Geh4th's v5.0 game thread, progress, trouble, questions, requests for advice, etc Options

[geh4th]

This thread will document my experiences with my first serious attempt with IA v5.0. This is the first IA version I've played and I'm still fairly new to the mod; comments from others regarding my decisions, progress and problems are welcome.

I did a fairly short initial trial with 5.0 using a Vagrant and all-bioware NPC’s, but decided early on that I’d already seen/heard most of the NPC banter ad nauseum and frankly, it was getting old after many games of BG2. I decided to restart and customize a party to what I wanted to use and just pay attention to the business of campaigning.

As a result, I created 4 characters on multiplayer as the core of my group:

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1) Human Vagrant protagonist
Weapons: 2-wpn combat x3, longsword x2, flail, club, longbow
L9 will be flail again unless I've somehow found a better weapon than the FoA by then. Not bloody likely I figure.

Notes: This is the same protagonist I was using with the previous game; I want to play out the Vagrant to see those new quests. Next game I'll do a mage type.
Ability score note: I legitimately rolled an 18/00 strength with this PC. First time I've ever done that in many years of roleplaying. I nearly fell out of my chair
I took club because based on my earlier experience, those seemed to be a very prevalent decent quality weapon available early. Flail is obviously for the FoA and the late-game goodies that become available. I'm also looking to get at least one * in Axe soon (probably L12, but depends on what weapons I come up with, too.)

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2) Dwarven Fighter/Thief
Weapons: Warhammer x2, Shortsword x2, Axe x2

I wanted a decent thief that continues to level in the profession throughout ToB. His next 3 weapons picks are going to be in dual-wielding.
With a 19 constitution, this PC is a surprisingly good tank, particularly if before the tougher battles I have him don 'real' armor. With the Dwarven Thrower hammer, he's tremendously effective early in the game and I don't expect that to change.

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3) Human Ranger, Dualled to cleric immediately.
Weapons: 2-wpn combat style x3, Flail x2, Club x2, Hammer
As Cleric: Quarterstaff, Sling; mace at L4. Will take Quarterstaff again at L8 (there's some decent +3 staves available early.)
I love this class combination for a PC. Ranger abilities, Cleric spells and Druid Spells. Beats the heck out of Anomen if you ask me, despite the 4* he has in flail. I'm not a fan of going beyond 2* in a weapon anyhow, IMO the return is simply not worth the investment. And while it's not all that relevant for a cleric (who can't use slashing/piercing weapons) I think that it's foolish to over-specialize in one weapon class in a mod that encourages weapon diversity because of monster resistances to damage type.
The reason I dualled right away was to get the extra weapon proficiency at L8 cleric. I'm not sure if this is prudent since I'm 'wasting' about 15,000 xp's, but it seemed a reasonable goal. It also means she will regain her Ranger abilities relatively fast.

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4) Human Beserker
Weapons: 2-handed weapon style x2, 2-handed sword x2, Halberd x2.
My intent is for this PC to dual to mage at level 9. As a mage she'll take Quarterstaff (L1) + Dart (L6), then at L12 Quarterstaff again.
She's my 2-handed weapon specialist, needless to say.

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My last two spots will be BioWare NPC's that will vary initially as I do quests, but I'm a bit undecided on which two to carry into the late game. I'm fascinated by the Auramaster (Cernd, specifically) thanks to the class' incredible number and versatility of spells. Cernd is a bit lacking statistically (If only he had an 18 dex!) but his items upgrades look really cool - not to mention a few other druid-specific items available both from IA and vanilla SoA/ToB.

Imoen will ultimately be my last NPC once I get to her. I've read some game reports and realize that she's very powerful later in the game. Besides, she's been there from the start (of BG1) and I consider her essential to the story. Otherwise, what's the point?

This gives me 4 "tanks" (Vagrant, Fighter/Thief, Beserker/Mage, Ranger/Cleric) and 2 pure spellcasters (Auramaster, Sorcerer.) If this seems out of balance for IA, or if there's any obvious flaws that I'm overlooking, I invite anyone to comment on it. Do I have enough pure fighter firepower (i.e. will they be good enough later in the game)? Do I have enough arcane firepower? Is 2 divine casters too much (despite Cernd's arcane abilities)? If so, who would I replace Cernd with? Valygar? Haer'Dalis? Another custom PC? Someone else?

Thanks in advance for any input. I look forward to sharing my experiences just as others of you already have.


geh4th (maybe I'll invent a cool name for myself someday.)

[geh4th]

Update of my game:

I'm just about ready to head to Spellhold, cleaning up some leftover encounters before leaving. I'm also wanting to forge a few much-needed items. My party is primarily 14th level at this point. I know to be careful that my protagonist (Vagrant) doesn't make 15th before going to Brynnlaw.

Vagrant - 14, Flail of the Ages +3, Frostreaver +3
Cavalier - 14, Lilarcor
Valygar - 13, +3 club, his own Katana
Skald - 17, +3 Short sword of Backstabbing, sings a whole lot
Ranger-7/Cleric - 15; Treefolk's Arm +4
Nalia - 14; Martial Staff +3

So far, I've only forged 2 significant items: Improved Dragon Helm and Treefolk's Arm.
My only other +4 weapon at this point is the Staff of Rynn (which is used by the Cavalier).

I haven't done any of Watcher's Keep, Shade Lord, Shadow Dragon, Firekraag, Samia's Party, Chaos Monster, Pirate Hideout, any of the city Liches, Twisted Rune (duh), Planar Prison, Guarded compound, Borinall. (There probably are other Ch 2/3 unfinished quests that I've missed listing here.) I have just been given permission to get the Paladin Stronghold but haven't gone to the order yet, have done fighter stronghold up to installation of the Cleric storekeeper, and finished all of the Cleric quests. My Mage apprentices are working on their first item.

My most recent triumph was Conster, on my 3rd try. First try was a massacre as I wasn't prepared and didn't know what to expect (gah!), 2nd try I almost won, was down to the last skeleton lord when Conster PW-killed my Vagrant....then the lightbulb went on and I realized how to deal with all of the skeletons and keep Conster busy while doing it. It was REALLY easy when I realized what to do (I hardly even took any damage at all through all 8 Skelly's. Felt pretty good about that.)

I have an experience cushion before I'm 15th (about 250K before Vagrant makes a new level), so I'm wanting to do something else significant to get some upgrade components before going on the trip to spellhold. I'm still looking for ingredients to Phosphorus - I need the 2nd Morningstar +2 (I got the one from the Jailor) and a couple of permanency scrolls (I've used one for Treefolk's Arm, and I have one, I need 2 more.)

Anyone have any advice on where to go next, with the goal of upgrade components in mind? Nothing specific, but in general, what would a party of this type be able to handle, and where am I likely to find things that are most useful for upgrading? Can I handle the Shadow Dragon at this stage? Pirate hideout? Planar Prison? Borinall? Watcher's Keep? I know I probably can't handle Firekraag, Samia's party, the Liches or the Guarded Compound quite yet.