Duplicate Cloak of Protection+2 (Mild Chap. 4 Spoilers)

[SixOfSpades]

Those who know me probably also know my tenet regarding items originally part of BG1, that have made their way into BG2: I've always held that if it's something that you probably obtained and carried with you right up to the end of BG1 (the CoP+2 is an excellent example), that means you almost certainly had it on your person when you were ambushed by Jon's goons )before BG2 began) and carted off to Chateau Irenicus. That means that all your gear started BG2 from the same place that you did, and only a short time (a week, let's say) before you did.

That means that all BG1 items found in BG2 should have some reasonable way of getting from Chateau Irenicus to their locations in BG2, and in roughly the same amount of time before your party can get there.

This thought struck me the other day as I was thinking of the Cloak of Protection+2--"Hey, wait a minute, the Spectator said he'd been guarding that chest for SIXTY YEARS! No way in hell could it be the same Cloak!" But then, of course, I remembered that the Cloak isn't in that chest, it's in the one used in the Riddle of the Imps game, and I don't recall any sort of time definition given by the Imps.

So what's the vote? Is it the same Cloak, or isn't it? Given that it's easy enough to reach the Underwater City in, say, 15 days or so, could the CoP+2 that you imported into Amn have made from Jon's pad to the Sahuagin stronghold in about 3 weeks? (Remember what King Ixilthetocal said about magical stuff from the surface world not really being desired by the Sahuagin, and therefore quickly dumped into the Royal Treasury.

[Dron_Cah]

Sure, why not? (In very placating tones) It can be whatever you want it to be, Six...

I would guess so, but it's reasonable, either way.

[Dundee Slaytern]

Maybe Bodhi was wearing it on a ship to Spellhold and she accidentally dropped it into the sea where it sank to the Sahuagin City.

[JrKASperov]

Wowwow, Six, you have to cross the line between unique items and more common magical items. Cloaks and rings of protection are a commodity in Faerun, so I'm NOT surprised they are littered about the place. Therefor, I vote those are not the same.

[Raistlin Majere]

Originally posted by Dundee Slaytern: Maybe Bodhi was wearing it on a ship to Spellhold and she accidentally dropped it into the sea where it sank to the Sahuagin City.

Youre pretty close there Dundee, but not quite.

It's quite obvious that the cloak was in the possession of Saemon Havarian, whom had "aquired" it from Bodhi, whom on the other hand had picked it up from chateau Irenicus. At the time of the "boarding", the cloak obviously flew off his back and hit a Sahuagin right smack in the middle of his fishy face. Therefore he took it down to the Underwatercity, but unfortunately died in a rebel fight. The imps then went scouting for possible targets of mischief and stumbeled upon the corpse of the late Sahuagin cloak-wielder and decided the cloak had pretty colors and took it along back home. Being kind souls like imps are(ya right...), they put it into the chest to warm the poor apparition up...the negative plane must be a very chilly place, after all .

All it took was a little pondering to solve this problem that SoS set upon us, but this cloak is most definately the one that came with you from BG1, as proven above.

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[ 04-24-2004, 10:50 AM: Message edited by: Raistlin Majere ]

[Lord]

Nice idea there, Raistlin
I'd say that it's not the same cloak. Keep in mind that Jonny Boy didn't have plans to even go to the Underdark before he captured you. The only idea I can think of is that I remember someone in the game saying that he's travelling on a ship...right?

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

Ah, but he *did* have plans to go to the Underdark. He's been planning this for a *while*... Perhaps he wandered off to the City of Caverns and used it as a bribe to someone down there... But no, because he's not stupid, and the creatures don't like magic.
Therefore, I'm also thinking there must be more than one Cloak of Protection +2... However...
Where is the one Irenicus took from you?
If they're in such short supply (as evidenced by the almost-complete lack of items of protection +2 in SoA), don't you think you might stumble upon it?
It's a question best left to aged sages, I suppose.

[LennonCook]

I agree that Irenicus did have plans to go to the underdark before coming across the protagonist. What role does the protagonist play in Irenicus' actions after that? Nothing but him having your soul - and since that was so integral to the plan, he was probably watching the protagonist for quite a while, or possibly on the lookout for someone who could serve that particular rolê. He was planning it for a while, he had the Matron Mother organised to follow this through, just as soon was Jon is ready. He has researched your history, he knows about you. This was not something that popped into his head when he found the protagonist. Jon's actions were almost certainly planned.
I disagree that the cloak in the City-of-Caverns could have been the protagonist's, though. How does the protagonist get to the City-of-Caverns? By being abducted. How does the protagonist get out of the City-of-Caverns? By climbing down a hole. Irenicus' portal leads straight to the Underdark, that is the way he would have gone. There is no evidence to suggest that he knows about the City-of-Caverns, let alone him having travelled there. Especially since, from memory, the Sahuagin don't mention him. The one that the protagonist had is probably sold to someone in Calimshite or Waterdeep or somewhere.