"Guarded Compound" fight (temple district)

[Lemernis]

Hoo doggies. As an early battle in the game (which it typically will be for players in need of Celestial Fury), with enemy HLAs installed, this was one hell of a tough battle. Stuff like Storm of Vengeance, Finger of Death, and Horrid Wilting really takes a high level party to counter--which I did not have.

 

After countless reloads I ended up having to repeatedly go up and down the stairs to lure them one at a time downstairs until there were only three left upstairs. I hadn't intended to do it that way, but I was getting my arse kicked for the umpteenth time, so I sent them downstairs in flight. Only Sion followed, and in isolation I was able to kill him. I them saved, and tried it again. Second time the cleric followed, and I took him out. Next it was Olaf who followed them downstairs. After that there were three left, none of them spellcasters, and I could manage them all at once.

 

I mention this mainly because it might be a bug that sometimes they all didn't follow the party downstairs. On a couple of occasions they all did, and on a couple of occasions two of them did.

[DavidW]

The game's ability to move creatures between areas is pretty flakey... there's not that much I can do, I think. (I could lock it so they don't transition at all, but that's pretty exploitable too.) I'll have a look to see if there's some way to make it smoother.

[berelinde]

That's actually a time-honored tactic for getting past those guys on the second floor. I don't know if I'd be in a hurry to change it. I'd never survive. But then, I die a lot in that place, anyway.

[DavidW]

That's actually a time-honored tactic for getting past those guys on the second floor. I don't know if I'd be in a hurry to change it. I'd never survive. But then, I die a lot in that place, anyway.

 

To be honest this is one reason I'm not very inclined to change it, on reflection (a more important reason is I can't work out how!) After all, running away is optional - people can choose not to if they think it's unrealistic. (Personally, when I play I like to have a set of slightly-unrealistic tricks like that which I don't usually use but which I can fall back on if something has crossed the line between challenging and frustrating...)

 

 

Incidentally, I haven't edited the basic powers of the Guarded Compound team at all. With the (albeit fairly important) exception of the High-Level Abilities (if you think of HLAs as ToB-specific), they're not doing anything that the original team couldn't have done if they'd learned rather more sensible spells, spent a couple thousand gp on potions at Ribald's, and cast some buffs when they heard the fight downstairs.

[Lemernis]

Okay, lol, please then do not change anything! It may leave open the only way of winning the battle early in the game!

 

The improved spell selection, HLAs, and potions do make a difference believe you me.