Baldurs Gate : Tales of the sword coast

Rev Hellfire

Well if your life isnt messed up enough already, Tales of the sword coast is out on the 14th ( and you get a pack of magic cards with it, so we're getting closer to those freaks at Qp than is comfortable).
And for those of you who are only starting the games can be played together, with the areas in the tales available to the first as well, which takes place before Baldaurs gate.

also it seems a new massively multipayer game is been made by the folks that did Baldurs, which should interesting, or then again maybe not.

WhiteWashMan

totsc isplayable only if you havent finished the game apparently. so if you have it saved just before you finished, it'll apparently add 20hours of game play to your fun. i reckon i'll get it anyway. its terrible having a popularity of 20 (heroic) i must get a life and kill a few people for no reason!

Rev Hellfire

Thers no multiplayer server per say, you just start a game and in a few minutes your game is registered with the gamespy master list and can be accessed from there. If your playing on starting a campain I'll be on for it, assuming we're talking about totsc.

LoLth

Wohoo!

Just picked it up yesterday! I'm off to install it now. Let me get a bit of praccy and then I would be more than happy to join in a multiplayer if you intend to have another.

Is there a multiplayer server or somethin'? Do you have to generate tha character specifically for multiplayer of can you export a single player one?

Look like a great game! (even if it is FR)

J.

Leverz

I'll be there as well, I should be about most of the week, so drop me a line. You can export your character btw.

WhiteWashMan

what is totsc?

but if theres a campagin going to start you may include me. but how does it work?
do you all start from level 1 and play aginst each other until you are level 8 or 9? that would take literally days on the net! i could play it for 5 or 6 hours at a time, but then id have to have a break to play some q2!

another question actually, on the single player mode, if you get to say level 7 or 8 and then decide to go dual class, you cant use the previous resources of the character can you? until you reach level 8 or 9 (or whatever was above) is this a little bit of a cheat for the exp cap? and what does the exp cap do (apart from stop you at 89000 xp)
if you do go higher, can you get to level 10, or 12 or 13, or do you just gain exp?

just wondering!

Rev Hellfire

totsc = Tales of the sword coast, whihc is an add on for Bladurs gate.

I've tried one or two times to start a campain, but never just got around to it. If anyone fancies starting one count me in. as for having toplay it through from start to finsih, you dont have to, you can decide where to start, and what sort of characters can be imported into the game.

LoLth

OK. we'll say tomorrow night as a provisional but I'm not sure about how to set up a multiplayer. I'll have to reread the manual.

any tips on the questions in the above post. I'm really getting ****ed off reloading!

J.

WhiteWashMan

i havent got uo yet. been workin or otherwise engaged. i will prolly get it friday week (payday)
thursday is good for me this week. if ya want me i'll be on irc.quake.ie in #doozer or on the q2 server, or just mail me!

as for the question, if its the mage im thinking of, in the tent in the carnival, just cast a dispel magic or a bless spell
bless is prolly better.

as for magicians. forget
they are crap. get a couple of good clerics or bards or something. the cleric at the carnival that is stone is excellent and gets ****loads of spells for high wisdom and intelligence. animate dead and stuff like that are really handy for dodgey encounters like against basilisks and stuff.

for gnoll strong hold and rest of the game start using bow and arrow man! my main character has a plus 15 to hit rating for bow weapons does a huge amount of damage. even an ogre magi can be killed with one hit.
any characters that cant use a bow (imeon is great with a +2 short bow) get them to use slings
also, if you didnt know, you can change the characteristics of your players. change them all to long range weapon thingy! it also means that they wont run into battle with a dagger by accident with 2 health when they could have fired from 50 yards with poison arrows.
also another nice trick i learned.
if you kill the monsters that come out of the ground on the map below baldurs gate, you get their heads. bring them to the armourer in beregost (i think) and he will make you special light armour for a herrendous fee. but well worth it. o course, you prolly wanna be at least level 4 or 5 to get there!

hope it helps.

anyone know where i can find the bits of the flying ship in the gate? are they all in one house or scattered. couldnt be arsed to wander about looking for the ****in things
white(pebble longbow)wash



ahh takes me back to the days when i would have bought a hebrew version of lord of the rings for a 100 quid

LoLth

hmm,

well, totsc won't be on my buy-list 'til next month (payday!) but I would be interested in going along with a basic campaign. (do you play the same missions as in chapters of the story or can you just wander around the equivcalent of the DM levels in Quake (ie. tailored for multiplayer rather than for single player use). I reall daon't want to learn anything about the game that I haven't discovered already.). As for time, we could probably organise a set time each week to 'meet' and play for maybe two or three hours at a time? (sounds abit like regular AD&D !). I would be in favour of starting a new campaign with 2nd level characters (more fun that way, you don't die as quick).

Now. A question.

I'm sorta stuck:

I've finished the mines (the characters are pretty solidly level 2 now) and I've decided to go for the Gnoll stronghold. The problem:

1. Nimbus the complete w@nker! I can't beat him! so I just have to leg it to the edge of the map and on to the next bit. Any tips on kicking the **** out of nimbus (he's the one that goes "I am Death..blah blah blah" He always gets mirror image off, then panic before I can disrupt him. (ps. I'm not saying where you meet him because I'm hoping not to spoil it for others).

2. The bridges across the river. One has 2 beserk Ogres (kill the first easy, the second with a bit of bother but no deaths). What IS really screwing me up though are the hobgoblin elite witht he poison arrows. I take antidote, and still poisoned! And How often do these guys hit AC -1!!. I know the bear is an easier option but I still get ambushed by the hobbies (big problem is closing to melee so they can't use the bows, I get hit at least once just getting there, and atthe bridge they are too far apart for sleep/colour spray etc (I use the entangle on the ogre - works a treat)

3. If not the gnoll stronghold. Any suggestions where to head to?

4. Anywhere I can get a half decent mage? I got rid of the necromancer (he annoyed me) and the enchanter (XAN?) is a complete wimp with crap potential spell wise (though colour spray and sleep are excellent spells at lower levels).

5. WHERE CAN I FIND A MAGICAL LONGSWORD!!! Please tell me I don't have to resort to buying one! I hate the idea of buying magical items (except for potions of healing and antidotes). Also, any scrolls of Hold Person around I have 3 scrolls of armour but don't need them!

well, here endeth my post. (getting into the spirit of it now )

Let me know what you think of a regular campaign, get six players together (or 5 players with the NPC as the 'core' player (loaded with HPs, and protected and kept out of danger by the rest).)

J.

PS. My favourite time would be Wednesday night 9:30 to 12:30 but I can pretty much do any time (I'm just trying to think of one that won't affect people's social/quake life - or UO life).

LoLth

oooh! that was long!



/me sprints to the anti-Devoritis clinic before I'm put down...

Rev Hellfire

Pick a time, pick a place and I'll be there.
wednesday is good for me.

ps. WWM if you have got around to getting ultima and god knows where u found it in dublin, I've the add-on (second age ) if you want it.

LoLth

thanks wwman,

actually my party are all 2nd level (nearly third though! the fighter needs exactly 1 bear to make it to third ) so no dispel magic

but the mage I'm talking about is Nimbus (you meet him in Nashkel after you complete the mines). He's a *******!

The mage in the tent was easy. 2 fighters close for Hand to hand, the rest use missile weapons (close enough to him so the fighters are right beside him anyway). he never got a spell off!

my party is:
Ironwolfe (main guy, fighter 2nd)
Imoem (thief, 3rd level)
Branwyn (stoned cleric 2nd)
xan (2nd level enchanter - crap!)
Kahlid (2nd level fighter)
the druidy one he travels with (2nd level druid)

magic items (not many!)
no magical weapons excet a shortsword +1 (Imoem)
1/4 staff +1 druid
and a few arrows etc that I've bought.

is that moonblade any good? I can't get it identified and I don't want to use it after
hearing about the guard captain (Brage) who's possessed just after getting a new sword! (have to find a hold person scroll or get a cleric/druid up to 3rd level soon!)

Main trouble at the moment is finding stuff I can beat up but also gives xp. went to the ankheg place by accident... I'll go back when I'm a little more powerful.

Any idea where I can find a magical longsword?

about the multiplayer game. I'll check the bg website to see the detailed faq. Still not too happy about the 'playing the same adventure' though. I would have preferred if they had included enough side-treks tailored for multiplayer to keep a group amused for a while (maybe random scenarios).

hmmm, I don't think the anti devitis medication is working...

/me ups dosage tenfold!

J.

PS. anyone interested in a multiplayer game, post to a new topic saying when you'll be available (and if you know exactly how to set it up!!)

WhiteWashMan

yeah i know the guy now.
dont wait for him to talk to you.
if you have the cleric type person from the carnival or the other one (which i do believe you do have, you got her at the big town in middle of map whose name i cant remember of hand) she should have a spell for bless. this will stop yer lads from panicing.
attack as soon as you see him. also handy if you walk up that way with a load of local iron fist guards. they will also fire at him. use bows with any magic/poison/fire arrows you have. or get yourself an animate dead scroll or something.
another good way to defeat hard opponents (this is a bit of a cheat really) is when they first attack, see who they are attacking. move that player away from rest of party and get everyone else to fire bows (if you hadnt noticed you should put all ability points into bow/missle weapons) the nme will then attack the seperated player leaving the rest to fire freely at nme. just keep moving the targeted guy around and try to dodge nme .

the moonblade is useless to anyone but the mage who owns it. dump him at first chance and get another cleric or druid. you can get stuff like that identified at any temple or weapons shop.

if you want to get some nice xp, head out along the sword coast, like right to the sea. theres a few b1tches out there that like to shoot poison arrows and cast dire spells (turns your players against you) and they also cast invisibility spells. just send your strongest charcter out on his own against them and wait for the magic to wear of. then you can get easy kill for 2000 xp a pop. also lots of dire wolves at 1400 xp a pop. or head east of big town in middle of map something arms (friendly?) town. theres a place with lots of ******* basalisks there. at top right hand corner is a ghoul you can befriend and he'll walk with you. send him ahead to fight basilisks as he cant be petrified. be careful though.... lots of saving on this map involved.
dont go neaer the spiders map until you are much higher (far east of friendly arms) as that is a real w*nker of a map. sword spiders are really hard to kill and have about 3 attacks for your one.

high headge is also good for lots of bandits/skeletons. just be careful cos they all use crosbows that tend to rip you to shreds. thats west of beregost. in the mages house you can bring a talking chicken (from the map below) and if you do it right get an easy 2000 xp. save before you give the mage the chicken.

all of that should bring you up to 5th level anyway.
later
white(i feel like dev now)wash

Creeper

Dunno much about Baldurs Gate, cept that my flatmate plays it ALL the time and he's mahanged to clear the entire thing with just ONE character. Apparently this is easy if you get rid of the XP cap.

ChungKing

Hi guys,

Been away for a while - otherwise i would have participated in this discussion earlier

Don't have time to read all the bits very carefully, but a few comments on what I've seen above.

1st of all - you do not have to have not completed BG to play the tales expansion. Just bought it today & according to the documentation the following 3, erm, scenarios are catered for :

(1) you are starting a new game with TalesSC installed(2)you have a save somewhere in the middle of a game of BG that you will be playing, and (3)you have beaten BF and have the final save game.

BG does an autosave before the final encounter, and TSC updates all saved games so the expansion should be transparent. You guys probably know this already, but thought i'd point it out.

Secondly, I'm sorry, but you are WRONG regarding mages. When I was a geeky 14 year old (as opposed to being a geeky late-twentysomething) I played ad&d a bit & players familiar with the rules know that mages are INDESTRUCTABLE and KICK WOMPUM BIG ASS! sorry for the bold, but it had to be said.

See, if you guys are 3rd level or below, mages struggle - they can be useful with a few decent magic items (sleep spells, etc.) on the lower level monsters, but for the most part you have to keep them outa da way. In later stages, however, mages are pretty much essential, and are incredibly powerful. A 7th level mage is an awesome site.

You think the Gnoll stronghold is hard? wait for some of the later areas - they will make your puny clerics weep

As a final point, let me list a few spells : Monster Summoning 1 & 2, Fireball, Identify, Knock, Improved invisibility, Dire Charm, Stinking Clouds, lightning bolts, globes of invunerability ... the list goes on. Monster summoning is a valuable valuable thing for later levels - essential for keeping enemies occupied while you pick them off. The cleric in my party was used for 2 things. Healing (useful admittedly) and erm, the 'spell' that summons skeletons. These skeletons are useful but die easier than ants later on.

So, my thoughts on mages.

Apparently the best good mage is dynaheir, but you need the guy with Boo the hamster to get her & it's a time-based quest so I missed it. I kept Xan who isn't hugely useful, but dual classed imoen at level 6 theif and by the end she was kicking butt everywhere.

Lastly, IMO the Gnoll stronghold is a little too advanced for level 2 characters - I'm sure you can do it, but you'd be better off building up experience in other areas before approaching.

Now, off to install tales of the sword coast !!