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Time to reach Spellhold


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#1 Quitch

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Posted 05 August 2003 - 07:14 AM

As I have said, in this mod it's going to be a good idea to get to Imoen quickly... missing your soul for a long time tends to tax a girl.

What's the quickest you think someone can make Spellhold? What do you consider a good time? What do you consider an average time? What do you consider a poor time?

Imoen is losing her mind, and she's counting on you...

#2 -E01-

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Posted 05 August 2003 - 09:32 AM

We really have two stages to Imoen being at Spellhold.
1) Imoen a captive of the Cowled Wizards, from time of her arrest to when the PC pays for Guild assistance (and Irenicus escapes.) This is likely to be unpleasant enough as it is, but hardly likely to turn her brain to goo over a short period.
2) Imoen being experimented on by Irenicus/having her soul ripped out.

Put this way, perhaps a better timeframe would be five days for the first part, and a day or two at the most for the second?

I think a PC can reach Spellhold in a matter of hours, if he's speedy enough. City-based quest, Guild War tasks, Spellhold.

A week is probably an average time to get the necessary quests over with and into a comfortable position - so it should, to be fair, be punished just a little. Focus, CHARNAME! Your friend may be being leered over evilly as we speak!

#3 Tancred

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Posted 05 August 2003 - 01:29 PM

I find I can manage every single major quest, every single side-quest and the Chapter 3 Guild War in ten to twelve days of speedy questing. The only reason it usually ends up with me wandering around for another twenty days or so before heading to Spellhold is because of the damn romances.

#4 -Keltosh-

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Posted 10 August 2003 - 12:00 AM

Well, imho it also depends on which characters you take along. if you go for nalia, for example.. you must count at least 3 days for the damn castle.. not to count that maybe someone could want to use characters not based in athlanka, like Tashia. I think you should consider speedy maybe 7 days, so that players are not forced to skip characters. Then maybe 10-12 days as average, and 15+ as poor time

#5 -Moonfruit-

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Posted 10 August 2003 - 12:38 AM

You also have to take into account that newbies will take much longer than seasoned players to do anything.

With that in mind, here is my opinion for a solo game (Veteran / Newbie):

Quickest: 2 days / 5-7 days
Good: 7 days / 14 days
Average: 12 days / 20 days
Poor: 20+ days / 30+ days

#6 Tancred

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Posted 10 August 2003 - 03:41 AM

Well, imho it also depends on which characters you take along. if you go for nalia, for example.. you must count at least 3 days for the damn castle.. not to count that maybe someone could want to use characters not based in athlanka, like Tashia. I think you should consider speedy maybe 7 days, so that players are not forced to skip characters. Then maybe 10-12 days as average, and 15+ as poor time

The trick is to do as many quests in Athkatla as you can before moving on to the Castle, Trademeet, Imnesvale and Windspear Hills in sequence. Shaves about two days off your travelling schedule. If you're a Paladin you have to add another 6 days on because of your Stronghold quests... grrrr.

Oh yes... you also have to not rest in the middle of quests. Fairly easy, as long as you're free-spending with your healing potions and you're not an all-mage party. Edwin has an easy life in my party, the slacker. He'll have to make up for it in TOB, oh yes.

#7 Andyr

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Posted 10 August 2003 - 06:36 AM

You also have to take into account that newbies will take much longer than seasoned players to do anything.

With that in mind, here is my opinion for a solo game (Veteran / Newbie):

Quickest: 2 days / 5-7 days
Good: 7 days / 14 days
Average: 12 days / 20 days
Poor: 20+ days / 30+ days

Those seem like good numbers to me MF.
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#8 -Guest-

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Posted 11 August 2003 - 07:41 AM

The trick is to do as many quests in Athkatla as you can before moving on to the Castle, Trademeet, Imnesvale and Windspear Hills in sequence. Shaves about two days off your travelling schedule. If you're a Paladin you have to add another 6 days on because of your Stronghold quests... grrrr.

Oh yes... you also have to not rest in the middle of quests. Fairly easy, as long as you're free-spending with your healing potions and you're not an all-mage party. Edwin has an easy life in my party, the slacker. He'll have to make up for it in TOB, oh yes.

Lol, well, maybe it's cause of my party.. mainchar sorceror, then nalia, aerie, jaheira, minsc + another, usually Jan.
Either you rest.. or you die ...
And yes.. i'm a magic freak. But still, if you want ppl, even veterans, to be able to CHOOSE which char to take, you must not put quickest lower than 7 days. Else, for exaple, i couldn't use my usual party if i wanted to romance imoen...

#9 -Keltosh-

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Posted 11 August 2003 - 07:43 AM

uh, the post above was made by me.. i forgot to put the name :)

#10 Jinnai

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Posted 11 August 2003 - 11:12 AM

[quote name='Guest' date='Aug 11 2003, 05:41 PM'] [quote name='Tancred' date='Aug 10 2003, 01:41 PM'] Else, for exaple, i couldn't use my usual party if i wanted to romance imoen... [/quote]
Well Quitch hasn't said, along with many things, if you can actually romance Imoen...only that you will have the option to make your feelings clear somehow.
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#11 Littiz

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Posted 12 August 2003 - 12:10 AM

Of course I always rush to save Imoen, but it has to be said that with tactics installed it isn't an easy task at all and some days are necessary, and at least one big quest is needed... Improved Beholders and Mind Flyers would be totally impossible otherwise, not to mention the fact that I'm often half-soloing the first parts of the game....

Quitch, does your reappearence here mean that RtW is being discontinued?? :o :( :(

Ever forward, my darling wind...


#12 Quitch

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Posted 12 August 2003 - 03:18 AM

Quitch, does your reappearence here mean that RtW is being discontinued?? 


Reports of RtW's demise are greatly exaggerated. Anyway, I wrote 32 000 words for the boss alone. Damned if that is going to waste.

So no, RtW is still alive and moving as slowly as ever :)

I'm back here because I realise I may need to work on the two in parallel.

#13 -Cybersquirt-

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Posted 15 August 2003 - 10:32 PM

For whatever reason, the quickest I've ever made it to Spellhold (without cheating) was in 15 days.
That would include the travel time getting there.

#14 Grim Squeaker

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Posted 16 August 2003 - 03:10 AM

For whatever reason, the quickest I've ever made it to Spellhold (without cheating) was in 15 days.
That would include the travel time getting there.

The quickest I've ever got upto Aran sending me to Spellhold (so not including actual journey to Brynnlaw)was 4 days (Eddy and Mae'var quest - Lots of cash, very little resting required - if any). My average would be about 12-14 days.
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#15 -Solar-

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Posted 18 August 2003 - 07:03 AM

I say you should set the time to as quickly as possible, around a week. After all, you should be rescuing her, not dawdling around playing the hero! As for money, one big money quest is enough to fulfill the requisites.

Then again, one has to keep in mind that the journey to Brynnlaw itself takes 10 days!

#16 JPS

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Posted 14 September 2003 - 11:21 AM

Then again, one has to keep in mind that the journey to Brynnlaw itself takes 10 days!


Are you sure? Last time I tried I left Athkatla on day 5 and arrived in Brynnlaw on day 12. That would seem to make it 7 days.

Incidentally, this was also my fastest Imoen-resque ever ? only the bard-related quests in chapter two (find Haer'dalis, rout the planar prison) and the guild war in chapter 3. It usually takes me about 15-20 days (journey not included). And I would consider myself a "veteran player". Only not a fast veteran player, it would seem :)

As a side note, I've always considered the compulsory boat trip to spellhold one of the weakest points in the game. If you want to go into details, the fact that my party can walk back from spellhold ? through the Underdark, no less ? faster than that makes seafaring in the Forgotten realms seem like a rather tedious business, but my main complaint is really that it breaks the flow of the game. Seven (or ten, depending on who you ask :) ) days when there's no party interaction, the romances do not advance, and nothing really seems to happen in the game world just doesn't feel right to me. But I seem to recall something about not changing the actual story of the game, so you can just ignore this last part as being my personal ramblings that really shouldn't fill more than half of my post :rolleyes:

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#17 Elan Morin Tedronai

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Posted 15 September 2003 - 02:47 AM

Well, for two or three days I can complete the quests in the Temple district - Unseeing Eye, all Athcatla quests - de'Arnise Keep, Haer'Dalis, Planar Prison, Planar Sphere (excluding the lich - I'd rather have him for desert - he's more powerful than Irenicus himself...) and etc... After that I need about 4-5 days to complete the rest - Windspear, Temple Ruins, Trademeet and finally the beating up of Bodhi's Vampire Guild... That will make it a week... Unfortunately I'll have to wander around about the romance - if I have one and I will, because Viconia is my main cleric always...:)
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#18 Tancred

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Posted 17 September 2003 - 01:39 PM

As a side note, I've always considered the compulsory boat trip to spellhold one of the weakest points in the game. If you want to go into details, the fact that my party can walk back from spellhold ? through the Underdark, no less ? faster than that makes seafaring in the Forgotten realms seem like a rather tedious business...

You didn't walk all the way, mind. I always imagined the Sahuagin teleported you and your party to their city... the idea of them carrying your bodies through the water as you drown doesn't seem right.

#19 JPS

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Posted 17 September 2003 - 02:28 PM

Hmm... how come every time you write something that doesn't really stick to the topic of the discussion, someone answers? :P But yes, you are probably right, and no, I don't think that changes anything. And, more importantly, it still has nothing to do with the topic of this thread, so I hope we can let it drop.

What matters, I suppose, is that the boat trip is there, and that it prolongs the time it takes to save Imoen. I honestly don't know how long it takes for the mind to deteriorate once the soul is removed (I'll have to check next time I remove my soul :blink: ), but it's probably not a long time.

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#20 Tancred

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Posted 17 September 2003 - 03:44 PM

Hmm... how come every time you write something that doesn't really stick to the topic of the discussion, someone answers? :P

:) Because *I'm* reading!