firebolt Cantrip. It started doing 1d10 damage. But by the end of the game it was doing 3d10.
Many spells can also be Upcast. You can use a higher level Spell Slot to cast them, and get more damage by doing so. Typically you are adding a 1d8 or 1d10 to damage for each level up you go. So you can cast a 1st level spell with a 5th level slot and do insane damage. The Ray of Fire spell is normally just ok. But when you upcast it, it becomes a magical minigun.
The Short Rest Tweak mod and the Action Resources Replenish After Combat mods essentially make spellcasting per encounter. Your Spell Slots replenish after every battle, and you can cast spells continually while out of combat. That also makes spellcasters much more spell castinging.
Sorcerers of course do not have to prepare spells. All their spells can be cast at any time. But as before they get a lot fewer of them, and they can't learn them from scrolls. Sorcerers also get access to Meta Magic feats, which the other spellcasters do not (it seems like Wizards ought to get it too). These are various feats that allow you to do things like cast spells even when silenced, double the range of your spells, cast two spells when normally you can only cast one, etc... There is even one that allows you to recover expended spell slots during combat.
The Sorcerer/Paladin is an Uber multiclass. The reason is Paladin's level up their Spell Levels and Spell Slots slowly. And their main attack is a Smite, which is basically a spell that enhances your weapon attack and adds more damage. But each smite uses a Spell Slot. So you use them up quickly, especially at low levels.
One thing about this game is that you only have one set of Spell Slots for all you spells, even across different classes. So a Cleric/Wizard has just one set of Spell Slots for the spells of each class. So when you add in some Sorcerer levels, that gives your Paladin much more Spell Slots, and at higher levels. In the late game January was using her Smite at level 5, making multiple attacks, and easily dishing out over a 100 points of damage in one round if I really wanted to. This really cuts Boss enemies down to size quickly.
Also, the Counterspell is really cool. Make sure all your spellcasters who have access to it take this spell. If an enemy tries to cast a spell at you or a nearby party member, your Counterspell will go off and interrupt their casting. That stops them from casting the spell. This will save your group from many fireballs and lightning bolts. Best of all you can still act normally later in the round if have not acted yet. And you can still do this after taking your actions for the round. But I think it does use a Spell Slot every time. That is not really a big deal though.
Misty Step is also a really handy low level spell. I think it is 2nd level. It allows you to teleport a short distance, to any place you can see. There is a lot of jumping up and across to places in their game. But some locations are too far to jump. But you can still Misty Step there. It is also a way to move a huge distance. You can use your full movement for a round. Then you can Misty Step even further ahead, about the same distance. And on top of that you can expend your main action to use the Dash ability (which everyone gets), and once more double your base movement. This came in really handy in covering vast distances in the late game, where there are some timed missions, and you have to get things done fast.
Dimension Door is a 4th level spell that does the same, but allows you to take one other party member with you. Arcane Gate is a 6th level spell that is even better. It allows the caster to create a gateway, placing each end where they want it. Then anyone can go through the gate and pop from one side to the other. This helped a lot in the final battle when I had to cross a battlefield that was filled with ensnaring tentacles and a dragon. I had Gale create a Gate around most of it.
Thanks for all those neat details! 
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Sep 6 2023, 05:19 PM)
*snip*
I feel like Assy is no slouch at range with a longbow and sneak attacks, at least at this early level. I try to always keep him at range.
I have been thinking about doing a crossbow character version of my Fallout character, Désirée. Probably go archery fighter with some levels in either Ranger (for the spells), or Rogue, for sneak attack. Or better yet, just go with Eldritch Knight for fighter subclass to get access to spells and then take Rogue to get sneak attack!
Assy really did not impress me with his Sneak Attack damage. He was usually only doing 20-30 points of damage at best. But that did not come near the total damage my paladins, barbarians, and fighters could dish out in a round. They were averaging 60-100 points a turn due to their extra attacks, and just doing more per single attack.
It might be because I dual-classed Assy as a Ranger, so he only got to around 6-7th level as a Rogue, and about the same as a Ranger. I was hoping the Ranger class would come with some sick archery powers, like flaming arrows, or double arrows, etc... that other games give their Rangers. But he got none of that.
Maybe if I try to stick him to pure Rogue he will work better? Or if I leave him his one level in Rogue, and go Fighter for the rest of the game. He would still get the sneak attack, and get lots of extra attacks that way.
I was unimpressed with Wyll as a Warlock too. I think it is because I made him Pact of the Blade, and tried to make him both a melee fighter and a spellcaster. Maybe I should have taken one of the other Pacts, and gone a pure spellcaster route with him? I don't know.
*****
I also made a few new discoveries in the last few days starting (and restarting, and restarting) Blood Raven. If you start as a magician class, and then multi-class as a Fighter, you do not get all the starting Fighter proficiencies (the armor, shield,and weapon ones). You don't get any extra profiencies. So you have to take them all with your Feat choices later, which are few and far between with the vanilla rules.
So start as a Fighter (or Barbarian, or Paladin), and then multi-class as a spellcaster later. Otherwise you will be hamstrung.
My original intent was to play Blood Raven with the Dark Urge Origin. What I had read was that while you have a mysterious past and get prompted to do all sorts of evil things, you had the choice to not do those things and play a good character. Nope. That is a lie. Near the end of Act 1 you will murder Alfira (the Tiefling bard at the Druid Circle). There is a convoluted work around, but you just end up killing someone else instead. Which is not better in my book. So looks like I will never play that one.
So now I am playing Blood Raven for the 4th or 5th time, as a regular custom character, starting as a Fighter first.
*****
I also figured out a few things about the into cutscenes of the game. The first city the nautiloid flies over was not Baldur's Gate, as I had imagined. It was some other place called Yartar, a few hundred miles east of Neverwinter. Though still on the Sword Coast.
In the second set of cutscenes, when the nautiloid comes back from Hell, several people observe it from the ground. The first is a Tiefling. She is Nadira, one of the people in the Druid Circle. You find her sitting on top of a hill with a telescope later. The second group you see watching through a telescope is a Bugbear and a Drow. The Drow is Minthara, a possible companion who works for the Absolute who you can only recruit by doing the evil route. Those two are in the Goblin Camp, and you see their goblins running out after the crash site.
Finally, right before you fall out of the nautiloid you look across you and there is a Mind Flayer staring back at you from across a breach in the hull. I think that might be the person who saves you from dying in the fall, and is very important later in the game as an ally. But I am not sure about that. The timing might be off on where he was at what time. Unfortunately all the Mind Flayers do look alike, and tend to dress exactly alike as well. He was somewhere on that ship, and might also be the one who infected you with the tadpole.
It might be because I dual-classed Assy as a Ranger, so he only got to around 6-7th level as a Rogue, and about the same as a Ranger. I was hoping the Ranger class would come with some sick archery powers, like flaming arrows, or double arrows, etc... that other games give their Rangers. But he got none of that.
Maybe if I try to stick him to pure Rogue he will work better? Or if I leave him his one level in Rogue, and go Fighter for the rest of the game. He would still get the sneak attack, and get lots of extra attacks that way.
I was unimpressed with Wyll as a Warlock too. I think it is because I made him Pact of the Blade, and tried to make him both a melee fighter and a spellcaster. Maybe I should have taken one of the other Pacts, and gone a pure spellcaster route with him? I don't know.
*****
I also made a few new discoveries in the last few days starting (and restarting, and restarting) Blood Raven. If you start as a magician class, and then multi-class as a Fighter, you do not get all the starting Fighter proficiencies (the armor, shield,and weapon ones). You don't get any extra profiencies. So you have to take them all with your Feat choices later, which are few and far between with the vanilla rules.
So start as a Fighter (or Barbarian, or Paladin), and then multi-class as a spellcaster later. Otherwise you will be hamstrung.
My original intent was to play Blood Raven with the Dark Urge Origin. What I had read was that while you have a mysterious past and get prompted to do all sorts of evil things, you had the choice to not do those things and play a good character. Nope. That is a lie. Near the end of Act 1 you will murder Alfira (the Tiefling bard at the Druid Circle). There is a convoluted work around, but you just end up killing someone else instead. Which is not better in my book. So looks like I will never play that one.
So now I am playing Blood Raven for the 4th or 5th time, as a regular custom character, starting as a Fighter first.
*****
I also figured out a few things about the into cutscenes of the game. The first city the nautiloid flies over was not Baldur's Gate, as I had imagined. It was some other place called Yartar, a few hundred miles east of Neverwinter. Though still on the Sword Coast.
In the second set of cutscenes, when the nautiloid comes back from Hell, several people observe it from the ground. The first is a Tiefling. She is Nadira, one of the people in the Druid Circle. You find her sitting on top of a hill with a telescope later. The second group you see watching through a telescope is a Bugbear and a Drow. The Drow is Minthara, a possible companion who works for the Absolute who you can only recruit by doing the evil route. Those two are in the Goblin Camp, and you see their goblins running out after the crash site.
Finally, right before you fall out of the nautiloid you look across you and there is a Mind Flayer staring back at you from across a breach in the hull. I think that might be the person who saves you from dying in the fall, and is very important later in the game as an ally. But I am not sure about that. The timing might be off on where he was at what time. Unfortunately all the Mind Flayers do look alike, and tend to dress exactly alike as well. He was somewhere on that ship, and might also be the one who infected you with the tadpole.
I’ll let you know what I think because I’m just going to leave Assy as an Assassin (get it? ).
My character Saryn is a Pact of the Blade warlock. The cool thing about this is that, yes, you can stand back and shoot fools with Eldritch Blast (which feels so right in this game!), but you can also use your Charisma score to hit with your Pact melee weapons which makes the warlock even more versatile. A really good combo is Warlock/Vengeance Paladin. Get a Glaive or some other heavy weapon as your Pact weapon and go to town with some smites! Probably want to start off as a Paladin to get those proficiencies right from the start.
Speaking of the class proficiencies, not getting the new class’s proficiencies sounds like a bug to me. You absolutely get the new proficiencies for a multiclass in D&D 5E.
Finally, right before you fall out of the nautiloid you look across you and there is a Mind Flayer staring back at you from across a breach in the hull. I think that might be the person who saves you from dying in the fall, and is very important later in the game as an ally. But I am not sure about that. The timing might be off on where he was at what time. Unfortunately all the Mind Flayers do look alike, and tend to dress exactly alike as well. He was somewhere on that ship, and might also be the one who infected you with the tadpole.
Hmmm, see, I was thinking that MF ( ) was the one you find dying in the wreckage shortly after finding Assy.
).My character Saryn is a Pact of the Blade warlock. The cool thing about this is that, yes, you can stand back and shoot fools with Eldritch Blast (which feels so right in this game!), but you can also use your Charisma score to hit with your Pact melee weapons which makes the warlock even more versatile. A really good combo is Warlock/Vengeance Paladin. Get a Glaive or some other heavy weapon as your Pact weapon and go to town with some smites! Probably want to start off as a Paladin to get those proficiencies right from the start.
Speaking of the class proficiencies, not getting the new class’s proficiencies sounds like a bug to me. You absolutely get the new proficiencies for a multiclass in D&D 5E.
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Sep 7 2023, 07:04 PM)
Finally, right before you fall out of the nautiloid you look across you and there is a Mind Flayer staring back at you from across a breach in the hull. I think that might be the person who saves you from dying in the fall, and is very important later in the game as an ally. But I am not sure about that. The timing might be off on where he was at what time. Unfortunately all the Mind Flayers do look alike, and tend to dress exactly alike as well. He was somewhere on that ship, and might also be the one who infected you with the tadpole.
Hmmm, see, I was thinking that MF (
) was the one you find dying in the wreckage shortly after finding Assy.
I experimented a bit more with dual weapons, and I think I finally figured it out. Under the boxes to select your weapons there is a button to turn on two weapon mode or not. With it on you automatically strike with both your equipped weapons. With it off you only strike with your main hand weapon, even with two equipped. Then you had to use a bonus action to strike with the off-hand weapon. Assuming you did not use your bonus action for something else. I was doing it without both weapons selected all through my last playthrough, and I think that's why it felt really meh to me.
I also figured out that you can dual wield ranged weapons, using hand crossbows. Astarion dual wielding them is pretty good. Better than him using a longbow. The Dual Weapon abilities are confusing. The Feat allows you to use larger than Light weapons. And it gives you a +1 to AC. The Two Weapon fighting style that Fighters and a few others get gives you your ability bonus on your offhand weapon, rather than just your main hand weapon.
For some reason Rapiers are not light weapons. But Scimitars are. Even though both are Finesse weapons.
Now I have Astarion using two +1 Hand Crossbows, and two +1 Rapiers, and I will see how that works out.
I also just got Wyll, and leveled him up again. The other Pacts did not do much for me. Familiars seem really underwhelming in this game. In other games they gave you a spell or power. But in this they just seem to be a very low hit point henchman. The Pact of the Book did not seem much better. So I went with Pact of the Blade with Wyll again. Maybe I could try to multiclass him as a Paladin, to take advantage of that Charisma bonus. A Pact Glaive + Smite might be just the ticket.
I think you are right about the Mind Flayer you find just after Astarion. The one who tries to put the hoodoo on you, and gets his face caved in by my boot instead. He probably is the one who infected us. Though he may or may not be the same one we saw before flying out the hole in the nautiloid. They all look the damn same!
I also figured out that you can dual wield ranged weapons, using hand crossbows. Astarion dual wielding them is pretty good. Better than him using a longbow. The Dual Weapon abilities are confusing. The Feat allows you to use larger than Light weapons. And it gives you a +1 to AC. The Two Weapon fighting style that Fighters and a few others get gives you your ability bonus on your offhand weapon, rather than just your main hand weapon.
For some reason Rapiers are not light weapons. But Scimitars are. Even though both are Finesse weapons.
Now I have Astarion using two +1 Hand Crossbows, and two +1 Rapiers, and I will see how that works out.
I also just got Wyll, and leveled him up again. The other Pacts did not do much for me. Familiars seem really underwhelming in this game. In other games they gave you a spell or power. But in this they just seem to be a very low hit point henchman. The Pact of the Book did not seem much better. So I went with Pact of the Blade with Wyll again. Maybe I could try to multiclass him as a Paladin, to take advantage of that Charisma bonus. A Pact Glaive + Smite might be just the ticket.
I think you are right about the Mind Flayer you find just after Astarion. The one who tries to put the hoodoo on you, and gets his face caved in by my boot instead. He probably is the one who infected us. Though he may or may not be the same one we saw before flying out the hole in the nautiloid. They all look the damn same!
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Sep 8 2023, 01:51 AM)
I experimented a bit more with dual weapons, and I think I finally figured it out. Under the boxes to select your weapons there is a button to turn on two weapon mode or not. With it on you automatically strike with both your equipped weapons. With it off you only strike with your main hand weapon, even with two equipped. Then you had to use a bonus action to strike with the off-hand weapon. Assuming you did not use your bonus action for something else. I was doing it without both weapons selected all through my last playthrough, and I think that's why it felt really meh to me.
I also figured out that you can dual wield ranged weapons, using hand crossbows. Astarion dual wielding them is pretty good. Better than him using a longbow. The Dual Weapon abilities are confusing. The Feat allows you to use larger than Light weapons. And it gives you a +1 to AC. The Two Weapon fighting style that Fighters and a few others get gives you your ability bonus on your offhand weapon, rather than just your main hand weapon.
For some reason Rapiers are not light weapons. But Scimitars are. Even though both are Finesse weapons.
Now I have Astarion using two +1 Hand Crossbows, and two +1 Rapiers, and I will see how that works out.
I also just got Wyll, and leveled him up again. The other Pacts did not do much for me. Familiars seem really underwhelming in this game. In other games they gave you a spell or power. But in this they just seem to be a very low hit point henchman. The Pact of the Book did not seem much better. So I went with Pact of the Blade with Wyll again. Maybe I could try to multiclass him as a Paladin, to take advantage of that Charisma bonus. A Pact Glaive + Smite might be just the ticket.
I think you are right about the Mind Flayer you find just after Astarion. The one who tries to put the hoodoo on you, and gets his face caved in by my boot instead. He probably is the one who infected us. Though he may or may not be the same one we saw before flying out the hole in the nautiloid. They all look the damn same!
If you are going with two hand crossbows, get the Thief subclass and sharpshooter feat. Thief will allow you to make three attacks because you get a second bonus action as soon as you get the subclass. Sharpshooter let’s you add +10 damage to the attack with a -5 penalty to hit. Could make him more potent.
I did go Thief subclass with him. Next time I get a feat I will do the sharpshooter. So I will see how that works out.
QUOTE(SubRosa @ Sep 8 2023, 06:11 PM)
I did go Thief subclass with him. Next time I get I feat I will do the sharpshooter. So I will see how that works out.
The only thing is that I worry that -5 penalty to hit might be harsh at first. Maybe it would be best to pump your Dex up to 18 or even max it out first.
I used the Great Weapon version of that for my paladins, fighters, and barbarians, and I usually just turned it off because the "To Hit" penalty was just to high in most cases.
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