-
- Forums
- Chatrooms
- Gallery
- Gameplay Videos
- Upload
- Articles
- Mod Reviews
- Shop SP: Games, Movies, Books
|
|
LELDON'S HIDEOUT
Bennon
I had switched out Qara for Neeshka after advancing everyone to their 8th level of experience. The reason is that the next quest requires that Neeshka be in the party. Bennon and a few Thugs are waiting at #4 and are out to get Neeshka, but I easily get rid of them by flanking them one by one. I grab the chance to up my influence with Neeshka early in the conversation, but choose the "let's go" option at the end of the dialogue to avoid a loss of influence with either Elanee or Neeshka.
*Evil* Bennon
The equivalent video for Zarathos. The long term objective is to kill both Elanee and Neeshka during Act 3, so I approach things a bit differently. I first suggest that Neeshka should be on her own when the confrontation with Bennon first begins. That costs me -1 influence with Neeshka.
Once the fight is over, I avoid dialogue options that will side with either Elanee or Neeshka.
Reylene
I go east and then south to #18. A few Thugs are trying to shake down a Gnome Merchant named Reylene. I deliberately pick a fight with them for the xp, and I easily win after Elanee softens them up with a Call Lightning spell.
Reylene sells a lot of lower grade weapons, armors, and accessories which I'm not interested in as they'll be at best interim items and thus become a waste of gold in the long run. There are four items that I did buy from her.
One is a scroll of Bull's Strength, which Valeria inscribes. She'll be able to use the spell to craft Strength-enhancing belts. It will also eventually become a key buff for her Beetle Familiar.
Another is a scroll of Blindness / Deafness, which is used for a specific weapon enchantment during Mask of the Betrayer, but that's not for a long way off.
Another is the Purple Dragon Ring (immunity to poison, light), which will become one of Bishop's rings one he becomes a joinable companion.
I now initiate my ongoing set up for Neeshka. Neeshka starts off with a high Dexterity, and she'll increase her Dexterity even more as she levels up, and she can add a Belt of Agility on top. The sky is the limit for her Dexterity. In that light, consider that Bracers of Armor don't impose a maximum dexterity bonus to armor class in the way that body armors do. Combining Bracers of Armor with through the roof Dexterity provides greater protection than any leather armor set up that I can think of for Neeshka. This setup also provides an opportunity for Neeshka to use robes instead of armor. My choice is the Robe of Scintillating Colors (Daze without limit, Displacement (9) 1/day), which I now purchase from Reylene. The Daze power is useless because it will only work on creatures with 2 hit dice or less. The Displacement power provides an additional defensive resource for Neeshka should she get swarmed by multiple foes. Invoking the power will give her 50% concealment for 9 combat rounds, which can really come in handy during tight spots.
There is a concern in that she no longer has a source of armor class from either body armor or Bracers of Armor, and I don't want to waste gold on any interim Bracers of Armor. So in the meantime I make do by having Valeria cast Mage Armor on Neeshka, at least until I can find some Bracers of Armor for her without having to spend gold on it. *Note* I used the NWN2Gff Editor to make the Robe of Scintillating Colors use the same model as the Greater Robe of Eyes.
I also have Neeshka pickpocket Reylene for her gold, a book called the Liber Occultatum, and a Belt of Agility +1. Neeshka wears the Belt as an interim item. It is now on to the Merchant Quarter.
*Evil* Reylene
The equivalent video for Zarathos, except that he's the one trying to shake Reylene down for protection money instead of having to save her from Thugs. Reylene proves unusually cooperative with the whole affair.
Tremmel
I start off at #10 on the west side of the Merchant Quarter. Just a little ahead will be another group of Thugs, this time led by Tremmel. I have little trouble killing them by flanking them and cutting them down. I take the opportunity to up my approval with Neeshka during the ensuing dialogue.
Tremmel leaves behind a Studded Leather Armor +1 and a Longsword +2. I'll keep the former as a possible armor for Shandra for the time being. I'll sell the latter away.
*Evil* Tremmel
A similar video for Zarathos, except he's a little more bloodthirsty about things.
Ophala
Now I travel east and then enter the Moonstone Mask at #2. I speak with Ophala to learn the location of Leldon's Hideout.
A dancer towards the back named Teela provides a male protagonist with an opportunity to increase influence with Elanee by standing up for the Druid when Teela looks askance upon her, or lose influence with Elanee by supporting Teelah's insult.
*Evil* Zarathos deliberately chooses a response along the lines of "I could care less about Neeshka but I'll kill Leldon and his family slowly". That choice shifts my alignment towards Evil by 3 points, and also loses -1 influence with Neeshka.
Pap
I now check out Pap's wares at #5. There are a few pricey and unique items for sale, but I'm not interested in most of them in the long term. But I do purchase the following:
Little Girl
At #7 is where I have my first encounter with the street urchins who will eventually become my messengers at Crossroad Keep. I use my powers of persuasion to keep the Little Girl from getting arrested.
*Evil* Little Girl
Zarathos by comparison displays a rather more callous attitude towards the little girl. It doesn't matter how I handle the situation, the long term consequence will remain the same, as we'll see fairly soon.
Noise Traps
The entrance to Leldon's Hideout is at #14. I have Valeria change her spell configuration a bit. She now memorizes two instances of Mage Armor. She also changes her Ghoul Touch spell to a Fox's Cunning spell in order to maximize the chances of dealing with the traps within.
I buff up once I go through the door, including Barkskin for everyone, and Mage Armor for both Neeshka and Valeria's Beetle Familiar. Valeria adds Ghostly Visage and Mirror Image for herself.
There will be two doors, one to the left and one to the right. There will be noise traps and a pair of Thugs in each of the adjoining hallways. This can be a tough fight, because I can't do it piecemeal, and because the Thugs can all hit for hefty sneak attack damage. Once any of the Thugs are aware of me, they'll all converge upon me. I send Khelgar on ahead to get their attention. He retreats to back near the party, but he remains ahead of them in order to draw the initial attacks from the Thugs. Valeria casts Bladeweave just as they close in. The rest of the party brings up the cavalry as the Thugs close in on Khelgar. Neeshka and Valeria manage to inflict sneak attacks on the Thugs even as they themselves are occupied with Khelgar. And Valeria's Bladeweave spell on her weapon frequently manages to Daze her targets. It was close for Khelgar, but I did manage victory.
Tripping one of the noise traps means that Leldon and a few more of his Thugs will show up later on. It is in the long run more beneficial to avoid that, so I have Neeshka (aided by a Fox's Cunning spell), recover the traps. She also recovers more traps at either end of the adjoining hallways.
Robes of Electrical Resistance
I continue north and recover another noise trap. On the other side of the door will be several more Thugs. I use a 'follow me' command so that I can retreat and force the Thugs to pursue me without setting off the trap. I can them kill them in physical combat helped along by a Call Lightning spell. One of the Thugs will leave behind a Rapier +1.
There will be two cabinets at #2. I milk one of them for an Emerald that I can use for crafting, as well as a few other items that I can sell. The other cabinet has Robes of Electrical Resistance (+15 electrical resistance), which I save for Sand when he becomes a joinable companion.
Leldon's Lucky Coin
Now I go east through one door. A second door on the other side has a trap, which Neeshka recovers. At #3 is a chest and some piles of gold. Leldon and three of his Thugs would have confronted me here if I had set off any of the traps. The chest itself can yield a mid-tier gem, so I milked a Diamond from it. It also has Leldon's Lucky Coin (+3 to Reflex saves) and the Cloak of Arachnida (immunity to Web, +2 to saving throws against poison, Web (3) 1/day).
I save the Cloak for Shandra when she joins the party during Act II. Neeshka wears the Coin for the rest of the game. There are certainly literary or sentimental reasons to have Neeshka wear the Coin as her amulet. The +3 Reflex saving throws will also help her use of Evasion. If she needs immunity from ability or level draining, then a Death Ward spell from Elanee or Zhjaeve should suffice.
The video ends with a cutscene whereby Lleldon kills one on his subordinates and chews out the other for letting Neeshka get away with the coin unnoticed.
*Evil* Leldon's Lucky Coin
This video will show the confrontation with Leldon that would happen were I to trip any of the noise traps. Zarathos threatens Leldon in a very explicit way. It earns 3 alignment points for both Chaotic and Evil, and also a -1 influence loss with Neeshka, who herself responds in a very vocal way.
Now I decide to venture into the Tomb of Betrayers.
