Mishi's Journal of Stuff

So we go back to the road and run into this guy.



...Yeah, no. Ignoring that...

You saw two people in the wood? I was told to meet some friends at the Friendly Arm Inn. Perhaps they and the ones you met are one and the same.

Kolssed: I doubt these are the ones you seek. They do not seem the friendly type, and are far afield of the Inn. If you wish to meet them, I left them not a moment ago just up the road. You will have to pass them anyway if you wish to go to the Friendly Arm. There is a crossroads a ways to the east and the Inn is north of that.

Could you help me? My foster father and I were attacked last eve, and now I'm not sure where to go.

Kolssed: I have little to give besides advice and good will. Make friends where you can, as traveling alone is almost certain death. You will want to surround yourself with like-minded companions, lest you risk making enemies in your own party. Aside from this little tidbit of wisdom, I'd say you're on your own. Luck be with you.

Ya hear him? 'Like-minded companions'! That'd be me! Yer doin' alright, despite bein' thicker than Candlekeep's walls! Imoen the Magnificent is gonna make an adventurer out of ya yet!

Who's thicker than Candlekeep's walls? Come here where I can whack you with my stick and say that!

This has to be the fourth or fifth time the game has told us to gather a full party quickly. And just to hammer the point home, the next people we run into are potential party members...





It'll be alright Imoen. Just let me handle it.

I'd be grateful for any assistance.

Nothing to fear from these simple potions, and I'll not even hold you in debt, though your conscience knows otherwise.

Just like all good people.

The Party Has Gained An Item

Perhaps as payment you would go with us to Nashkel. It is a troubled area and we mean to investigate some disturbing rumours surrounding the local mine. Some acquaintances are very concerned about the iron shortage. Specifically, where to lay blame in the matter. You would be useful, though I'll not hold you to it. We are to meet the mayor of the town, a man named Berrun Ghastkill, I believe.

Your conscience be your guide.

Aw, man, y'know, I'd love to pay you back I really would, but see, you're going south, and I'm going north. And I don't think one health potion is worth it to me to go so far out of my way.

You won't do this for me? You're bad, and I'll have someone hurt you! You'll see! That one's a meany, Monty; not a nice child at all!

Now you've gone and set him off! Blasted mage will will blither for hours. Off wit ye! I'll not suffer the both of ye!

And the two storm off.

... So much for not holding me in debt. Oh well, free potion!

... So naturally the first thing we do upon encountering recruitable NPCs is piss them off.

The one new piece of information that Kolssed character had to give us was essentially to make sure your party members have compatible alignments, lest they start fighting amongst each other. In the base game, evil characters will also just straight up leave if your reputation gets high enough, and good characters will leave if it gets low enough. There's an optional component to the NPC project that can work around that limitation, but we won't need it, since all of our potential love interests are good-aligned. Reputation conflicts won't be a problem for a while yet, but eh. They're evil, little sister didn't like the look of them, end of story.

It's all good, the Friendly Arm Inn isn't that far, and we'll meet up with the famous Jaheira and Khalid soon enough.



Bandit raids are on the rise. Good to know.



Wait, wait! how d'ya know my name?

Old Man: One can acquire such knowledge in more ways than one, child. But let the quiet one speak.

Not to imply anything, but how do you measure up to your own standards? Pestering strangers about their mental state doesn't seem all that well-adjusted to me.

Old Man: Point well taken, and thou hast answered my query most adequately. I shall think of thee as determined instead. I shall trouble thee no more, as thou art more than capable of the task at hand. North is the Friendly Arm Inn, where I am certain thou shalt find trustworthy friends awaiting. I have said too much and taken too much time from thee. Fare thee well.

So that was something.



And here is the world map. It's pretty barren at the moment, because we haven't unlocked very many areas. We started in Candlekeep and when we regained control, we were in that rocky looking area right next to it. The coat of arms is where we are now, and to the south is Beregost, which we can't get to because we didn't exit from the bottom of the map of our current area. Because we exited from the top, we have two choices: the Friendly Arm Inn, and the Cloakwood.

Mishi's Modding Miscellany: Some of the joinable NPCs in the base game can't be met until chapter 4 or 5. That's fairly late in the game, and by the time you get there, you've most likely already assembled a solid party. NPC Project remedies this problem by adding optional components that move most of these NPCs to more accessible locations. Most of these NPCs are originally found in Baldur's Gate, though one is found in the Cloakwood. Coran is not one of these. Coran gets a different component to facilitate his recruitment. Fans of the original game will notice that I can technically go to the Cloakwood and recruit him right now. This is because of a component of the NPC mod that makes all areas of the Cloakwood but the Mines accessible as early as chapter 1. Unfortunately, Coran has a quest attached and if it's not completed within ten game days he may leave, and I'm fairly certain we don't have the levels to complete it at the moment, so we still won't be meeting him for a while.

NEXT: The Friendly Arm Inn!