Tag: baldur’s gate

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• Soloing - the Introduction
• The Blade Kit explained
• Used Baldur’s Gate II Setup

1. Part 1: Irenicus’ Dungeon
2. Part 2: The Circus Tent & Slums Slaves
3. Part 3: A Tanner & More Slaves
4. Part 4: The Astral Prison
5. Part 5: Daystar & Mae’Var
6. Part 6: Some Beholders & a Lich
7. Part 7: Druid Grove & Guarded Compound
8. Part 8: Planar Sphere & Kangaxx!
9. Part 9: The Shadow Temple

Introduction

With a small group of Forgotten Realms fans at Shrimprefuge, we decided to take on the Baldur’s Gate world using only one character (hence solo). For most of us, this will be the first solo run so I figured we (and other readers) could use a report writeup as the characters progress through the game.

Before picking the class bard and kit blade, I did some basic research on how to play and which strategy should work - and which won’t. The most resourceful report was definatly andijvieschotel’s one from the BioWare forums. Thanks to him, I managed to get through some very otherwise tough portions of the game, especially in the beginning. Let’s get on with it, shall we.

The Blade Kit

For those who are not very familiar with Bards in Baldur’s Gate, here is the official kit description.

The blade is an expert fighter and adventurer, whose bardic acting abilities make him appear more intimidating and fearsome. His fighting style is flashy and entertaining, but is also quite deadly.

Advantages

May use Offensive Spin and Defensive Spin abilities once per day per 4 levels. Offensive Spin lasts 24 seconds, granting the blade +2 to hit, +2 to damage, and an extra attack. As well, all of his attacks do maximum damage for the duration. Defensive Spin lasts 24 seconds, roots him to the spot, but gives -1 AC per level of experience. This armor class bonus does not go over -10.

May place three slots into two-weapon fighting style.

Disadvantages

Only has one-half normal Lore value.
Only has one-half Pick Pockets percentage;
Bard Song does not become better with levels.

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Lots of misunderstanding exist for breaking through the spell protections of high level spell casting creatures. This guide is an almost exact copy of zvijers guide at the gone forgotten wars forum, also carried on by “The Hero’s Guide to a Successful adventure“. I found this to be very informative and vital for solo runs. The strategies explain mage protections in weimer’s Tactics modification.
All credits go to Xyx, Alson and Littiz for their Spell Reference Guide!

Article Index

1. Spell Protection Categories
2. Remove Magic VS Breach
3. Smarter Magics: Unable to defeat?
4. Beating difficult Mages without magic
5. Cheesy ways of getting rid of Liches

Last Update: February 02, 2007, at 11:35 PM

Spell Protection categories

So What is spell protection? Spell protection is in 3 catagories…spell protection to protect you from physical damage, like stoneskin, and protection from magic weapons. It is also elemental protection, like protection from cold, and protection from the elements. And last, protection from spells, like spell trap and spell shield. So, to be able to punch thru protection spells, you need in your arsenal spells that can destroy all 3 types of spell protection, right? Wrong! Now due to the way the game works, protection from spells is incredibly easy to get around…simply hit the target with area effect spells…like my favorite, incindiary cloud, or abi dahzim’s horrid wiltings…since a protection from spells DEPENDS on the enemy casting a spell directly at you, like polymorph other, or magic missile, if your enemy hits you with a area effect spell, or just plain bashes you with this big hammer, all the protection from spells in the game wont help you at all…so this means that the spell turning, spell trap, globe of invulnerability and spell shield that enemy mages put up are completely useless…you hit the mage or spell casting monster with an area effect spell, or holy avenger, and all the protection from spells it casts does nothing…
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Party Numer TWO - 06 Jan. 2006

Download savegame here!

Savegame #2, 06 Jan. 2006 (Warning: mods required, see below)

Attitude: Xandarr, my main character. I decided to create a melee divine spellcaster, for the very first time, since I’ve been using Arcane Magic way too much. I ended up with three members who are able to cast divinity spells, which is awesome. Xandarr is also the main melee mob killer, besides Keldorn. He performs this job very well using two maces or a flail, fully buffed up with his own spells. Type: Human Chaotic Good, Cleric/Ranger Name: Xandarr Strength: dual wielding melee combat, maces/flails, divine magic	Attitude: Ah, my beloved Inquisitor. I love this guy, especially when he’s wielding the Holy Avenger, the +5 two-handled sword carefully preserved by Firkraag. The only paladin in the game. His only weak point is the low DEX, but that can be easily fixed by a pair of gauntlets. Keldorn’s True Sight and Dispel Magic are very powerful and useful too. Type: Human Lawful Good, Inquisitor Name: Keldorn Strength: melee 2-handled swords, crossbows, innate abilities
Attitude: I never picked up Valygar, besides the planar sphere quest. My party is always too full. Instead of creating the cheesy Kensai/mage I’m used to, I am doing fine unlocking Valygar’s true powers: also katana’s of course. Give him a pair of haste boots and some buffs and watch him kill. As a ranger, Valygar can also cast some useful (divine, again) spells. Radical Enemy is a plus! Type: Human, Chaotic Good, Stalker Name: Valygar Strength: dual wielding melee combat, katana’s, special abilities	Attitude: Cernd is the only Druid/shapeshifter in the game and it’s time to spread the word: shapeshifters are powerful if you use the right strategy. Partially thanks to the shapeshifter fix modification, of course. And Cernd has access to some pretty powerful spells, and can serve as a backup healer. Yes. Type: Human, True Neutral, Shapeshifter Name: Cernd Strength: melee (shapeshifted), divine magic
Attitude: I cannot live without a proper backup mage, whether it’s a silly Illusionist or not. I did not rescue my sister yet, so chances are I’ll ditch Jan in the future. I know all his silly stories and he was never really useful, except as a backup. But I need some thief abilities (my previous main char was an assassin). Type: Gnome, Chaotic Neutral - Illusionist/thief Name: Jan Janssen Strength: Magic: Illusions, ranged - crossbows	Attitude: Ah, the main damage output has finally arrived. There is sadly no sorcerer present in the unmodified version of BG2, and I cannot live without Kelsey anymore. He never ever let me down: whether it’s spamming fireballs or lowering mage’s resistances and breaching their shields. Less spell picks, more spell memorization slots. That’s a pretty good deal. Type: Human, Lawful Neutral Sorcerer Name: Kelsey Strength: Arcane magic.

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A few days ago, Obsidian’s modular Roleplaying game Neverwinter Nights 2 was released. NWN is well-known for its overwhelming amounth of fan-made modules and even whole Community Packs. This is the result of BioWare’s powerful Aurora Engine toolkit, which came packaged with the game. So actually it’s not that strange the game gets so much attention - take a look at UT2004’s numberous modifications or Total Conversions: with UnrealEd this is all possible.

BioWare’s previous critically acclaimed Roleplaying game, Baldur’s Gate II, did not feature any toolkits when it was released in 2000. BG2 used Planescape Torment’s and Icewind Dale’s Infinity Engine to render scenes. (Acutally the Infinity Engine was first used in BG1, released in 1998. Black Isle did Planescape in 1999) Thanks to BG’s widely accepted “Best RPG Game ever” state, fans started engineering tools to hack the file system used by this engine. Various File extractors and speech decompilers started showing up and before you know it, complete Conversions for Baldur’s Gate became available! Let’s dig really deep and list a (short, can’t possibly list everything) couple of popular modifications for Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn, and for the expansion pack, Throne of Bhaal.

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RPGs aren’t that rare anymore (good ones are), especially not on the console. Developers like to copy previous used techniques and concepts as it reduces the effort needed to finalize their own product, ànd this gives a familiar look which mostly means guaranteed sales. But are these mechanics good enough? Do they work? Are you roleplaying or watching a scripted scene full of soulless characters? Let’s have an in-depth look at nowadays Roleplaying Games with their biggest strengths and weaknesses.

There is so much to be seen and done in a typical RPG, it’s impossible to write a short article about. Instead, let’s review some of the basic and most used aspects of computer/console Roleplaying games. Below is a short breakdown of several concepts. They will get updated regulary, hopefully.

1. NPC interaction techniques | Watch NPC reaction videos! >>
2. Correct Item Placement
3. (Over)world systems and travelling
4. party building
5. member customization
6. battle sequences: random or not?
7. do’s and don’s of level grinding

I should warn you however, before you continue to read one of the article’s contents. Some negative criticism can be rather subjective. If you disagree and would like to enlighten us further, please do leave a comment as everything is of course open for discussion. Oh and there could be slight spoilers present without my direct knowledge. Sorry about that.

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Both old school and modern roleplaying games feature many times at least one “Lich” entry. And the evil spellcasting undead creature will almost always kick your butt without proper protection. And why is it that so many big boss battles featuring some kind of super evil incarnation always have to transform into even worse enemies? Even Ganon tricked me in A link to The Past, although he is certainly not classified as Lich. Every variation of a lich encounter in most games will send you raging like mad - or maybe this is just me.

Perhapst the most well-known Lich there is to date is our dear friend, Kangaxx. He starts out as a “regular” Elemental Lich, previously encountered in Athkatla’s gate district (or maybe not yet). In Dungeons & Dragons terms, this means Kangaxx will start out as a powerfull undead spellcaster (yes, level 9 spells) which is completely immunte to spell levels 5 and down - including Breach. That’s pretty painful on it’s own.
But wait, it gets better. After you managed to beat him, he’ll transfer into a demi-lich. Demi-what? Immunity to spell levels 9 and down, immune to all +4 and down weapon enchantments. You will not only be unable to damage the guy, he also has innate abilities to crush your party in seconds using Trap the Soul and Demilich soul. Lean your lesson, reload, and come prepared. Enough Spell Protection scrolls, for instance.

What did we learn so far -

1. Liches are mostly your enemies.
2. Most liches are undead ranged spellcasters
3. Liches are tough and have high immunities.
4. Forgotten Realms includes even harder to crack nuts: Demiliches.
5. Kangaxx owns your ass the first four reloads.

Liches are (very) tough guys, this is nothing new(s). Being able to actually play as a lich in your favorite Handheld game may be. Using the secretly aquired Ring of the Dead you can - once you’ve met the proper requirements - transform your generic spellcasting character (even NPCs) into a Lich. What’s the big deal? Equip a lich with a glass pumpkin. You’ll know why. Spellcasters are known for their big long ranged offensive powers - but also for their weakness: defense and health. Scratch those last two if you’re a lich (In Tacics Ogre: Knights of Lodis anyway). It’s completely possible to send out major pain to your enemies in the front lines, without the need for any usual backup. Altough a Spell fluct or two may help of course.

I do not know if BioWare did this on purpose, but playing through their Singleplayer campagin (including both expansions, the original one does not contain a lich) - the game feels considerably easier than the well-known Baldur’s Gate series. Maybe the newly adjusted D&D 3.5 rules are the cause, maybe the mediocore singleplayer campaign is. Maybe neither. I was playing as a rogue and merely defeated a demilich using a timestop scroll (which did not stop him but his critters), a couple of higly-enchanted dagger swings and poof, the treasure appeared. Which was junk by the way, compared to Kangaxx’ ring!

What did we learn so far -

1. Liches can be overly powerful NPCs.
2. Really dead Liches usually drop high level loot
3. Which logically classifies them as high level enemies.
4. Some Liches represent the “you’re not so tough” slogan, but can still kick your butt.

Besides the different Forgotten Realms campaigns, there are plenty of liches roaming in other video games. For instance, Might & Magic VIII: Day of the Destroyer. Instead of getting to kill one, your many game hours will once pay off. At least after finishing the Lich promotion quest and having a worthy Necromancer in your party, that is. Every class (which you were not able to pick yourself except the main character’s - in contrast with previous Might & Magic games) can be upgraded to a more devastating one, using trainers spread across the realm. They give you special promotion quests which require you to fetch a specific artifact somewhere hidden in the depths of a high level dungeon. Once you completed the quest, your necromancer’s avatar even changed into a cool looking undead face - hell yeah!

Admittedly, class promotion quests are not new to Might & Magic VIII. But the rather uninspired class picks in previous games bribed me into playing version eight of the series. Who wants to play as a measly Druid if you can have the power of a lich? And you’ll be respected among your friends for having that coolness factor upgrade. Just Kidding.
Many reviews state VIII is not a great addition to the Might & Magic series, but in the end - it’s all worth it. Heroes of Might & Magic also featured several Liches and the newly released Dark Messiah will traditionally too.

Yes yes, this is the part where we talk about Blizzard’s so-called amazing achievement by dumping a talking lich into the main story of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and it’s expansion pack. Blizzard did play safe here by not adding any additional tasks to the lich’s already-too-long list: as a plain Hero, you can cast various powerful long ranged spells and you’re physically the weakest among your brethren. Nothing special to told really, why am I still jabbing about it? Well it should at least be mentioned since Warcraft is still too popular for it’s own good.

What did we learn so far -

1. M&MVIII is not great but the Liches in the game are.
2. Blizzard is for one not always very creative with Liches.
3. Liches can play a huge role in the game plot, even partially voiced. (Urgh! Yeah… )

While we’re at it, it does not hurt to bring up the great memories of Secret of Mana, fighting against the Dark Lich, which returned as big boss in Seiken Densetsu 3. Sadly the latter never even made it to the USA officially, so us left-alone Europeans can go ahead and insult the whole console video game industry again. Anyway, the Dark Lich traditionally represented a couple of badly stitched together bones with superhuman size (altough that was not the case on many PC liches - must have been a weird Japanese obsession, the size of bosses). The appearance of both bosses are still consequent with the plot: they should scare the hell out of you - exactly as planned -, since they represent one (if not the) of the final enemies in the whole game. Secret’s Lich resembles maybe a tiny little bit to Nintendo’s mad Ganondorf at full rage. Well, the color design and overall feel does. Compare one of those bad guys with Wizard Work’s creations and statistics: most (Japanese) console end bosses rise from the background, waving their hands like mad, mostly coupled by chasing you over the screen - if you can still separate your characters from the boss by looking at the pixels… Tradition, I guess.

Attach:lich_ff.png”lich final fantasy I” I might have gotten ahead of myself. What is an article about beastiary without a reference to one of the Final Fantasy games? And what could be better than a Lich featuring as boss in version I? It resembles a skeletal sorcerer, and thus has powerful magic. Yawn, they surely could have been a little more original? However, since a lich is by definition (well usually) undead, applying the basic Final Fantasy magic rules results in vulnerability to fire and healing magic. Healing magic - check. Fire? What the hell? It gets even better. In Final Fantasy Tactics, the lich creature is composed of dark-elemental summon magic. Definitly Sounds fancy.

What did we learn so far -

1. Liches played the boss since 1987.
2. (Japanese) Console game liches are usually bigger and weirder anime-ish versions.
3. Final Fantasy is just plain stupid. Whoops! Hehehe.

Handy References

• D&D20 Demilich monster Page
• The lich fantasy background
• Tactics Ogre Classes: the Lich
• Might & Magic VIII Promotion quest: Lich
• Wikipedia Lich Entry
• Final Fantasy Compendium: the Lich