Potions - opinions please on their best use
joh...@my-deja.com
vcaud...@cygnus.uwa.edu.au (Chris) wrote:
> Dear Wise Ones,
>
> Potions, potions, potions, I've got dozens of them... I seem to have
> been hoarding them from day one in case I need them for that one
> special battle that you can really only win if you drink enough potion
> of welsh rugby supporter before the match....
>
> So what should I keep and what should I guzzle down and enjoy?
> At the last count I had fifty or more and Branwen was getting bow
> legged from the piles. (No that's not a pun... I mean piles of
> potions...)
>
> I finally tried some "Potion of invulnerability" yesterday, and
> believe me if there's an advertising standards committee in the
> Forgotten Lands some wizard is going to do a lengthy stretch for
> misrepresentation - I got creamed in roughly the same time that I
> usually do!
>
> So how do all you grizzled veterans handle your potions? Any exciting
> potion anecdotes to share? Any "must save potion x until you get to
> situation y" advice?
>
> All contributions, wise or otherwise, gratefully read.
> Thanks. Chris.
>
>
My first time through, I did like you (Hey! That was a rhyme :))
I hoarded the potions, all except health and antidote...
In the end, when I finally started drinking them - I found that about
1/3 were cursed... :(
That was lesson number one - when the description says "this potion ...
appears to/seems to... - then that potion is cursed. Sell it or drop it
, just don't drink it.
Potions of fire i use when I can - wands of fire are easy to come by...
All kinds of potions of strength I give to my fighters to drink, but
I've found that they are so easy to come by that I use them in all
kinds of battles.
I really just stock up on those in the quick-slots.
Magick blocking and magic invulnerability I save for those special
occations where I know magic might be involved.
Stealthed thieves gives that advantage :)
--
Johan Brattas
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
kromm
(Chris) wrote:
>Dear Wise Ones,
>
>
>So how do all you grizzled veterans handle your potions? Any exciting
>potion anecdotes to share? Any "must save potion x until you get to
>situation y" advice?
>
>All contributions, wise or otherwise, gratefully read.
>Thanks. Chris.
>
Just keep what you think is the most powerful. Stash the rest. Or
drink 'em as you get 'em. Or sell them. The potions are battle
specific. ie they last 10(?) rounds or less. You can get by without
them. THere are soo many varieties that you can't carry them all.
When the time comes for them to be used, they're probably on the wrong
character anyways.
I'd share my stories but I don't have any. I forget to drink them. 8
turns of insight/strength,dex, etc cannot compete with well planned
battle tactics.
I like to carry ones that grant immunity, not resistance. mirrored
eyes for example. THere are some that you actually throw, not drink.
Fiery explosions, I think. Now, we ALL can cast fireballs...Party
life expectancy: reduced to 6 seconds!! :^)
kromm
Sandra Nicholson
there is a corresponding spell, if so I haven't found it yet - is the
mirrored eyes potion for dealing with basilisks. They turn up in TotSC as
well, btw.
If I have a tough battle to fight I tend to tank up my fighters with one of
the various brands of giant strength potions. Khalid particularly benefits
from this as he is a bit of a wimp otherwise - in lots of ways! - but in
the party I have, no one else is any good with two-handed edged weapons, so
I let him tag along, and give him a kick up the backside every now and
then.
Chris
Potions, potions, potions, I've got dozens of them... I seem to have
been hoarding them from day one in case I need them for that one
special battle that you can really only win if you drink enough potion
of welsh rugby supporter before the match....
So what should I keep and what should I guzzle down and enjoy?
At the last count I had fifty or more and Branwen was getting bow
legged from the piles. (No that's not a pun... I mean piles of
potions...)
I finally tried some "Potion of invulnerability" yesterday, and
believe me if there's an advertising standards committee in the
Forgotten Lands some wizard is going to do a lengthy stretch for
misrepresentation - I got creamed in roughly the same time that I
usually do!
So how do all you grizzled veterans handle your potions? Any exciting
Hawkeye
are devoted to the coin, you get so rich by midway that money is pointless.
Let the shopkeepers act as your inventory for most potions and buy them back
if you need them. Alternatively, you can stash them in a tavern (box,
wardrobe etc - make sure it's in an unoccupied room).
The only potions I have found of real use are: Oil of Speed, Poison Antidote
(lower levels) Master Thievery and Perception (for all those times when the
thief screws up in a deep, deep dungeon) and of course, Invisibility.
Healing goes without saying, I guess.
Usually in the difficult dungeons (i.e. no shops) the kind designers provide
bucketloads of appropriate potions at or near the site of need.
Good adventuring
Hawkeye
Chris wrote in message <7l7g3v$f57$1...@enyo.uwa.edu.au>...
joh...@my-deja.com
"Sandra Nicholson" <Sandra.N...@btinternet.com> wrote:
> The only one I have found to be essential so far - and I don't know if
> there is a corresponding spell, if so I haven't found it yet - is the
> mirrored eyes potion for dealing with basilisks. They turn up in TotSC
as
> well, btw.
>
buy or find quite early. At least you can get it from the wizard in High
Hedge. I use Dynaheir for mage "stuff", and with this spell I cleared
out the bassilisk map in no time. Just me (dwarf fighter/cleric) and
my pet ghast :)
> If I have a tough battle to fight I tend to tank up my fighters with
one of
> the various brands of giant strength potions. Khalid particularly
benefits
> from this as he is a bit of a wimp otherwise - in lots of ways! - but
in
> the party I have, no one else is any good with two-handed edged
weapons, so
> I let him tag along, and give him a kick up the backside every now and
> then.
>
Don't you have Minsc!? ;)
Erez Mishali
especially (potion of agility, and potions of master thievery). These are
especially useful in Durlag Tower, where you can find traps that aren't
visible even with 90% find traps.
The other potions I use whenever I get the chance, but all of my characters
keep healing potions in their quick slots (just in case there's an
emergency).
--
Erez
"If you don't care where you're going,
it does not matter which path you take..."
Chris <vcaud...@cygnus.uwa.edu.au> wrote in message
news:7l7g3v$f57$1...@enyo.uwa.edu.au...
Erez Mishali
--
Erez
"If you don't care where you're going,
it does not matter which path you take..."
Erez Mishali <ere...@shaldor.co.il> wrote in message
news:7la3k9$fi0$1...@news2.inter.net.il...
Burton Radons
>>So how do all you grizzled veterans handle your potions? Any exciting
>>potion anecdotes to share? Any "must save potion x until you get to
>>situation y" advice?
>>
>>All contributions, wise or otherwise, gratefully read.
>>Thanks. Chris.
>>
>Just keep what you think is the most powerful. Stash the rest. Or
>drink 'em as you get 'em. Or sell them. The potions are battle
>specific. ie they last 10(?) rounds or less. You can get by without
>them. THere are soo many varieties that you can't carry them all.
>When the time comes for them to be used, they're probably on the wrong
>character anyways.
>
>I'd share my stories but I don't have any. I forget to drink them. 8
>turns of insight/strength,dex, etc cannot compete with well planned
>battle tactics.
If you berserk, you're going to get killed whatever the thickness of
your skull. Plus, your hamster will be very disappointed in you.
Actually, I've found that Minsc inexplicably is rather cowardly in the
AI. I've tried him with many scripts and he always has the tendency
to stop fighting, turn around, and STAND THERE. It's not just the
effect of the end-of-round lull, the AI simply doesn't pick up
anything. None of the shorter characters do that, although I no
longer play with AI on. I have had many instances where characters
run away from battles unhurt (I think they're chasing the
protaganist), and Imoen's painful tendency to try to keep range with a
bow.
>I like to carry ones that grant immunity, not resistance. mirrored
>eyes for example. THere are some that you actually throw, not drink.
>Fiery explosions, I think. Now, we ALL can cast fireballs...Party
>life expectancy: reduced to 6 seconds!! :^)
Actually, with the fire potion when you click on it in the quick item
slot you hear the gulp; moreover, you get the familiar Drink Potion
icon in the description.
Perhaps I should be thankful that there weren't enough animation cels
to accurately describe just what is going on.
My strangest potion anecdote involves Kahrk, who you get to fight if
you handle the Jar Lady at Firewine properly (First be helpful, then
demanding). I decided to use Khalid to coax the magic out of the
creature (Anyone at second level would be just plain stupid to attack
this guy kosher -- even as a plain fighter he's the best I've seen)
and everything was fine until I came up to his magic missiles. He had
five simultaneous bolts, which killed a healthy Khalid. So I had to
heal Khalid on the third strike of the five-bolt hit. This was
easiest with potions or with a hand-layer, but I also did it several
times with magic healing (Requires snappy timing).
I decided to make Khalid go faster in case Kahrk had any ranged
spells, so I gave him a haste potion. Kahrk shot a magic missile, and
I started running even faster than Kahrk himself, ran around my party
a few times, ran up the cliff, and flew south, while the missiles
behind me coagulated into what would be one monster hit, all the while
creeping up.
I ran past the entrance to the ruins and straight into a throng of
Kobold Commandos, who weren't suprised enough by Khalid's sudden
appearance to hold an impromptu welcoming party of a few dozen flaming
arrows. By the time they reached Khalid (Doubling their velocity as
he ran into them), the magic missiles hit, Khalid _should_ have blown
into tiny little bits (I was denied the satisfaction), and Jaheira
became a widow. And a black widow at that.
I did end up finishing off Kahrk. I did a jump to the top of the
cliff (Cheated, in other words), but I know exactly how to do it
without cheating that would have the same effect. Send Jaheira down
to where a demagicked Kahrk would be; entangle him, see him, haste
her, and run up the cliff to the rest of the party; Kahrk will beeline
you, and you can shoot at him at your leisure; it'll take the whole
day so make a picnic out of it. Since this is mostly careful strategy
and exploiting the fact that this isn't a paper RPG, you could do it
at level 1, although the resting is murder.
Another way to do it without entangle would be to have anyone run
hasted up to Kahrk, have him chase you, run to the cliff (Not to the
steps up the cliff), and have the other party members shoot at Kahrk
until he actually turns to attack them. Once that is done, the bait
could run up the cliff to join the comrades in their futile attempt to
nail a ten-foot mage wearing no pants. Check your puns at the door,
thank you. If you're trying to kill off the not-so-better half of a
duo, this is a perfect time for it; just leave her down there and you
can wonder why someone with such a crappy inventory has such a low AC.
- Burton Radons, lo...@cow-net.com
Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
(main) http://csoft.net/~loth/index.shtml
(bg) http://csoft.net/~loth/bg/index.shtml
Krys Kaya-Sar
>THere are some that you actually throw, not drink.
>Fiery explosions, I think. Now, we ALL can cast fireballs...Party
>life expectancy: reduced to 6 seconds!! :^)
>
>kromm
Oil of Fiery Burning or Potion of Explosions, and only if you have lousy aim
or a bad throwing arm
Sandra Nicholson
> buy or find quite early. At least you can get it from the wizard in High
> Hedge. I use Dynaheir for mage "stuff", and with this spell I cleared
> out the bassilisk map in no time. Just me (dwarf fighter/cleric) and
> my pet ghast :)
Oh right, yes, come to think of it I did know this was there, but it didn't
strike me that it did the same thing as mirrored eyes .. duuuhhhh ...
>
> > If I have a tough battle to fight I tend to tank up my fighters with
> one of
> > the various brands of giant strength potions. Khalid particularly
> benefits
> > from this as he is a bit of a wimp otherwise - in lots of ways! - but
> in
> > the party I have, no one else is any good with two-handed edged
> weapons, so
> > I let him tag along, and give him a kick up the backside every now and
> > then.
> >
> Don't you have Minsc!? ;)
No, I took too long looking for Dynaheir and he turned on me. But I was
frightened of his hamster anyway (or that's my excuse). I know everyone
hates Khalid and Jaheira but I've actually got quite fond of them by now,
whereas I never found Minsc very lovable. My npc is a fighter/cleric and is
not bad with a warhammer; the others are Imoen, Dynaheir and Quayle.
Steven Lalewicz
>
>Potions, potions, potions, I've got dozens of them... I seem to have
>been hoarding them from day one in case I need them for that one
>special battle that you can really only win if you drink enough potion
>of welsh rugby supporter before the match....
>
>All contributions, wise or otherwise, gratefully read.
>Thanks. Chris.
>
I've had similar problems. These days, I just use them as I go I think. But
several I've found useful for specific purposes.
The potion of clarity for when I battle Sirines. I have my fighter/thief
drink one. Hide in the shadows, walk straight up to one and I usually take a
solo Sirine out first time. If not then they cast charm like nothing on
earth and you are imune (hurrah) so it's pretty easy to finish them of.
Another one is Potion of Mirrored Eyes (Immune to petrification) for these
nasty Basilisks.
I've also started using potions of invisibility so my thief can disarm traps
without the risk of failing to hide in the shadows. Quite important if
monsters are in wait beside traps.
Plus magic resistant potions I find useful in case I can't distrupt a mage's
casting of spells.
I also use potions of speed and strength increase for these tougher battles.
Regards,
Steve.
joh...@my-deja.com
"Sandra Nicholson" <Sandra.N...@btinternet.com> wrote:
> >
> > >
> > Don't you have Minsc!? ;)
>
> No, I took too long looking for Dynaheir and he turned on me. But I
was
> frightened of his hamster anyway (or that's my excuse). I know
everyone
> hates Khalid and Jaheira but I've actually got quite fond of them by
now,
> whereas I never found Minsc very lovable. My npc is a fighter/cleric
and is
> not bad with a warhammer; the others are Imoen, Dynaheir and Quayle.
>
>
Personally, I like Khalid - but I can't stand Jahiera. So I just let
her bump in to one sword too many :)
And, I understand - a rabid giant space hamster is not always to
be trusted ;)
Rus
+5. It will not however keep you from being hit by the enemy, but it works
very well in fights where you need to make saving throws (ie. against
clerics that like to cast hold, mages who like to cast charm and horror, and
against others that throw poisoned darts and arrows) The Giant Strength
potions are plentiful and very usefull when melee is called for. Anti-dote
and healing are obvious. Magic Shielding and Magic Blocking are very useful
when taking on powerful wizards. Oil of speed doubles your attacks and is
probably the most useful potion in the major battles.
Russ
emos
party as he is the strongest NPC in the game and is worth joining just for
sheer entertainment value alone! :-)
<joh...@my-deja.com> wrote in message news:7lbdv5$s5m$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
Sean Kasun
Steven Lalewicz wrote in message
<7lb601$c1m$1...@nclient3-gui.server.virgin.net>...
>The potion of clarity for when I battle Sirines. I have my fighter/thief
>drink one. Hide in the shadows, walk straight up to one and I usually take
a
>solo Sirine out first time. If not then they cast charm like nothing on
>earth and you are imune (hurrah) so it's pretty easy to finish them of.
For sirines, I just take my fighter, solo, up to the sirines. They only
cast 3 charms, each charm lasts 2 minutes, so in 6 minutes they're pretty
helpless. So I just walk up there, get charmed (since no one's around, my
fighter just stands there w/ a red circle), I go have a cigarette, when I
come back, AI has taken over and my fighter has killed all the sirines.
-sean
Rockz
> Actually, there is a "protection from petrification" spell, that you can
> buy or find quite early. At least you can get it from the wizard in High
> Hedge. I use Dynaheir for mage "stuff", and with this spell I cleared
> out the bassilisk map in no time. Just me (dwarf fighter/cleric) and
> my pet ghast :)
Actually a dwarven (fighter/)cleric can easily achieve immunity from
petrification, even if the party doesn't have the above wizard spell.
Once his saving throw vs death(*) is as low as one, he is 100% immune.
With the racial bonus, a lvl-1 dwarven cleric can achieve it with a
potion of invulnerability. A lvl-4 cleric can get it by wearing the
right stuffs that give bonus to saving throws.
(*) Probably incorrecly implemented but that's how it works in BG.
Rockz
> The potion of invulnerability is very useful since it boosts all saves by
> +5. It will not however keep you from being hit by the enemy, but it works
Just beware there's a bug in the game that resets any save below 0 to
20. This often happens on a dwarven character especially cleric and its
multiclass. eg. lvl-4 dwarven cleric comes with save vs death 4 but
won't be able to make any save after taking the potion of invul. :-(
> very well in fights where you need to make saving throws (ie. against
> clerics that like to cast hold, mages who like to cast charm and horror, and
> against others that throw poisoned darts and arrows) The Giant Strength
> potions are plentiful and very usefull when melee is called for. Anti-dote
> and healing are obvious. Magic Shielding and Magic Blocking are very useful
Magic shielding, apart from the +50% MR, is supposed to let the imbiber
make all saving throws for 3 turns. However, the latter part has never
worked for me. Can anyone verify?
> when taking on powerful wizards. Oil of speed doubles your attacks and is
> probably the most useful potion in the major battles.
It does seem to work on the graphics. However, the rate of attack is
not changed on the Record screen. Moreover, when I set auto-pause on
end-of-round to count the no. of attacks, it hasn't been doubled either.
So there must be a bug somewhere although I can't put my finger exactly
on it.
Colin E
shop. Sell everything except the healing variety and use the cash for
better armour).
Once you get beyond level 4 or 5 you wont need the cash. Drink them as
you find them - except the potions of fiery burning which you should
throw away.
Colin E.
Chris <vcaud...@cygnus.uwa.edu.au> wrote in message
news:7l7g3v$f57$1...@enyo.uwa.edu.au...
> Dear Wise Ones,
>
> Potions, potions, potions, I've got dozens of them... I seem to have
> been hoarding them from day one in case I need them for that one
> special battle that you can really only win if you drink enough potion
> of welsh rugby supporter before the match....
>
> So what should I keep and what should I guzzle down and enjoy?
> At the last count I had fifty or more and Branwen was getting bow
> legged from the piles. (No that's not a pun... I mean piles of
> potions...)
>
> I finally tried some "Potion of invulnerability" yesterday, and
> believe me if there's an advertising standards committee in the
> Forgotten Lands some wizard is going to do a lengthy stretch for
> misrepresentation - I got creamed in roughly the same time that I
> usually do!
>
> So how do all you grizzled veterans handle your potions? Any exciting
> potion anecdotes to share? Any "must save potion x until you get to
> situation y" advice?
>