The Company of Prince Humperdink

[Neomi]

The next installation in the Company of Humperdink will come soon (yes, I know there are many of you fans out there waiting with baited breath). I just wanted to make a comment about the non-leveling-up-NPC type of game. It's kind of like the opposite of the tactics mod for BG2. Whereas with tactics, mod-makers tried to amp up the difficulty of the opponents to provide a new challenge to the gamer, this extreme handicapping of the party makes encounters that were previously easy into relatively tough fights. So you really need to develop different tactics in this game.

[RoSs_bg2_rox]

Hmm. It would be impossible to complete the game without and leveling up from anyone though. Tactics is highly possible.

Im enjoying the story so far, I like the way how you kill off all unwanted NPC's. Are you gona kill every single on in the game off?

Also, it sounds to me like it's a no reloads game. Am I correct? Or is it just the way you are writing it?

[I wish my name was Baggins]

Either way I am loving this story too and I am suprised to find myself anxiously awaiting the contining exploits of Prince Humperdink.

[Neomi]

Originally posted by RoSs_bg2_rox: Hmm. It would be impossible to complete the game without and leveling up from anyone though. Tactics is highly possible. Im enjoying the story so far, I like the way how you kill off all unwanted NPC's. Are you gona kill every single on in the game off? Also, it sounds to me like it's a no reloads game. Am I correct? Or is it just the way you are writing it?

Yes, it would be next to impossible to finish the game with 1st level characters without a lot of cheese, I'm just hoping that by the time I pick up my final group Humperdink will have enough XP that they'll be at least 4th-5th level. That should be do-able.

And, GOOD GOD NO, this is about as far from a NRL game as I've ever played, LOL. I've had to reload just from fighting a couple of Gibberlings. Many of the tougher opponents required multiple reloads to find the tactics that would work. The story merely reflects the best outcome (which most of the time leaves the group bloodied and battered, except for Humperdink, of course). Except for those times that I wanted to ditch someone, in which case I didn't reload if they bit the dust.

Originally posted by I wish my name was Baggins: Either way I am loving this story too and I am suprised to find myself anxiously awaiting the contining exploits of Prince Humperdink.

Soon, soon. Probably this weekend. Work caught up to me a little bit and Humperdink and his minions have been in stasis for a while.

[Neomi]

And so the tale of Prince Humperdink continues...

The events that occurred after leaving the mine seemed to blur in Humperdink's memory. Failing at first to find the main road to Nashkel, the Company found themselves exploring wilderness areas in the vicinity of Nashkel. There were tough fights, notably one with a very quick dart thrower and his side-kick. Humperdink himself still carried a scar from that encounter, and thereafter he insisted upon wearing the magical boots and belt the group had found that seemed to protect against piercing weapons. Another memorable fight came against a vixen from the south and her two henchmen. A lucky "charm" spell from Xan turned the tide in that battle, as the enemy turned upon themselves and tore each other to shreds.

After resting briefly in the Nashkel Inn and restocking supplies at the local store, Prince Humperdink turned his attention to Beregost. Something in the papers recovered from the Half-Orc Mulahey suggested that further clues might be obtained there in one of the Inns. Humperdink had to admit that it wasn't he who had noticed this clue but rather Imoen. He had always resented her superior intellect as they grew up together in Candlekeep, but Gorion had reminded him that being of average intelligence meant that he was at least as smart as most people, and even smarter than some. Humperdink wasn't sure whether he should take comfort in Gorion's words, since he had only an average insight and only average people skills. Another more wise or charismatic individual may have sensed the condescending tone in Gorion's voice, but not he.

Upon the group's arrival to Beregost, they quickly tracked down Tranzig, the intermediary who gave the orders to Mulahey. A brief interrogation by Kagain revealed the location of Tranzig's superiors, a bandit camp deep in the Woods of Sharp Teeth. Now, Humperdink had never been much for camping or woodsmanship, so instead of heading straight to the bandits, he instead led the group to the temple near Beregost to heal the wounds they sustained while subduing Tranzig. There they heard of an evil cleric terrorizing the countryside, and they were offered a large sum for his capture. Humperdink had never been a very religious person, and he didn't have anything against evil so long as it did not interfere with his own aims. However, the amount of gold they were offered would help to buy some nice pieces of equipment that the group was needing.

They first headed west from Beregost and found a strange octagonal keep (which was known to Xzar as High Hedge) surrounded by skeletons. Unfortunately for Xzar, one of the daggers thrown by the skeletons found its target. Xzar had never been able to sustain much damage, and this blow would turn out to be his demise. Luckily for the group, they encountered a ranger named Kivan nearby who agreed to join the group in order to hunt bandits. That was fine with Humperdink, since they would eventually be tracking the bandits and could use an extra bow in the group. And, Kivan's extra experience and hardiness would certainly more than compensate for the loss of Xzar's meager spells.

Several hours to the south, the group finally came upon the insane cleric, Bassilus. He and his cadre of undead put up a fierce fight but were mowed down one by one with arrows from Imoen and Kivan, bolts from Montaron, and daggers thrown by Xan. Kagain once again proved a formidable shield-arm, protecting the others from the advancing ghouls. Finally, bloodied and battered (except, of course, for Humperdink, who stayed well behind the action), the group returned to the temple outside Beregost to claim the reward money.

[Neomi]

And the saga continues...

After a comfortable night (or two) spent in Beregost, Humperdink remembered that he needed to head back to the north to investigate the bandits' camp. There were varying motives among the members of the group. Kivan had been recruited with the simple agreement that the group would hunt the bandits. Montaron, now adrift without his best friend and confidant, simply followed wherever he was ordered to go. Xan had nothing better to do and was convinced that the group would likely die in the morning. Kagain, long since abandoning his goal of tracking down a lost caravan, now resumed his search for the bandits with renewed zeal. Imoen of course would follow Humperdink to the ends of the earth, no matter how hard he tried to convince her to leave the group. Humperdink himself cared not whether a larger plot was involving the entire Sword Coast. Bandits were bandits and they disrupted the commerce that helped to fuel the economy that supported his rightful place in the nobility. And that could not be allowed to happen.

And so the group ventured into the southern reaches of the Woods of Sharp Teeth, near Peldvale. They encountered several groups of hostile bandits, but eventually they came upon a fellow who was willing to talk. Humperdink himself was not terribly savvy with bluffing or theatrics. Luckily, Imoen (who was both smarter and more charming) was able to convince the bandit that the company were nothing more than mercenary do-no-goods looking for a chance to commit mayhem along the Sword Coast. Surprisingly, the bandit offered to take them directly to the secret hide-out of their leader, Tazok.

Upon arrival to the camp, the group passed the cursory inspection by Tazok and began to plan an assault. The camp was infested with Hobgoblins and Gnolls, as well as various human bandits like the ones they had encountered in the woods. However, Kivan identified a large tent as being the headquarters and the Company entered without raising an alarm. Inside, they were quickly attacked by a small group of Tazok's elite henchmen. Another lucky charm spell by Xan helped to turn the tide, and liberal use of a wand of missiles by Imoen and fine marksmanship from Kivan kept the mage out of commission while Kagain and Montaron focused on the huge Gnoll. There weren't many places for Humperdink to hide in the tent, and he took a grazing hit from an arrow fired by the Hobgoblin before he was able to duck behind a crate in the corner. Fortunately, he was able to drink an antidote potion to ward off the poison that coated the arrow. Montaron, however, was not so lucky. Since Humperdink had just finished drinking the last antidote, there was nothing that could be done when the Hobgoblin aimed his deadly shafts in Monty's direction. In the end, Montaron died in slow agony just as the rest of the group finished off the Hobgoblin and the battle was won.

After taking the loot that they could carry, the group quietly slipped outside into the night. One by one they lured the bandit guards away to their doom and eventually the bandit camp was empty, except for the Company of Humperdink. The foray had been expensive, as they had lost Montaron. But he could be replaced. And the armor and weapons that had been gained would be invaluable as the group continued along their path, which pointed in the direction of the Cloakwood forest.

But first, they would need to return to Beregost for fine food, spirits, and royal accomodations.

[Neomi]

And the saga continues...

One fine day in Beregost, after recuperating from the toils of the bandit camp, the Company of Humperdink heard of a warrior from Rasheman who was for hire in Nashkel. Rumors abounded regarding his great feats of strength and his skill with the blade and bow. Humperdink thought that it might be time to replace Montaron, so he led the Company back to the south in the hope of recruiting this warrior to his Company. Others in the party with more wisdom than Humperdink felt that the rumors of great victories won by this singular warrior were likely to be somewhat inflated. Nevertheless, on arrival to Nashkel they located this hero, and he was... Minsc.

This addition to the company came as somewhat of a disappointment to Humperdink. Not only was Minsc as inexperienced as the rest of the group, his ability to sustain damage was only slightly better than Humperdink, himself, and Minsc was unable to regenerate the way that Kagain could. Second, Minsc brought with him a rodent that could apparently communicate only with Minsc. Humperdink hated rats. He had refused to eradicate the rats from the storehouse at Candlekeep -- perhaps it was the prank played on him as a child by Imoen, but rodents were simply intolerable to him. No matter, as long as Minsc's rat or space hamster or whatever he claimed it was stayed out of sight, Humperdink would pretend that it did not exist. Finally, Minsc only agreed to join on the condition that the group would help him find his companion, Dynaheir. Now, Humperdink was not the type of man to accept any kind of conditional loyalty, but when he heard that Dynaheir was a great mage, he reconsidered. Humperdink was by no means the most clever member of the group, but even he could tell that Xan was more of a liability to the group than an asset. With only two spells per day, and a terrible habit of rushing into battle wielding his Moonblade, not to mention an annoying morose personality, Xan was the most expendable member of the group. And if a new more powerful mage could be recruited to serve Humperdink's agenda, so be it.

And so the Company set out to the East, where a fortress of Gnolls awaited them. Along the way, they wreaked havoc among a group of blue creatures who defended their village with great zeal. The cave bear that was summoned to protect them actually began attacking some of them, which was amusing to Humperdink and made the Company's battle somewhat easier. There were encounters with bandits, hobgoblins, ogres, wolves, and bears. Each skirmish seemed to become easier as the group developed a successful strategy. Kagain, heavily armored with full plate and shield, took the point and drew many of the attacks, while Imoen and Kivan peppered the enemy with arrows and Xan tossed daggers. Minsc alternated between firing his own arrows and striding into the fray with his two-handed sword, cleaving the enemy lines. Humperdink, of course, directed the battles from a safe distance behind the action.

In the end, the group assaulted the Gnoll fortress, Minsc attacking with the strength and fury of a Berserker as the Gnoll chieftain and his veteran slashers came into sight. Xan, true to his usual form, threw his last dagger and drew out his Moonblade and wandered aimlessly into the heated battle. Needless to say, his mage robe did a poor job of deflecting the vicious pole-arm attacks aimed at him. Before Humperdink could redirect him to the rear of the group, a gnoll slasher landed a fatal blow and Xan's prediction of impending doom was finally true. Despite Xan's death, the remainder of the carnage was over surprisingly quickly, with relatively few wounds sustained by the other members of the group.

The loss of the group's only mage was of no concern to Humperdink, since Dynaheir was close at hand and would no doubt prove a much more powerful asset. To his great disappointment, when she agreed to join the group she was even less experienced than Xan had been! So much for Minsc's tales of Dynaheir as a fearsome witch... they were as inflated as the rumors about Minsc's prowess had been. No wonder Dynaheir was abducted so easily. Humperdink could hardly contain his scorn. Regardless, there was no turning back. Minsc and Dynaheir would have to continue along with Humperdink's group.

And so the Company of Humperdink returned to Nashkel to restock their supplies and of course, to rest Humperdink's weary feet.

[Neomi]

Just a little commentary at this point...

When I picked up Minsc and then Dynaheir I was basically counting on them being at least 2nd and hopefully 3rd level when they joined. It was a huge disappointment when they both started out as 1st level characters. I guess the game designers expected the PC to take Minsc early in the game so they didn't account for him being higher level.

Anyway, I'm now about to take a group of 1st and 2nd level characters into the Cloakwood. Wish me luck. Here are the group's current stats:

Humperdink (1st level fighter): Bracers of defense AC 8, ring of protection +1, boots of avoidance, girdle of piercing. AC 7, 10 HP.

Kagain (1st level fighter): Full plate mail, shield +1, ring of protection +1, gauntlets of dexterity, boots of grounding, hammer +2. AC -6, 15 HP.

Kivan (2nd level ranger): Chain mail +2, boots of stealth, long bow of marksmanship, long sword +2, "Varscona". AC 0, 16 HP.

Imoen (1st level thief): Studded leather +2, boots of stealth, short bow, short sword +2. AC 0, 6 HP.

Minsc (1st level ranger): Plate mail, ring of protection +1, composite bow +1, two-handed sword +1, girdle of bluntness, boots of the north. AC 1, 11 HP.

Dynaheir (1st level invoker): Knave's robe, wands of frost, monster summoning, fire, and various scrolls to add spell capacity. AC 10, 6 HP.

Methinks we'll have to pay a little visit to Drizzt on the way to the Cloakwood forest. Humperdink seems like the type of cad who would kill a champion of good just to obtain his armor and weapons. This would fit nicely from both a role-playing standpoint AND a power-gaming standpoint, since it would be nice to have the Mithril Chain +4 for Kivan, and a couple of sweet scimitars (Defender to help boost Minsc's AC and Frostbrand if Kivan needs to go hand-to-hand). Any thoughts? It looks like we may need a little bit o' Drizzt Cheeze.

[SixOfSpades]

Originally posted by Neomi: Anyway, I'm now about to take a group of 1st and 2nd level characters into the Cloakwood. Wish me luck.

Ouch. Flee the Wyvern ambush. Flee the Wyvern ambush.

It looks like we may need a little bit o' Drizzt Cheeze.

There's no such thing as a little bit of Drizzt cheese. Just have someone (preferrably Kivan) drink an Oil of Speed and, when Drizzt tries to talk to you, lead him on a merry chase of north of the lake and onto the little island--and leave Drizzt there. Then post your best archer on the south side of the lake and keep firing away. Cheesy as hell, but then again, everything is.

[Neomi]

Originally posted by SixOfSpades: quote: Originally posted by Neomi: Anyway, I'm now about to take a group of 1st and 2nd level characters into the Cloakwood. Wish me luck.

Ouch. Flee the Wyvern ambush. Flee the Wyvern ambush.[/QUOTE]Yes, I am definitely scared of that one. Run, Forrest, Run!!!

Originally posted by SixOfSpades: quote: It looks like we may need a little bit o' Drizzt Cheeze.

There's no such thing as a little bit of Drizzt cheese. Just have someone (preferrably Kivan) drink an Oil of Speed and, when Drizzt tries to talk to you, lead him on a merry chase of north of the lake and onto the little island--and leave Drizzt there. Then post your best archer on the south side of the lake and keep firing away. Cheesy as hell, but then again, everything is. [/QUOTE]Yeah, I feel a little bad about cheezing Drizzt's stuff, but then again there's no such thing as feeling a little bad, right? From reading the posts on "how to kill Drizzt" and from (ahem... cough, cough) previous experience, I think I like the island gambit idea the best. It's actually one method that I had never done before. I'd always used the boots of speed/oil of speed method to get Drizzt to follow a target while the others in the party shot with arrows, or the ultimate Wand of Monster Summoning cheese.

Anyway, needless to say, Kivan is now looking stylish in his new Mithril chain and Minsc is cutting a swath through the Sword Coast with his new scimitar... How the party will deal with the wyrvens is another question yet to be answered. I will say that a good AC helps to make up for lack of HP and I have a new-found respect for Kagain's CON of 20.

[ 09-30-2004, 04:30 PM: Message edited by: Neomi ]