Solo Mage

[Rockstar]

Hey everybody

i've created a solo mage. I chose to become a specialist to gain the extra spell advantages. I decided to make an interesting of selecting necromancy which rules out all illusion type spells like mirror image and so fowarth. I'm also power gaming...i normally make characters realistic and only boost the prime stats max and here would prob do 13 str and 14 dex...but hey! passing the game with a mage is passing the game with a mage! lol

version 1.14 (no ring of wizardry for me )

Difficulty: Core AD&D Rules

Game: Only BG [I don't own the BGI expansion]

NOTICE: In passing this game i am NOT going to have more than ONE summoning spell in my memorized spells at one time. I do this to follow BGII rules of limited summoning and my own personal honour to say that i passed the game with magic... not because i had 25 monsters blocking me from my enemies...


Name: Arkaon

stats:
str 18
dex 18
con 18
wis 16
cha 3

Alignment: Chaotic Good

(i'm not missing out on vital exp from quests nor paying more for potions and spells that i'll need... but a dark school of magic can takes it's toll on one's thinking... chaotic good)

spells: armour, sheild

(i know that i come accross flaming hands and magic missles very early so i decided to invest on skills that would protect my poor mage. This is also coz the power of most spells at the moment (and having so few of them) means i can only wound many enemies.

weapon profs: sling

(i tried a mage ages ago with a quarter staff... it was the hardest thing imaginable. After re-soloing with a fighter i remembered, in BG, ranged weapons for some reason hit alot easier than melee weapons... this was the huge problem with the quarter staff. Also the other thing being hit and run tactics )
__________________________________________________ ______________

tactics: instead of investing in offensive spells at this tender level of 1 i've decided to by many bullets and use 'armour' and 'shield' together to keep me alive while i run away and shoot. (weaker enemies i just stand there for now)

The Journey

Candlekeep: did all the quests here for a starting 395 exp

friendly arm: took out the hobbies with my sling and run boost tactic for 400 exp. I cheesed the mage by running in and out of the friendly arm to make him deplete his spells then slinged him ... [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Beregost: i found sylike and had to kill her for some exp

Nashkell: little time spent here, i found brage, saved him for 1000 exp


[i'm now level 3 with 2 empty level 2 slots due to having no spells]


firewine: used 2 lots of magic missles and a whole pile of bullets to beat the swordsman up the top for his gauntlets of weapon exp! +1 thaco to my sling. went inside the ruins and took the straight path to the mage on the other side (avoiding the dark knights) only finding kobolds (which can still hurt me with their arrows) and killed the mage for some higher level spells (lightning, cloud kill and fireball).

off to high hedge now to buy some level 2 spells. I only have ghoul touch and wanna get some more L2 spells before i enter the mines with lots of arrow shooting kobolds *shivers*

[ 01-18-2005, 09:36 AM: Message edited by: Rockstar ]

[Rockstar]

High Hedge: went to High Hedge and bought, fire arrow, skull trap and vampire touch, to build up my necromantic sorcery repitoire... but also saw 'protection from petrification'.

Area North of Gullykin: i decided to make a long detour to fight some bassalisk. I killed many lesser and 2 or 3 greater and leveled up very high (mainly using my armour/shield boost complimented with protection from petrification... with some offensive spells thrown in). I am now at 60,000 exp

Nashkell mines: killed greywolf, he took quite a bit to kill but he fell in the end. I made my way to the bottom of the mines, killed all kobolds rather easily (commandos were a bit more of a hassle), and finally defeated mulahey. He was no match for my magic at this point.

Beregost: killed tranzig, time to go to bandit camps.

Bandit camp: i killed the champions outside, the one with the hammer i used 'hold person' and then pelted him with rocks [img]smile.gif[/img] .

Bandit HQ: ok this one i opened the battle by charming the archer and turning him onto the mage, casting stinking cloud, and then launching some lightning and missles to finish the job.

High Hedge: from selling the weapons and skalps from the bandit camp i now have enough money to by the 'robe of the good arch magi' ... time for some good armour class

(my journey will next take me to Cloakwood)

[note: for those who may have reconsidered soloing a mage, this is NOT actually that hard. By exploiting the usefulness of ranged weapons and using my protection boost technique this is not that difficult... but i will worship anybody that can do it without a sling lol. I predict BGII may be harder]

[Rockstar]

Cloakwood Woods: The only real hassle here was sword spiders, which were a quite a challenge due to their fast movement and attack speed, but i got past them.

Cloakwood mines: i beat the party outside with help from stinking cloud and by charming the leader to my aid. Made my way to the lower levels, defeated daveorn with easy by bombarding him. I freed the slaves then flooded the mines. My journey now takes me to Baldur's Gate...

Baldur's Gate Entrance: i have met scar and he has given me a small mission.

East Baldur's Gate: Visited the mage who lives here and bought all spells i didn't have.... including monster summoning . but i am following my own code and not using more than one summoning spell at once (so i can say i didn't just pass the game by summon spamming)

Since i am power gaming i am going to go on a tomb run now and collect all tombs i can...


TIP: stinking cloud is one of the most useful spells in the game. Making foes unconscious can buy you time to take out other enemies as well as give you some free shots with your sling.

BIG TIP: making use of status spells can actually prove more useful than offensive spells, especially since your whole arsenal of spells is sometimes required to beat some enemies when are very low level with only a few spells. Great spells are: charm person, hold person and stinking cloud.

[ 01-18-2005, 09:31 AM: Message edited by: Rockstar ]

[Rockstar]

[we interupt this episode to bring you an arkaon's adventure update]

collected all tombs in this edition. All stats are 1 point higher than initially except strength and wisdom which i will collect in this update. (my wisdom was actually 17 to start with it was a typo, it is now 18 after the tomb)


Iron Throne Citidel: after completing the seven suns quest i told scar i wanted to get straight to the iron throne. i cast minor spell turning after my boost combo this time. On the top floor i opened the fight by casting melfs arrow on the first cleric i saw, then continued to bomb him with missles till he fell. I then cast my summon spell and moved foward a few steps. Two spell casters emerged and i cast stinking cloud and they both fell unconscious. I held one of them and charmed the other. Using my sling and my charmed i killed the other caster. Then i used the other casters spells a fighter while he carved through my summonings, and eventually the caster too. I now run like a girl slinging stones and spells at him till he falls... trouble.. i'm out of spells and only have a couple of scrolls i don't feel are worth using yet and there is still a powerful halberder left... exit stage right. Rest. come back... defeated him easily. Read up on the iron throne. Report to Duke Elton.. to candle keep we go.

Candlekeep: Sold some wares, and headed for the library. after reading Gorions letter in his room got captured, rescued and sent to some catacombs.

Catacombs: Got my str and wis tombs here. all stats now +1 ... a power gamers' dream. Used protection from petrification and tore through the greater basalisks with my magic and escaped.

Return to Baldur's Gate: had to run away and avoid the flaming fist after being accused of killing sarevok's father but didn't get caught. Found a women of sarevok's top floor of the iron throne but spared her and found out i'm to head to the undercellars. but first i must rest and sell some wares.

Busted: i pushed my luck by trying to run between two of the flaming fist... ahhh s**t

Prison: angelo taunted me and i expressed my disgust towards him for his wrongings but quietened down... i'm not in a position to give threats. Reluctantly, i asked Neb to help me out and he did.

Flaming Fist Head Quarters [payback Time]: I avoided a couple of guards and met a girl who wanted sarevok alive... a dilema indeed... this man killed my father, yet this fair lady wants him alive. I did what i thought Gorion would want and agreed. I then proceeded to storm the base. Charmed the first guard and took out the mage with him and missles. Stinking cloud in the next room. killed the unconscious guards with my sling then took appart the others with a lightning and an acid arrow. The duke's healer gave me the same treatment, and nealy killed me in such a small space... running and missles ensured and provailed in the end... > [img]smile.gif[/img] I saved the Duke and took him to the harbor master. Time to get my hands dirty in the sewer.

Undercellar: Slythe came out first and got the charm treatment. His girl friend came out of the shaddows and i set Slythe onto her... Arkaon felt sorrow for her as her loved thrust his blade into her, but remembered she was a cold blooded murderer herself. before she died she cast cloud kill killing many innocent in its wake. Avenging the innocent i left Slythe in the kill cloud and then stinking cloud. he fell unconscious. hold person successful and i pelted him with bullets and then a lightning which finished him. Took a damning letter as well as an invite...

SAREVOK! i'm coming for you....

[Rockstar]

Palace: I saw the ceremony and the dopplegangars came out of hiding. This is by far the hardest part of the game... it took me many tries to save the dukes without dying or without a couple of greater dopplegangars running at me and killing me with ease. I did win it in the end. A stinking cloud on the nobels the second the fight started. I timed it so that some were still nobels when it hit hit. Using the help of some summonings i defeated all of them. Sarevok decided to leave the palace and take the fight to a place of his choice.

Restock: exited the palace and to the temple to buy about 30 odd potions to heal me from the traps ahead [img]tongue.gif[/img] . Then Duke Belt helped me and teleported me to the thieves guild.

Maze: entered the maze. I already had a potion of invisibility saved for this part. I just wondered through the maze stepping on traps and healing myself as i went with potions, ignoring all the enemies (i couldn't really be bothered with them...). Found his mentor at the end and continued.


[stay tuned for 'Hunting Sarevok' as Arkaon stalks his evil half brother as he makes his way to the underground Temple of Bhaal for his final confrontation]

[Rockstar]

Underground: I charmed the archer with the explosive arrows and used him to decimate the mages, then inched out and chucked some magic at the rest to finish them.

------------THE FINAL BATTLE-------------------
Temple of Bhaal: ok things are sliiiightly harder than they have previously been here....especially since i cannot rest and must kill all of these guys with one book of spells...

I flanked up the side to attack tarzok, he followed me and i slinged and magic missled him till he fell. Next i came up the other side and cast dispell invisibility and then dispell magic (the dispell magic failed most of them). Samej came out with Angelo. i cast summon monsters II to blow them. i stoned angelo a few times as he chased after me, not using his explosive arrows so Lightning and a couple of fireball scrolls toasted my summonings but killed Angelo and wounded Samej, who killed my last summoning with cloudkill so i moved away and left wounded Samej to choke to death...

Now i face Sarevok himself... i don't have many spells left. I've reloaded a few times and my slings hardly hit and my other summoning spell i still have summons things which cannot hit him. I may have to restart this battle if i cannot beat him... but stay tuned!

[ 01-24-2005, 10:53 AM: Message edited by: Rockstar ]

[TheGodThatFailed]

I have to say Rockstar, you have done very well. I'm looking foward to seeing your attempts in SoA.

[Rockstar]

Here is the last installment of Arkaon's adventure for Baldur's Gate.

The Final Confrontation: After reloading about 3 times and finding that NO offensive magic had any effect against the mighty warrior and that my bullets barely hit i gave it a rest to update my posts and then remembered to check my inventory where i had bought some +2 bullets... [40 of them [img]smile.gif[/img] ] i got them when stocking up for my stalking of sarevok in the heat of battle had forgotten about them... to the battle.

sarevok charged at me and immediately drank a potion of speed. I started hurling bullets at him. He paced after me as i attacked and dashed hitting him reasonably consistantly (though missing alot). A close call when i got cocky and he came up and swung at me but the roll missed (few... that woulda killed this mage).
Quite suitingly at the end of the battle i ran down to the bottom of the screen and he stalked me accross and recieved a final fatal bullet in the face. Sarevok was defeated and his body fell ontop of the mark of bhaal symbol in the middle of the room.

Sarevok has fallen. Arkaon has survived the first stage of the Baldur's Gate saga.

thanks all for reading.

here is a character profile for him

Arkaon
Chaotic Good
Necromancer

str:19
dex:19
con:19
int:19
wis:18
cha:4

progress: BGI complete

restrictions: only cast 1 summoning spell at a time [ie, no casting a second summoning spell until all monsters (even dead) have been unsummoned].

[ 01-24-2005, 10:50 AM: Message edited by: Rockstar ]

[Rockstar]

thanks very much GodThatFailed.

Great Spells for Baldur's Gate: Magic Missles, Armour, Shield, Charm person, Hold Person, and cloudkill.

Good Spells: Melf's Acid Arrow, Monster Summonings, Mirror Image, Lightning (can be real good), Azigana's Scorcher and Fireball


Starting is quite hard (6 hp and 2 spell slots) but the game is not 'that' hard if you play your cards right. Especially when you reach level 6 and onward... it's the early levels that can be quite hard. The tip is to try and spells that make you a sort of mediocre fighter because 2 level 1 spells like magic missles or burning hands aren't going to really kill anything but a couple of diseased gibberlings lol.

SOA will be alot harder in my opinion. As i did in Baldur's Gate I, i will need to try to avoid situations which exploit my character's weaknesses in the early stages and try and get some experience and to learn some spells in chapter 2 and pace myself so i can survive.

In TOB biggest flaw of a necromancer means no illusion spells.. that means no simulacrum. A spell that would be greatly useful in a solo game.

[Black Robed One]

I liked your good Necromancer’s adventures, Rockstar, thank you for sharing them!