Baldur's Gate Solo Cavalier Run - Advice and Discussion Welcome!

[Lector87]

Where's that portrait from? Looks familiar.

https://tahra.deviantart.com/art/cha...dy03-297077343

tahra, a Korean artist who posts to Deviantart. I love his stuff, this is one of my favorite character concepts.

[Triaxx]

Ah, I've seen some of their stuff before now that I look through the page.

That one in particular is reminiscent of some of the Final Fantasy Tactics portraits as well. I like it.

[LibraryOgre]

Isn't 13 the minimum required score for Wisdom for a Paladin?

Which is why I went with it... not that it matters, since Gerd apparently has golden stat dice.

[Lector87]

Prologue – Cleared!

Ahhh…Candlekeep. It’s good to be back!

Spoiler: Good To Be Back

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Ran some errands, did some shopping, stole some stuff when nobody was looking. It doesn’t go against my alignment if nobody notices! Honest!

Lady Gerd survived two assassination attempts completely unscathed, and cracked her first skulls on her righteous warpath…

Spoiler: First Victims!

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…oh, and proved herself more dangerous than the average barn cat…

Spoiler: Most Perilous

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Remember when one hallmark of popular RPGs was a goofy sense of humor?

Sadly, it can’t all be fun in the sunshine. In the dark and the rain good old Gorion died, and gave our Lady Gerd a lifetime’s worth of vengeance fuel. Thanks, Sarevok! There wouldn’t be a plot without you!

Spoiler: Character Motivation

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And now Gerd stands on the road outside Candlekeep, burning with righteous fury and determined to go it alone. Which means, of course, that dear sweet Imoen can’t come.

We’ll take her stuff though.

Spoiler: Looted Imoen

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So here’s Gerd now…

Spoiler: Lady Gerd Stats

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And Gerd’s stuff…

Spoiler: Lady Gerd Stuff

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So, what to do, what to do?

A. Loot the corpse of my beloved father-figure.
B. Recruit Xzar and Montaran, take their stuff, then kick them from the party.
C. Pick up a random diamond, apparently

Questions for the Forum

Should Gerd scour this square of the map for monsters? I intend to explore every inch of the game and kill anything that stands in my way, so I might as well start here.

Should Gerd attack Xzar and Montaran once she’s taken their stuff? They ARE evil! But would attacking them unprovoked affect her reputation/alignment? And is it a fight she can win?

Next stop - the Friendly Arm Inn. Just for a couple of magical rings though. Not actually going in, that guy on the stairs is scary.

[Lector87]

Critiques of my presentation style encouraged - this is my first foray into chronicled gameplay.

[Triaxx]

Seems pretty good, I like the photos in the spoilers.

And yes, I loved it when games were willing to be slightly irreverent rather 'deadly serious all the time'. One of the best bits about New Vegas is it's slightly mad brand of humor. Such as being told to talk to the idiot wearing sunglasses, and the quest objective being exactly that.

Yes to monsters, no to Xzar and Monty. Even if she can detect evil, the most she knows is they're not nice, not that they've really done anything. I don't actually think you even get XP for killing companions anyway. There's a fair few wolves hanging around the map, as long as you feel confident in not dying.

[Winthur]

Should Gerd scour this square of the map for monsters? I intend to explore every inch of the game and kill anything that stands in my way, so I might as well start here.

Eh, sure, why not. The wolves might be troublesome, you need to kite them with ranged weaponry. Aside from that, no worries.

Should Gerd attack Xzar and Montaran once she’s taken their stuff? They ARE evil! But would attacking them unprovoked affect her reputation/alignment? And is it a fight she can win?

Eh, sure, why not. Xzar should die in a single hit as his spells aren't too and naked Montaron is not a threat either. No reputation hits here.

Next stop - the Friendly Arm Inn. Just for a couple of magical rings though. Not actually going in, that guy on the stairs is scary.

If you wanna explore a little bit more, the location with the ogre belt-collector east of where you are has, well, the ogre belt-collector. Get that belt to save yourself some walking from FAI. Further to the east of that location you can reach Peldvale, where you can save everyone's waifu and get yourself a Plate Mail from an overzealous and not nice (totally justified in offing him) officer of the law. Be sure to uncover High Hedge (south-east of Candlekeep) at some point, it's a good store.

[Triaxx]

Better to rush the Ankheg over the plate, since it's much lighter for equivalent protection.

[Lector87]

Lion's Way (AR2700) - Cleared! (Mostly)

Opted to spare Xzar and Monty. I normally have a rule against attacking NPCs without provocation, and I think Lady Gerd will stick to that rule, unless there's a VERY compelling reason to do otherwise.

Spoiler: Sayonara You Sociopath

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I'm all choked up, good friend Xzar. Now give me your stuff.

Found a diamond stuck in a tree, because I cheated and used an online guide. But really, look at that tiny blue spot. Who the heck was going to notice that??

Spoiler: Seriously Though

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Killed my first wolf...

Spoiler: Dead Pupper

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And my first gibberling...

Spoiler: It Was Diseased, So Whatevs

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Saved some weirdo fop from committing suicide, I guess? What is it with Baldur's Gate and condescending fops? They're everywhere.

Spoiler: Mummy's Boy

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Found the remains of my dearly departed foster-father, and respectfully...uh...um...

Spoiler: Disrespect

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Oh come ON woman! I know we're looting his corpse, but do you actually have to STAND on him?

Fine, just take his stuff, whatever.

And...I guess we're just leaving his body lying there. I suppose nobody back at Candlekeep would care. Not unless we have a book, of course. Fricken bibliophile weirdos.

Oh look, a friendly bear! The pop-up with the nice little faces talking to each other must mean we can be friends!

Spoiler: Nice Bear

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THE POP-UP WAS A LIE

DEATH TALLY: 1

I hate all bears forever.

Anyway, Lion's Way cleared!

Spoiler: Lion's Way

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Except for the bears.

I'll be back for them.

[JellyPooga]

Heh, yeah, be careful of the bears! Gerd may be full of righteous fury, but she's still a squishy level 1; the Ogre belt-collector, Peldvale and High Hedge are all things, contrary to Winthur's advice, that will more than likely rack up that death-tally for lonesome Lady Gerd (those places aren't so bad for a party, but you have to choose your fights when you're on your own).

[Winthur]

Heh, yeah, be careful of the bears! Gerd may be full of righteous fury, but she's still a squishy level 1; the Ogre belt-collector, Peldvale and High Hedge are all things, contrary to Winthur's advice, that will more than likely rack up that death-tally for lonesome Lady Gerd (those places aren't so bad for a party, but you have to choose your fights when you're on your own).

A single ogre is extremely vulnerable to kiting. If you rack up lots of solo XP - which should happen, and Gerd should hit level 2 pretty fast - and, of course, if you have a ranged weapon, the belt is really a formality to get. (Though now that I think of it, I dunno if Gerd wants to give the belt back because it's really good. Lawful Good, I guess.)

[JellyPooga]

A single ogre is extremely vulnerable to kiting. If you rack up lots of solo XP - which should happen, and Gerd should hit level 2 pretty fast - and, of course, if you have a ranged weapon, the belt is really a formality to get. (Though now that I think of it, I dunno if Gerd wants to give the belt back because it's really good. Lawful Good, I guess.)

Kiting without a ranged weapon is tricky and liable to get a level 1 Lady Gerd crushed into goo...

[Winthur]

Kiting without a ranged weapon is tricky and liable to get a level 1 Lady Gerd crushed into goo...

And this is why, back in my days, we didn't have two weapon fighting in BG1 and had to learn a melee and a ranged weapon to be the full spectrum warrior Gorion taught us to be.

Frankly, I don't even think it would be impossible to do without any ranged skill, though it would take a long, long time.

Anyhow, Gerd will level up superfast; I would give soloing the ogre a try with armor and maybe like 3rd level. And buying a Pavise (or are they called Tower Shields in English BG?) can be a good idea just for some ranged-heavy areas and encounters.

[Triaxx]

Tower Shields, and Gerd is a Cavalier, which isn't allowed ranged weapons.

[Winthur]

Tower Shields, and Gerd is a Cavalier, which isn't allowed ranged weapons.

Thrown axes and daggers.

[JellyPooga]

And this is why, back in my days, we didn't have two weapon fighting in BG1 and had to learn a melee and a ranged weapon to be the full spectrum warrior Gorion taught us to be.

Frankly, I don't even think it would be impossible to do without any ranged skill, though it would take a long, long time.

Anyhow, Gerd will level up superfast; I would give soloing the ogre a try with armor and maybe like 3rd level. And buying a Pavise (or are they called Tower Shields in English BG?) can be a good idea just for some ranged-heavy areas and encounters.

Thrown axes and daggers.

Yeah, of course; an ogre isn't much of a challenge once she has some levels under her belt or access to thrown weapons; right now though, she's still quite squishy (see: bears!).

[Lector87]

Yeah, of course; an ogre isn't much of a challenge once she has some levels under her belt or access to thrown weapons; right now though, she's still quite squishy (see: bears!).

Gibbed in one shot!

[Triaxx]

Spirit of the challenge, but up to him.

Speaking of, you playing this Ironman? Or just solo?

[Lector87]

Spirit of the challenge, but up to him.

Speaking of, you playing this Ironman? Or just solo?

Depends - what's your criteria for an Ironman run?

[LibraryOgre]

Depends - what's your criteria for an Ironman run?

No deaths and no save scumming, so, no, you're not playing Ironman.

Though, as others mentioned, buying a ton of throwing knives (or getting them from the skeletons in High Hedge) isn't a bad idea. You will, comparatively, suck with them, but they ARE a ranged weapon you can, I think, use, and they don't weigh anything, despite the unreasonable number of dependent clauses this sentence has.

[Triaxx]

Die, start game over. Though I'd also support a chapter start save, because BG is so long.

[monomer]

One thing Winthur's very detailed post early on didn't mention, since it was only added for EE, is that there is a very nice Mace (+1 with Stun) in Beregost which you can get basically for free as long as you can open up the locked chest it's in.

[Lector87]

Die, start game over. Though I'd also support a chapter start save, because BG is so long.

Oh yeah, I'm allowing a reload after dying. Just running a solo hero is a big enough challenge for me!

[Lector87]

One thing Winthur's very detailed post early on didn't mention, since it was only added for EE, is that there is a very nice Mace (+1 with Stun) in Beregost which you can get basically for free as long as you can open up the locked chest it's in.

Excellent. I'll keep that one in mind.

[Lector87]

Update - Mr. Greywolf is a Bad Man

Decided to make a beeline up to the Friendly Arm Inn to grab a couple of shinies. Encountered some old weirdo on the road. Gave him sass.

Spoiler: Sass

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Got up to the Friendly Arm, wandered about a bit, recovered shinies, and Lady Gerd gibbed her first hobgoblin.

Spoiler: First Hobgoblins

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Turned around and headed south toward Nashkel. Passed through Beregost, didn't linger. Briefly visited High Hedge, met some new friends and decided High Hedge was NOT the place to be.

Spoiler: They Were Not Nice

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On the road, Lady Gerd slew her first Ogrillons...

Spoiler: Dead Ogrillons

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...and was ambushed by hobgoblins. Hobgoblins are terrible at ambushes.

Spoiler: Dead Hobgobbos

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Finally made it to Nashkel, grabbed the Ankheg armor. Green is NOT Lady Gerd's color!

Spoiler: Solid Protection, Light Weight, Hideous Lime Green

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Picked up the Prism quest and headed down to the Mines to kill Greywolf for that sweet, sweet +2 longsword. Encountered a kobold, dispatched it easily. Plainly kobolds are weak, stupid creatures. Lady Gerd anticipates having zero trouble dealing with any amount of kobolds.

Spoiler: Kobolds Too EZ

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Met Prism. Promised to protect him so he can finish his life's work, because ART.

Spoiler: Ars Longa, Vita Brevis

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Discovered that Mr. Greywolf is a BAD MAN.

DEATH TALLY: 2

Time to introduce Mr. Greywolf to our friend, Mr. Wand of Magic Missiles...

[Lector87]

Random observations:

The Anhkeg plate really reminds me of the green Fallout 1 combat armor.

The color sliders for adjusting your character's palette are terrible. Super clumsy, just physically tortuous to land on the exact shade you want. Fewer options that were easier to select would have been preferable.

Lady Gerd's developing style is inspiring me to create a Path of Exile Scion with a focus on magically-enhanced dual swords. Lady Templar Jedi Knight!

[Winthur]

The color sliders for adjusting your character's palette are terrible. Super clumsy, just physically tortuous to land on the exact shade you want. Fewer options that were easier to select would have been preferable.

I think you might want to try the EEKeeper cheat engine for something more intricate in customization, because it let you change models, to my recollection.

[Triaxx]

Greywolf regularly butchers full parties for me, so you dying to him is no surprise at all.

[Winthur]

Greywolf regularly butchers full parties for me, so you dying to him is no surprise at all.

Yeah. Generally he gets shut down by spells like Command, Entangle, and kiting, but, well, there's a problem here.

Wand of Sleep (High Hedge) would be a great purchase, but you probably can't afford it now (2250 GP without reputation modifiers).

[Lector87]

Greywolf regularly butchers full parties for me, so you dying to him is no surprise at all.

Yeahh, the unsurprising result continues to be unsurprising. Gerd downed an oil of speed and ran circles around him while blasting him with the WOMM - emptied all ten charges into him and barely got him down to half health. The second Gerd moves into close combat, he kills her in one shot - full health to zero.

DEATH TALLY: 4

Somehow I think taking on Greywolf to get his sword is not the first thing Gerd should be attempting while she's still level 1...

Perhaps an easier early-game challenge, to level a bit? More HP is all Gerd needs to take this guy, I think.