Before going into how to beat the Bandit Camp and further, let's check areas you should NOT visit, because they consume RL-time while not generating sufficient income in any way, or are simply too hard to bother:
- Drizzt's area: you either go there to kill Drizzt, or for nothing (andI have no real idea how to kill Drizzt for now)
- E of Beregost Temple: this is the famous basilisk area. Aside gaining exp - assuming you can prevent turning to stone - there's little to no reason for this. Well, a guy has a Golden Girdle here, but is there a real gain in that?
- Ulcaster: rly, that area only exist if you need a second Boots of Stealth in case you traded the first for quest-exp, and you changed your mind or sg (if it is possible to steal back the boots it is at least very hard)
- Ulcaster Dngeon: yes, it has "heaps" of minor treasure, but it's oh-so-much easier to buy those form a shop!
- S of Ulcaster: the +1 rep quest is insanely hard even with a full party, anything else exist just to make another area
- Larswood
- E of Larswood
- W of High Hedge: this isn't just without meaning, it even would kill you
- S of Lighthouse: the Archeological Dig's demon is insanely hard and give no treasure. I know everyone does it for the challenge ONE time, but be honest, you never do it again (and nothing else is here)
- Firewine Ruins
- N of BG's Bridge
- Ice Dungeon (TotSC area): ye, there are some wands, but from the useless variety. I suspect you aren't forced to visit if you didn't do the thieves guild initiation quest when you first visit Ulgoth's Beard
- Werewolf Island: it is long, it is dangerous, and the only mentionable reward is the bastard sword +1, +3 vs shapeshifters which is rarely needed even in a full party
Ulgoth's Beard:
- seems I was right, I was not sent to the Ice Caves. The guy who offers the quest has 8(!) things to be pickpocketed, amongst others a Feeblemind spell. I thought that was not in BG1. Result of random under BG2 engine?
- there's actually a door - of a house - I could bash open. Had a pearl in it. Still, trophy!
- the local tavern's shop offers some interesting items: a harp, cloak of displacement (although Algernon's Cloak is still handy with the 2 CHA and the charm person charge, it is not a constant battle-gear), and improved invisibility scroll which isn't sold in BG. the Greenstone Amulet no longer gives its boost while inactive unlike in the unpatched BG2. The Ring of Invisibility is expensive as hack, I don't think it'd worth it (maybe only fora thief who likes to backstab).
- Hurgan Stoneblade in the inn is the dwarf sending you to the dagger from Durlag's Tower which'll summon the demon ... Long story short, as the programmers did not actually think you'd pickpocket every random NPC, you can - again - pickpocket the questreward from this guy - the warhammer +1, +4 vs giants. The funniest thing still remains 'bout this is that there's not a single giant in BG1!
PS: he also has a diamond
- do NOT try to steal from the runestone-sellers. It is set "failure".
- it is a valid steal to steal a Ring of Free Action (check a walkthrough/wiki from whom)
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Bandit Camp: Outside the Big Tent is that full armoured guy with that freakin' big sword like comin' from Game of Thrones. Well, he can't be big if he's paralysed by the wand of paralysation. And his archers can't help 'im if they're sleeping by Wand of Sleep, right?
Inside the Tent is a lackluster. Two simple Aganzanar's Scorcher from a Wand of Fire kills everything (aim the mage to prevent casting).
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Cloakwood Forest:
#1: a pretty standard area. Yes, there's the Cloak of Nondetection what we can't use but worth minor quest-exp, and a guy to kill (side the druid, who cares).
TIP: before saying goodbye to the druids (if you sided them) stealfrom the chief-druid to get a Ring of Animal Friendship.
#2: there r web-traps and spiders all around, so that Ring of Free Action and all your antidote/health potions (the pink ones curing poison) will all come in handy. Fortunately we can 'teleport through' once leaving it. And while we don't need the Spider Bane at all, there's a Wand of Frost, so at least consider the Spider Queen (too bad respawning spiders don't stop after killing her - would be cool). Oh, carrying the body is again a problem - bring a Potion of Strength if you care. Unfortunately bards/non-warriors can't use any of the 19+ potion.
#3: don't bother with the wyverns. I bet they're god exp, but even the slightest chance of dying from wounds isn't attractive.
#4: more optional wyverns.
#Mines exterior: the problem is the assassin-group, and my lack of patience at this point, so I initiated Operation Scroched Earth: I went in circling from below aiming the caster there, and adjusting the wave to burn the meleers (the one with the boots of speed is the main threat, but none is negligable). This ment some running around, and somewhere in the middle I think used Frost Wand to elminiate the other mageling/caster when the first died. I kept doing this until everyone lied dead, than liberated the nearby building to be able to stash the extra equipment, than went selling stuff.
Pack some Heavy Artillery (wands. Wand of Frost seems a safe bet, but you might try of Fear, of Sleep or whatever if you have the patience to test them),
POTIONS OF ABSORPTION, and healing potions.
#lvl 1: initially a guard attacks you, and some steps further a bunch of guards are summoned to attack you. Now don't bother fighting, just lure the single guard to the group, cast sleep (use the wand) until all sleeps, and kill them with a single use of the frost wand. That escalated quickly.
Stick to the necessary road though, we don't want to fight if not absolutely necessary for the entirety of the mines.
#lvl 2: quaff that potion of absorption before going down that corridor. The big group of enemy is in theory a problem, but that's dwarfed with the terrible Wand of Frost. Given that noone has any worthy treasure there's no reason to restrict yourself (though the mage had a scroll of speed, which I don't see listed as sold for any shop).
You CAN bash Rill's door (guy who frees the slaves).
#lvl 3: at arrival
make people sleep. Now this was fast. Before going down heal up!
#lvl 4: isn't that hard at all. I used a potion of firebreath (found in the bandit camp on the Big Sword Guy) to kill the two horrors at once, sme charges from the wand of frost to finish the second horror and weaken the mage, and finally offensive spin away him. Was much easier then expected after all.
Problem is the Mustard Jelly which I have no idea how to kill. One thing is it is immun to piercing, but was immun to the unenchanted other-kind-of-sword the guard down here had too. Whatever, I just ran away.
Some curiosity:
one guy had a really bad aim, and the other rolled 0 on a dice whichhad numbers from 1-20 (but still saved!):
