First time soloing, elf f/m. Anyway, I've done Mae'Var's Guildhall, the first shadow thieves, copper coronet/slavers. I'm at lvl 9/10 w/ ToB installed. I want to beat Planar Sphere b4 de'Arnise, cuz that way I can get them both. I'm thinking of doing the bridge district next. Any ideas after that.

Also, bout what lvls should I b b4 taking on
Kangaxx (and any lich, I've tried, but failed)?
Dragons?
Spellhold?

Definitely the bridge (Planar Prison) next, for the Boots of Speed. Trademeet and Druid Grove should be pretty easy and will net you ALOT of XP. Wait a couple more levels before tackling the Twisted Rune building. At some point in there you will want to hit the Guarded Compound, but make sure you have cloudkill for that. It's hard for me to compare to you cause I'm dauling not multi-classing, but I think I was around lvl 16 mage when I took on the shadow dragon. Beware! SPOILER
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There are several liches in that dungeon, that are guarded by nasty undead like greater mummies.

I'm hitting Spellhold next. Haven't taken on Kangaxx or Firky yet. Probably do them after I get out of Spellhold and the Underdark. Unfortunately it will all have to wait because I've hit the cap and I can't afford ToB until I start working again :(

[ 09-10-2002, 10:58 PM: Message edited by: Lharae ]

You don't have to do the strongholds in any particular order, you can just refuse to marry nalia, then go get your mage stronghold later.

Go after Kangaxx immediately. The ring(s) are worth a difficult fight.

SPOILER

Have Daystar by hand when fighting Liches. This will make your life a lot easier. Also they seem to like the fire, so summon some fire elementals to help and draw the first spells and maybe drink some potions of fire resistance. Of course, don't forget True Sight, they love to cast mislead. Be prepared to counter their spell protections with Breach and Khelben's Warding Wip or similar. Finally have Protection from Evil by hand in case he gates a demon; or you can do the same to have him occupied with it.

Here is a cheesy trick: after they appear and get their spell protections up, leave them alone and do some other tasks. After that come back and see that their protection have weared of.

Finally Kangaxx the demi-lich is really easy with the right tactic. Being a f/m a recommend you to cast Protection from Abjuration spells to be save from his imprisonment spells. Cast Melf's Minute Meteor and Celerity to quicken it. Have some more of these three spells memorized.

How do you deal with NPCs while soloing. I understand that they are needed for some of the quests. Are solo'ers keeping these characters, or are they truly going it alone with no other help?

<font color="gold">Most of the quests connected to the NPCs can be done without them, so what I do is to take 'em along to get the quest, and then kick them out again.
With the others, I keep the NPCs until the quest is finished, before I kick them out. [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>

<font color="lightblue">If you`re soloing, you don`t realy NEED the NPC quests; because you will probably hit the SOA XP Cap before you`ve left the underdark; which is why alot of soloists have cap removers; or atleast TOB. </font>

<font color="lightblue">You don`t get both strongholds by doing the Sphere first; you do De'Arnase, tell Nalia you`ll think about it; then do the Sphere; get it, and go back to De'Arnase and accept it from Nalia.
For liches, get the one in the Crooked Crane done first; use Protection from Evil, Haste, and all your other protection spells before going in; be sure to have atleast two breaches. Fire the breaches first; the Robe of Vecna will help you ALOT. Once his spell protections are gone, use Melfs Acid Arrow; then start hacking im. Once you beat this one, you have Daystar- one of the most useful weapons vs undead.
Dragons, make sure you have Lower Resistance and Greater Malison; once you get those off, use your favourite offensive spells. </font>

SPOILERish
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If you are following the soloing ideals to the letter, how do you get this quest? Don't you have to have Aerie in the party to start it? (Some messenger comes to the party, telling you to visit her Uncle again, and he sends you off to the 5 Flagons Inn). Or is it possible just to walk downstairs and watch their play and pick up the quest from there? Obviously, I haven't gone solo yet but am now considering it... but I just GOTTA HAVE THOSE EXTRA QUESTS you only get from having them in the party (e.g., Jan's relative in trouble, etc)!!!!! [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Yes, you can just go downstairs and get the quest.

Actually, it's possible to do nearly ALL the quests solo. Chop up Valygar, for instance. Only the quests that involve something personal in the NPCs life are only if they're in your party. This means [SPOILER]
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1) Don't need Nalia for De'Arnise Hold.
2) Don't need Jaheira for Harpers (Xzar)
3) Don't need Valygar for PS (chop suey!)
4) Don't need Cernd for Trademeet
5) Don't need Aerie or Haer'Dalis for PP

I've got another question though. Since this post has been brought back (originally posted like a week ago) I have finished PP and TM/DG quests. However, the per character rewards my character ISN'T getting. It's giving me the text like I'm getting it, but my actual XP remains static.

Some quests gives a solid sum of Xp which is divided equally among the party members, while others give each individual in the party a certain amount of Xp.

As a soloist, you gain everything from the former, and only your own individual Xp from the latter.

I understand that Dundee, like when it says
"Min Gorad receives 44000 XP points" then it goes on to name all the other npcs in your party. The problem is I don't get MY XP points only (ie 44000 for the Planar Prison). This is very frustrating, as I still get XP from the party as a whole quests like Bridge district and Waukeen's mantle. :(

True_moose:
Hey,
I am not a lumber jack or a fur trader,
and I don't live in an igloo or eat blubber or own a dog sled,
and I don't know Jimmy, Sally or Suzie from Canada although I am certain they're really really nice, uh
I have a Prime Minster not a president.
I speak English and French, not American, and I pronounce it about, not a boot.
I can proudly sew my country's flag on my back pack,
I believe in peace keeping not policing, diversity not assimilation,
and that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal.
A toque is a hat, a chesterfield is a couch.
And it is pronounced zed, not zee, zed.
Canada is the second largest landmass,
the first nation of hockey,
and the best part of North America

Some rather oppinionated points there! BTW, what is with this almost world-wide sentiment that Canada = bad?

Actually, White Lancer, it was originally a commercial made by a brewing company up here in Canada, in an attempt to sell booze by making us feel patriotic. Anyway, it was a big hit, and I found the lyrics. I can't find the ad anywhere on the internet, but it was pretty good. I guess us Canucks need beer commercials to feel patriotic, eh. ;)