Shortly after finishing up as Lae'zel I booted up a fresh run as Astarion. The gimmick this time will be 'all-rogues' and doing a somewhat evil (probably more chaotic) run.
The party
Tav Paladin: Oath of Vengeance 11 / Warlock: Hexblade 1
Went back to my roots. I just wanted to be something strong and reliable with access to strong persuasive skills to breeze past certain parts of the game.
Playing a Drow for the first time - tons of unique dialogue for sure in Act 1.
Lae'zel Monk: Open-Hand 8 / Rogue: Thief 4
My fave with one of my fave builds now. With a Strength elixir she was often our MVP.
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Shadowheart Cleric: Light 12 ???
I initially had her switch to Starry Druid but it didn't excite me much; then she was Light Cleric for a bit and just didn't really add much.
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NOT-Karlach Barbarian: Berserker 8 / Rogue: Thief 4
I had accidentally pissed off the Grove forever this time so Karlach was mad at me when I tried to recruit her. Cue me immediately going to Withers and hiring Not-Karlach.
She's FINE my main issue is I seem to have outgrown the Throwing warfare a bit; while amazing and powerful, it can be a bit annoying waiting for the returning weapon to return sometimes. I prefer having a two-handed GWM build now to just wallop enemies, much more plug and play.
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Jaheira Ranger: Gloomstalker 5 / Fighter: Champion 4 Rogue: Assassin 3
When in doubt, go back to one of your first OP builds. I was missing having the extra banter Karlach would have provided (Not-Karlach would very rarely talk) so as soon as I got Jaheira I switched her in.
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Minthara
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Timeline of events
3rd June 2026 - s
Assessment
It was good! B
