Completed Let's solo Baldur's Gate on Insane

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Poll has been concluded. Thanks to everyone for voting.

Alright, noble codexers. Inspired by the likes of oldmanpaco, Merkwürdigliebe and Edward_R_Murrow, I've decided to make a let's play of Baldur's Gate (TotSC included).

Why this game, You ask? (or not - I will tell anyway) Because I've played this game to hell and back, and it's the only way I can think of to enjoy it again. Also, I've never done an LP before and it looks like fun. LPing a game I know that well should reduce the numer of fuck-ups on the way.

I know that oldmanpaco just recently finished the game in his LP, and I don't want to make a copy, so I will try a different approach. The game will be played solo, on maximum difficulty level (insane), and with some arbitary rules imposed (more on that in a moment).

Audience is not required, though very welcome.

Let's get started.

Tutu will be the only mod installed for this playthrough.

In retrospect, I probably should've installed strategems too. My only excuse is that I'm not much of a mod-user (all my playthroughs were vanilla BG or TotSC), and I don't really know which do what. Also, I didn't want to screw up my tutu installation.

It's time to meet our hero, although I guess he doesn't really need introducing.


Fuck you all very politely.

Yeah. Try not to mind. You all know The Codex' way with words. When You look closely, The Codex is definitely male, although he has a female element - this is represented by being an elf.

I am not a fag.

Totally straight elf, of course.
The Codex represents three classic archetypes of RPGs: the fighter, the mage and the thief. The fourth classic archetype, the cleric, is not represented because The Codex doesn't like preaching.
Chaotic neutral seemed like a good choice at the time. Right now I regret not taking chaotic good instead - 1 free reputation point wouldn't hurt.

No, it wouldn't. I guess, there's no cure for being a dumbass.

Stats are minmaxed a bit, with charisma being the dump stat. We could use it as a larping excuse not to get a party, but we won't. The Codex goes solo, because he's fucking hardcore.

Damn right.

Personally, I think that 8 charisma is still quite a lot, considering that face.

Oh, great. With sense of humour being your dump stat, I can already see the world of fun that we'll have together. Looked in a mirror lately?

Anyway. Since both The Codex and me have already played Baldur's Gate, we are going to skip most of the in-game conversations. We will try to make up for the text-lite LP with some comments between screenshots.

Yeah, I already noticed that you just don't shut up. Ever.

I'm unable to disagree.
--------------------------------------------

Rules:

I already declared solo and insane. Although we will recruit some NPCs when it's absolutely necessary for a quest (this is more of a disclaimer for the future - if we ever reach BG2) AND we will recruit all of them for a minute to take their valuables. Never say no to free equipment.

Here's some additional rules that this LP will follow :

- No run-throughs. Every area entered has to be fully explored. This includes all available interiors, but not the dungeons (I treat those as separate areas). Returning to a previously explored area is allowed, but going to a new one is not - not until the current one is completed.

- No meta-identification. Magic items have to be identified, or we can't use them.

- Restricted reloading. Reloading is only allowed after The Codex dies OR some major fuck-up occures - like a failed stealing attempt turning everyone hostile. The latter only works once - if we fail stealing from an NPC, we are allowed to try a second time, but we cannot reload if we fuck it up again.

- Max HP. I will cheat on level-ups, so The Codex gets maximum available hit points.

No arguments here.

- Life-line. If an obligatory encounter turns out to be unwinnable at insane level, I might decide to lower the difficulty to core rules (just for this encounter, of course. How do I define "unwinnable"? Firstly, at least five attempts at insane must be made. Secondly, I must run out of ideas to win it or my only idea too heavily depends on dumb luck.
The above rule does not apply to optional (skippable) encounters.
----------------------------------------------------------

Since playing solo will have us reach level cap far before we explore the whole game world, some areas will be skipped. The top priority ones are those containing perma-stat-boost books. When we run out of these, we will proceed with the plot. If we don't reach the level cap after getting all the books, I will let the noble codexers decide where to go next.
---------------------------------------------------------

Update #0: We Are Going To Die

We meet at the inn:


Since The Codex is butt-ugly, he has to buy his friends. Here's one of them. Codex, meet the sword. Sword, meet The Codex.


Our friendship will be long and beautiful. At least until I find a better one.

Here are the full stats of The Codex and his sword:




Yeah, The Codex has a whopping 7 HP. Since the enemies on insane deal double damage, this translates to effectively having 4 HP.

Oh god. I am so fucked.

Yeah. We are going to die. A lot.
-------------------------------------------

If You have any hints or suggestions for the LP or the thread, feel free to supply them.
-------------------------------------------

Updates:

#0: We Are Going To Die (included in this post...)
#1: The Incredibly Exciting Tutorial Area!
#2: Those Fuckin' Wolves
#3: High Hedge
#4: The Monkey Shit Hits The Fan
#5: Friendly Flaming Fist Inn
#6: Day Of The Undead
#7: Beach & Bitches
#8: Adventures In Generic Wilderness
#9: Smurf Xvart Village Massacre
#10: Cloud Peak Mountains
#11: Gnoll Stronghold
Bonus #1: Fighting Borda
#12: Killing People For Money
#13: Nashkel Mines, part I
#14: The Nashkel Detour
#15: Nashkel Mines, part II
#16: Tomb Raider Jelly Killer
#17: Durlag's Tower
#18: Beregost
#19: Ankhegs!
#20: Looting The Bandit Camp
#21: Cloakwood Deaths, part I - Druids
#22: Cloakwood Deaths, part II - Spiders
#23: Cloakwood Deaths, part III - Wyverns
#24: Iron Throne Mines
#25: Guidling & Shopping
Bonus #2: Unfinished Business
#26: EXTREME CHEESE
#27: We Kill Some Mages (Mostly)
#28: House of Doom & Horrors
#29: Home, Sweet Home
#30: Getting Gangbanged a Lot
#31: The One With The Plot
#32: The Lame Ending
Bonus #3: Never Happened
--------------------------------------------

Death Count: 163 + 25 Borda deaths + 24 Bonus Update #3 deaths

#1: lv. 1/1/1 - Candlekeep Inn (#1)

That never happened!

#2: lv. 1/1/1 - Candlekeep (#1)

#3: lv. 1/1/1 - East of Candlekeep (#2)

#4: lv. 1/1/1 - East of Candlekeep (#2)

#5: lv. 1/1/1 - East of Candlekeep (#2)

#6: lv. 1/1/1 - High Hedge (#3)

#7: lv. 1/1/1 - High Hedge (#3)

#8: lv. 2/2/3 - North of Beregost (#4)

#9: lv. 2/2/3 - North of Beregost (#4)

#10: lv. 2/2/3 - North of Beregost (#4)

#11: lv. 2/2/3 - North of Beregost (#4)

#12: lv. 2/2/3 - North of Beregost (#4)

#13: lv. 2/2/3 - North of Beregost (#4)

#14: lv. 3/2/3 - Friendly Arm Inn (#5)

#15: lv. 3/2/3 - Friendly Arm Inn (#5)

#16: lv. 3/2/3 - South of High Hedge (#6)

#17: lv. 3/2/3 - South of High Hedge (#6)

#18: lv. 3/2/3 - South of High Hedge (#6)

#19: lv. 3/2/3 - South of High Hedge (#6)

#20: lv. 3/3/4 - South of High Hedge (#6)

#21: lv. 3/3/4 - South of High Hedge (#6)

#22: lv. 4/4/5 - Abandoned lighthouse (#7)

#23: lv. 4/4/5 - Abandoned lighthouse (#7)

#24: lv. 4/4/5 - Abandoned lighthouse (#7)

#25: lv. 4/4/5 - Abandoned lighthouse (#7)

#26: lv. 4/4/5 - Abandoned lighthouse (#7)

#27: lv. 4/4/5 - Abandoned lighthouse (#7)

#28: lv. 4/4/5 - Abandoned lighthouse (#7)

#29: lv. 4/4/5 - Abandoned lighthouse (#7)

#30: lv. 4/4/5 - Abandoned lighthouse (#7)

#31: lv. 4/4/5 - Abandoned lighthouse cave (#7)

#32: lv. 4/4/5 - Abandoned lighthouse cave (#7)

#33: lv. 4/4/5 - Abandoned lighthouse (#7)

#34: lv. 4/4/5 - Drizzt lake (#8)

#35: lv. 5/4/5 - Drizzt lake (#8)

#36: lv. 5/4/5 - Drizzt lake (#8)

#37: lv. 5/4/5 - Xvart village cave (#9)

#38: lv. 5/4/5 - Cloud Peak Mountains (#10)

#39: lv. 5/4/5 - transit area (#10)

#40: lv. 5/5/6 - transit area (#11)

#41: lv. 5/5/6 - West of Nashkel Mines (#12)

#42: lv. 5/5/6 - West of Nashkel Mines (#12)

#43: lv. 5/5/6 - West of Nashkel Mines (#12)

#44: lv. 5/5/6 - West of Nashkel Mines (#12)

#45: lv. 5/5/6 - West of Nashkel Mines (#12)

#46: lv. 5/5/6 - West of Nashkel Mines (#12)

#47: lv. 5/5/6 - Nashkel Mines exterior (#13)

#48: lv. 5/5/6 - Nashkel Mines exterior (#13)

#49: lv. 5/5/6 - Nashkel Mines exterior (#13)

#50: lv. 5/5/6 - Nashkel Mines (#15)

#51: lv. 5/5/6 - Southeast of Durlag's Tower (#16)

#52: lv. 5/5/6 - Southeast of Durlag's Tower (#16)

#53: lv. 5/5/6 - Southeast of Durlag's Tower (#16)

#54: lv. 5/5/6 - Southeast of Durlag's Tower (#16)

#55: lv. 5/5/6 - Southeast of Durlag's Tower (#16)

#56: lv. 5/5/6 - Southeast of Durlag's Tower (#16)

#57: lv. 5/5/6 - Southeast of Durlag's Tower (#16)

#58: lv. 5/5/6 - Southeast of Durlag's Tower (#16)

#59: lv. 5/5/6 - Southeast of Durlag's Tower (#16)

#60: lv. 6/5/6 - Southeast of Durlag's Tower (#16)

#61: lv. 6/5/6 - Southeast of Durlag's Tower (#16)

#62: lv. 6/5/6 - Nashkel (#16)

#63: lv. 6/5/6 - Durlag's Tower exterior (#17)

#64: lv. 6/5/6 - Durlag's Tower exterior (#17)

#65: lv. 6/5/6 - Durlag's Tower exterior (#17)

#66: lv. 6/5/6 - Durlag's Tower exterior (#17)

#67: lv. 6/5/6 - Durlag's Tower exterior (#17)

#68: lv. 6/6/7 - Durlag's Tower 2nd floor (#17)

#69: lv. 6/6/7 - Durlag's Tower 2nd floor (#17)

#70: lv. 6/6/7 - Durlag's Tower 2nd floor (#17)

#71: lv. 6/6/7 - Durlag's Tower exterior (#17)

#72: lv. 6/6/7 - Durlag's Tower 4th floor (#17)

#73: lv. 6/6/7 - Durlag's Tower exterior (#17)

#74: lv. 6/6/7 - Beregost (#18)

#75: lv. 6/6/7 - north of Friendly Arm Inn (#19)

#76: lv. 6/6/7 - north of Friendly Arm Inn (#19)

#77: lv. 6/6/7 - north of Friendly Arm Inn (#19)

#78: lv. 6/6/7 - north of Friendly Arm Inn (#19)

#79: lv. 6/6/7 - Bandit Camp (#20)

#80: lv. 6/6/7 - Cloakwood Forest #1 (#21)

#81: lv. 6/6/7 - Cloakwood Forest #1 (#21)

#82: lv. 6/6/7 - Cloakwood Forest #2 (#22)

#83: lv. 6/6/7 - Cloakwood Forest #2 (#22)

#84: lv. 6/6/7 - Cloakwood Forest #2 (#22)

#85: lv. 6/6/7 - Cloakwood Forest #2 (#22)

#86: lv. 6/6/7 - Centeol's Lair (#22)

#87: lv. 6/6/7 - Cloakwood Forest #2 (#22)

#88: lv. 6/6/7 - Cloakwood Forest #2 (#22)

#89: lv. 6/6/7 - Cavern of Peter of the North #3 (#23)

#90: lv. 6/6/7 - some transit area (#23)

#91: lv. 6/6/7 - Cloakwood Forest #4 (#23)

#92: lv. 6/6/7 - Cloakwood Forest #4 (#23)

#93: lv. 6/6/7 - Iron Throne mine exterior (#24)

#94: lv. 6/6/7 - Iron Throne mine exterior (#24)

#95: lv. 6/6/7 - some broomstick closet (#24)

#96: lv. 6/6/7 - Iron Throne mine entrance (#24)

#97: lv. 6/6/7 - Iron Throne mine, level 2 (#24)

#98: lv. 6/6/7 - Iron Throne mine, level 2 (#24)

#99: lv. 6/6/7 - Iron Throne mine, level 4 (#24)

#100: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, The Low Lantern (#26)

#101: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, The Low Lantern (#26)

#102: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, The Low Lantern (#26)

#103: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, The Low Lantern (#26)

#104: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, some house in docks (#26)

#105: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, some house in docks (#26)

#106: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Iron Throne tower (#26)

#107: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Iron Throne tower (#26)

#108: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Iron Throne tower (#26)

#109: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Iron Throne tower (#26)

#110: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Water Queens' House (#27)

#111: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Ramazith's Tower (#27)

#112: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Jardak's House (#27)

#113: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Jardak's House (#27)

#114: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Jardak's House (#27)

#115: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Jardak's House (#27)

#116: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Jardak's House (#27)

#117: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Jardak's House (#27)

#118: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Blushing Mermaid (#28)

#119: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Blushing Mermaid (#28)

#120: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Blushing Mermaid (#28)

#121: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Degrodel's House (#28)

#122: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Degrodel's House (#28)

#123: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Degrodel's House (#28)

#124: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Degrodel's House (#28)

#125: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Degrodel's House (#28)

#126-#129: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Degrodel's House (#28)

#130: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Degrodel's House (#28)

#131: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Degrodel's House (#28)

#132: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Degrodel's House (#28)

#133: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, some house in SW part of the city (#28)

#134: lv. 6/6/7 - Candlekeep (#29)

#135: lv. 6/6/7 - Candlekeep Catacombs (#30)

#136: lv. 6/6/7 - Candlekeep Catacombs (#30)

#137: lv. 6/6/7 - Candlekeep Catacombs (#30)

#138: lv. 6/6/7 - Candlekeep Catacombs (#30)

#139: lv. 6/6/7 - Candlekeep Catacombs (#30)

#140: lv. 6/6/7 - Candlekeep Catacombs (#30)

#141: lv. 6/6/7 - Candlekeep Catacombs (#30)

#142: lv. 6/6/7 - Candlekeep Catacombs (#30)

#143: lv. 6/6/7 - Candlekeep Catacombs (#30)

#144: lv. 6/6/7 - Candlekeep Catacombs (#30)

#145: lv. 6/6/7 - Candlekeep Catacombs (#30)

#146: lv. 6/6/7 - Candlekeep Catacombs (#30)

#147: lv. 6/6/7 - Candlekeep Catacombs (#30)

#148: lv. 6/6/7 - Candlekeep Catacombs (#30)

#149: lv. 6/6/7 - Candlekeep Caves (#30)

#150: lv. 6/6/7 - Candlekeep Caves (#30)

#151: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Degrodel's House (#31)

#152: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Degrodel's House (#31)

#153: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Undercellar (#31)

#154: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Undercellar (#31)

#155: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Undercellar (#31)

#156: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Grand Duke Palace (#31)

#157: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Grand Duke Palace (#31)

#158: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, The Labyrinth (#32)

#159: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, The Labyrinth (#32)

#160: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, The Labyrinth (#32)

#161: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, The Labyrinth (#32)

#162: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, The Labyrinth (#32)

#163: lv. 6/6/7 - Baldur's Gate, Underground City (#32)

--------------------------------------------
For poll description -> CLICK HERE.

You should amke some kind of restriction on algernon's cloak usage. Something like 1/day or battle.

Also, i challenge you defeat Borda when you enter Xvart camp. He's one mean mothermucker for low level guys.

I probably would have gone with more HP tho. With BG2 mirror image you really gotta be kiting to stay alive.

Good luck!

this thread needs more paco.

What mods are installed? SCS?

To be fair you can say that about all threads.

One character on insane? This sounds insane to say the least. However there can never be to many Lp's so please carry on good sir.
Good look you may need it

These people won't be impressed unless you restart from scratch every time you die, but I'm looking forward to reading more.

Oh god, I sense some horrible powergaming on the way.

Yep. DO with without a multiclass or a mage. TBH I find it easier to solo with one of those than play a full party.

I did a solo iron man run of BG2 during the extravaganza ;D

Got p far till a lich sucker-punched me.

http://rpgcodex.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=723765#723765

You guys should check out that thread if you weren't around for it, some amazing ass-kicking (especially on Shannow's and Redeye's part).

The high Dex is going to be very useful as soon as the glorious Codex gets his hands on a ranged weapon.

Protection from undead scroll?

Thanks for the feedback, noble codexers

Doesn't it come with a 1/day restriction of its own? Anyway, I (probably) won't try to charm my way through the whole game. That would be too cheesy, even for me.

I don't think I've ever fought him, so the challenge is conditionally accepted - the condition being actually reaching that area.

Staying alive is not the priority for this LP - at least not for me The Codex might have a different opinion on that, though.

Quoting myself:

True. I have to admit that The Codex was somewhat inspired by The Barbarian from Your LP. I still miss that guy.

Yep.

I was thinking cleric/thief at first, but cleric's weapon restrictions and me don't really get along. BG2 gives you Flail of The Ages and thief's "use any item" skil (which we will abuse the hell out of, if we reach that far) l, but in BG1 there aren't any really good blunt weapons. Plus, bows are awesome while slings are meh.

From what I've seen so far, You shouldn't be disappointed.

Iron man is really not my thing. You have to memorize every corner of the game to be prepared - like in the worst kind of arcade shooters/platformers that want you to put more and more coins into the machine. And still, even if you play perfectly, there are way too many accidental ways to die.
I will check the thread, though.

True. It has already proved more than useful.

---

I will start working on the first update in a moment (the screenshots are ready). It will be posted today, but I don't know what time exactly.

Answering the unstated question: No, I don't plan to reply to every single post in this topic. Somehow it turned out this way, when I wasn't paying attention.

A worthy undertaking. I don't know much for soloing BG, but here's a tip for any solo caster in BGII: projected image and wizards eye are your friends. Very, very good friends.

Good luck, I'll be following attentively.

Update #1: The Incredibly Exciting Tutorial Area!

Candlekeep is really a very safe area. The only way to die is by doing something really stupid. So... let's do something really stupid!

I somehow knew, you'd say that.

Having run out of money, we try to steal the best available armour:


With The Codex' pick pockets at 35, we don't stand much of a chance. And indeed, it ends with a failure.

I kinda like that the tutorial teachers don't really give a shit about what's happening around them.

We only manage to kill Winthrop when Firebead goes all horror on The Codex' ass. This equals to a death sentence.

Oh god. Oh god! Help!



Death count: 1

We reload.

Ok. Let's never do that again. Actually, let's forget that ever happened.

Indeed. Instead, we go upstairs for some lootin'.
I will try to show significant loot, as acquired. Suffice to say, not really much of it here.



Our looting is interrupted by a really stubborn chest.

I fucking hate those things Why didn't we invest more into lockpicking?

Hey, it's You who wanted more points in trap detection, so you don't get raped to death in the mines.

Oh, right.

We decide to steal some nobleman's stuff to make up for it:

We find a potion of clarity, but the bastard calls the guards!

He can call Walker Texas Ranger himself, if he wants. They can't catch what they don't see, and I have mastered the skill of hiding in shadows!



We manage to kickstart the "mastered skill" on our 7th attempt or so. The Codex actually sucks pretty hard at this.

Fuck you, "expert". You couldn't hide from a blindman in a sandstorm, so cut me some slack.

Alright, alright.


Ha! What you would give for a spot check right now, huh, sucker?

The Codex slips past the guard with grace that would make Gareth the thief look like a bumbling drunkard in comparison.

We sell the lootz, and gain a new friend: the bow.

I'm pretty sure we will get along very well.

Why longbows, not the overall superior, no-ammo-requiring (in BG2 at least) shortbows? Yeah, I don't know either. Call it a mistake of the youth.

We also buy the splint mail we previously tried to, uh, acquire from Winthrop.

That never happened!

We are left almost without gold, but The Codex is now equipped sufficiently to begin his journey.


Onward to our first combat encounter.

Exactly. FIRST encounter. The Firebead Elvenhair incident never took place. Good that you remember that.


Shank is easily dispatched with a mighty swing of The Codex' sword.

Mwahahahaha! Slaughter!

Are You larping the son of Bhaal now?

Larping the what now? No. I just like killing stuff in bloody ways.

Okaaay. Let's proceed to our first combat quest. We will be fighting defenseless rats.


Mwahahahaha! Slaughter!

I think Reevor the storekeeper should consider asking for a refund on those cats.

The rats are exterminated all too easily.

Exactly. That was hardly satisifying. Let's look for a greater challenge!

That might be difficult here, in Candlekeep. But we can try. Onward, to Carbos:


Ow! That hurt! Die, motherfucker!

We win, but not without a scratch. I forgot to put The Codex' armor back on after some earlier chest-looting and Carbos manages to gets two hits in.

You "forgot"?

Yeah, sorry.

Goddammit! How stupid can you be to forget a thing like this?

Hey, You didn't say anything either.

Fuck you.

Alright, time to finish up the area.

I forgot to screenshot the interior of the barracks, as well as the hospital. You will have to take my word for exploring them. I couldn't be bothered to "explore" the party combat tutorial area - I will excuse myself from it by calling it a dungeon.


We deliver Hull's sword to him, receiving some gold for it. A successful reaction check would've netted us an enchanted dagger. How about we try to pickpocket it from Hull?

I don't know. He looks pretty tough.

Chickening out? Weren't You looking for a greater challenge just a moment ago?

Fuck you. Bring it on!


It's a failure, of course.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuuuck!



Death count: 2

Reloading.

After this unworthy of attention incident, we finish exploring the stronghold.

Area completed!

Wow. That wasn't boring at all.


It's time to leave in search of new challenges.

I don't know. Clicking that option is like signing a death sentence for Gorion. Sarevok slaughters him every time. I'm not really comfortable with that.

I thought You liked bloody deaths?

Only when I inflict them.

Well, clicking it is the only way for You to get the perma-stat-boosting books...

Ok, screw Gorion. He would probably die of old age soon anyway.

Exactly. It's not like he's an elf, or a wizard... anyway, let's move out.

--------------------

Tha-tha-that's all, folks.
Next time: against all odds, the game actually manages to surprise us.

Well.... Good luck, You will need it.

yea i remember soloing with paladin, sometimes it needed to slightly abuse ai but it was fun overall, i like The Codex so far

I'd like to post second update tomorrow morning (oh - it's evening now here, Outside Reality), preferably on the second page, but this one will probably do too.

So far so good, looking forward to the next part.

Update #2: Those Fuckin' Wolves

Entering new area. What do you expect to encounter here?

Whatever we encounter, it will sure have a hard time topping all the excitement we experienced in Candlekeep!



Come on, it wasn't that bad.

Not that bad? Which part? Fetching the book, the scroll, the sword, the bolts or maybe the cow cure?



Well, ok. It was bad. But I still think You're exaggerating.

The most dangerous enemies deal 1 point of damage per hit! One! Even FO3's tutorial was more interesting.



You're being unfair. FO3's tutorial was completely pointless and BG's is entirely optional.

Not for me, it ain't!



Well, that's only because You're being led by a madman masochist, who... wait...





BG's tutorial is much shorter.

Okay, I guess that's true.



Ah... Codex? Shouldn't You be, like... running away right now?

Oh, sh...


What just happened?

You dropped unconscious, smitten by the weight of my arguments during our discussion.

I find that highly unlikely.

Yeah. Oh, look, someone's coming.


Sorry, Imoen, You can't go with us.


Piss off, girl I'm not hauling your ass with me just for you to become emo, however nice looking that ass may be.

That's disgusting, man. She's like, Your sister.

It's a distant relation that I'm not aware of yet.

Yes, You are!



We of course remember to take all of Imoen's stuff before ditching her.

We've gained two more potions of healing, an oil of speed and a wand of magic missiles, as well as some free arrows.

That means we are leaving her in the middle of the wilderness, basically naked.

Yes. Any objections?

Nope.

Our journey begins, for real this time.

Our first real encounter is a pack of gibberlings.

Monkey shooting time!



Due to unlucky rolls, we only manage to shoot one. The rest has to be engaged in melee.

Get them, sword!



Mwahahaha, slaughter!

You have pieces of a gibberling on your face.

Shit, I hope I don't catch the whatever disease they're carrying.

As opposed to regular gibberlings, diseased ones don't drop any loot. I guess, they got rid of their worldly possession and embarked on a holy journey to get cured, or sumthin'.



The rest of the pack.


No problem.

Good job, Bow. Keep at it.

I was only joking about the sword and the bow being your friends. You don't have to talk to them.

My other choice is talking to you. Figure that out on your own.

Oh...

Right. Back on tracks. Everybody has probably already figured out our sophisticated tactics of shooting stuff with the bow, and slashing it with the sword when gets closer. It's the most time-effective approach as of yet, due to The Codex' unreliable stealth skills and only 1 spell per day.

Hey, whatever works.



We encounter a hungry wolf.

Finally, some serious challenge!



Holy fuck, how many hit points does it have?



Well, that was a bit unexpected.
Death count: 3

We reload.

Apparently the spawn point that generated the wolf has some random algorithm working, because next time, the wolf is not there:


WTF? Dread wolves?



We are too surprised to react. They quickly rip The Codex to shreds.

Death count: 4

We reload again.

What's going on? Why is the game spawning dread wolves here? I'm just a level one character, goddammit!

Maybe the algorithms treat You as 3rd level char because of Your three classes? Or maybe the universe just hates You.

Go drown yourself in a toilet, willya?

Anyway, next time the spawn point is more gentle. We only encounter one regular wolf:


Come to papa!





This is getting ridiculous.
Death count: 5

We reload yet again.

How about a small change of tactics?

Let's try the bow'n'arrows way one more time...

The game apparently takes pity on us, since this time we only encounter some gibberlings:


That fuckin' wolf is lucky it didn't spawn this time!



The gibberlings attack in a few waves, either single or in pairs, and are easily defeated.


Boom! Headshot!

Again, no loot. But, what doesn't kill us...

A few steps further, we meet these two fine gentlemen:


We take their stuff:


We now have two more potions of healing, as well as another oil of speed, and two spell scrolls, along with some minor loot.

It's kind of sad, that the best loot in this area comes from joinable NPCs.



Having robbed our new friends blind, we kick them out of the party.



Yeah, yeah, whatever. Move along.





No, you can't have your stuff back. Have fun with the dread wolves!

We continue exploring, and soon run into yet another gibberling pilgrimage:




Die, hellish monkey!



They could do a lot of damage to us, if they attacked all at once, but pose virtually no threat when fought two at a time. Because of this, the Enemy Sighted autopause feels almost like cheating.

You're only ranting about that because you want me to die more often, admit it.

Well...



I have to admit, I really like this bow. And it likes me.

How do you...

I know. Trust me.

The Codex' and bow's, uh, friendship is soon put to a test:


We encounter another wolf!

I'm fuckin' gonna getya this time, goddammit!



The wolf takes two arrows to the snout, but makes it into melee.

Oh god, not again. Don't fail me now, sword!



Yes! Good job!

That's a seriously great success here! It's the first time we managed to defeat something stronger than a gibberling. Applause is expected.

Are you mocking me?

Perish the thought, merely narrating. For the audience, You know.

The wolf turns out to be the last enemy in the area. We explore the remaining spots without further incidents. That means, the only enemies that dropped anything were ogres killed by Gorion in the cutscene.


Area completed!

What do we want to do now?

Well, with all the ph4t l00tz we "gathered" here, let's head to the nearest shop, and sell them.

And that we shall do.
----------------------------

Next time: we kill some strong enemies and Codex levels up for the first time!

Wow, that sounds so exciting, I'm almost dying of anticipation.

Don't worry about dying. There'll be enough of that too

Good! Narrating about The Codex's death is entertaining as narrating about Codexers' death.

Here to more death and reloads in future!

A level already? that's 3.75k XP... you caught a dread wolf?

Or memorized his scrolls.

Oh, we've caught a few things and a few things have caught us too. I'll try to post the next update tomorrow, maybe even today if the god of free time is particularly gracious.

EDIT: Sscrolls only give 10 XP per spell (or spell level, probably), lockpicking likewise, so these side-activities are not a valid source of experience. I guess that's sensible and prevents BG2-like XP buying (remove spell and scribe it again, repeat ten times for instant level up).

Forgot about that. I was thinking 500 per level like BG2.