I still don't have much of a plan of action. The next logical move is Tranzig and Beregost, but I still don't think it's the right time for that. These southern plains are starting to feel like home; we haven't stayed at an inn once since before we entered the mines. There's a lot to explore, and we need to be able to call ourselves bona fide adventurers without any eye-rolling.
So we marched to the large expanse of land between the sea and Nashkel and started turning over some rocks to see what would pop up. After we exhaust this region, there's not a whole lot more we can do anywhere this far away from civilization, so let's enjoy it while it lasts. We wandered around, decimated an entire xvart village, battled ogres, cave bears, skeletons...but mostly gnolls. A LOT of gnolls. Also ran into Brage...we cured his insanity through the answering of a simple riddle, then brought him back to the Temple of Helm so he could begin his lifetime of atonement.I decided to have Montaron become proficient in long bows..his hit point rolls have been poor to say the least, and he's really going to be more effective long term if he can become useful with a ranged weapon. I wish he hadn't started specialized in sword and shield style, but what are you gonna do.
Eventually I stumbled upon a suspicious archaeological excavation project. What they were doing seemed interesting, so I told a Mr. Charleston Nib that I would stand guard for him while he delved into the long-hidden chambers. But as soon as we entered, things took a turn for the worst. Immediately the workers became agitated and started to attack our party; Xzar sent in a Color Spray, but it only served to knock Nib unconscious and convince him we were enemies. After easily disposing of the workers, we had to take care of their boss, unfortunately. We took a fairly large reputation hit for that, but I suppose it will make Xzar and Montaron more comfortable with the group. With no information, we grabbed the idol and got out of there. But wait: a doomsayer was waiting for us outside. This was probably the hardest battle that we've faced in the month since I left Candlekeep, but there was no way around it. Idaen casted Doom and Chant, Montaron chugged a strength potion, and Xzar used a wand to summon a trio of ogres and a pack of dire wolves. It was a long struggle, but the ogres were able to land some solid blows. The three of us meleeing took turns stepping away and being healed, returning to the thick of things when I was confident that they could take at least one solid blow without dying. All in all, the strategy was successful and we were 4000xp richer by the end.
Idaen, lvl 4 cleric/lvl 3 ranger
Khalid, lvl 4 fighter
Montaron, lvl 3 fighter/lvl 3 thief
Jaheira, lvl 3 fighter/lvl 3 druid
Imoen, lvl 4 thief
Xzar, lvl 3 necromancer
On a side note: I experienced a very strange bug that forced a reload. A dialog began between Jaheira and Xzar began which would initiate the Zhentarim-Harper duel-to-the-death. Alright, fine. I knew what I was getting into when I invited all these people to the group, and I was actually kind of looking forward to it. It would have allowed me to naturally fill the party with some new NPCs. However, right as the dialog was going on, I received a phone call and had to take it. While I was on the phone, I let the game linger on the last dialog line without ever hitting "end conversation" (or whatever). 15-20 minutes later, I return to the game and click it. The four NPCs' circles go gray/purple, but they just stand there. No one attacks, but I can't control them. I tried resting/zoning/talking to them/kicking them out and trying to get them back in...but nothing. In fact, the first time I clicked rest, it triggered Khalid to attack Montaron...but Montaron, Jaheira, and Xzar still just stood there being unresponsive. Real weird. I reloaded to right before the dialog, but it didn't spring up again.
No comments:
Post a Comment