Positions Vacant..

[Sever]

Funny you should mention. I actually installed BG1 and TotSC before i installed BG2 with the intention of doing just that. Decided to start at SoA because... Not too sure actually. Think i wanted to relive the higher levels. [img]graemlins/1ponder.gif[/img] Not that it's doing me much good. Tactics might have been a bit ambitious. I'm so out of practice that the first of the random encounters is killing me repeatedly...

[Armen]

the nightime random city encounters? i've found them quite painful in a couple of recent solo games

the way they're pegged to your level seems to mean that when you first see them you can't touch them - then there's a glorious period when you can kill them easily and harvest them for XP, equipment and potions - and then you step over another XP threshold and they start slaughtering you again

my cavalier was much stonger against them with the true sights and the dispel magics - my current assassin (annoyingly for RP purposes) is too scared to go out in the dark . . .

[Sever]

Still stuck. This is almost embarrasing.

With all my health potions used in the dungeon and circus tent, and no magic user in the party, the toughest random encounters (and/or the improved mages) feature of tactics is really tough. The only way i've come close to beating them is by using all of the useful items i've managed to save, which leaves me in a helpless position if their loot doesn't cover it...

I don't want to deviate from the intended party memebers though, so i'll keep trying.

[Sever]

After many, many reloads and a little progress, i find myself at the first of the unique improved opponents. In this game, it's Mae'Var. I'm still only lvl 10 kensai with Silver Star at lvl 12. With no super items to rely on, and no party magic user, (i've gotten this far largely by using potions and the innate Horror spell to divide enemy groups) this battle is proving exceedingly difficult. There's no such thing as fair play in Tactics, it seems. The CPU is a cheezy bastard!

Anyway, since i'm not strong enough to kill Mae'Var yet, i need to deviate a little. But i need another almost-newb-again question answered to decide exactly what my options are.

Spoiler Question:
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1. Can i recruit Valen without automatically making an enemy of the Shadowthieves (and, more importantly, Renal Bloodscalp)? I plan to side with Bodhi, but i want the xp from Renal's quest first. I can't kill Mae'Var and complete Renal's quest without help and i want that help to be Valen..

[Sever]

This is probably an obvious question: Do level drained opponents (Valen's claws) award less xp upon death?

Also, i can't be sure, but i've noticed a drop in the selling prices of certain items even though i've gained a point or two of rep. Does having Valen in the party make merchants dislike you?

Mae'Var is dead, btw. Had to resort to reading Rataxes' strategy in the hints section of Tactics, and even then, reloads were plentiful. I've since completed bodhi's tasks and killed off the rest. It seems kinda silly that, compared to Mae'Var, Linvail is a pushover..