Saradush barrier and pocket plane ability

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I was wondering that since Saradush has a magical barrier to prevent any teleportation out of the city, why does the pocket plane ability still work? Does the barrier not extend past the plane of Toril (so planar travel still works) or is there another explanation?

 

The magic required to extend a barrier like that from toril across a multiverse (to go from realm to another is traveling a greater distance than going from one end of the universe to the other) to some god forsaken realm which no doubt has millions of defenses specifically designed to nullify any possible attack on that specific realm (after all bhaal was a god, no matter how arrogant he would have taken great precautions indeed). It would take a lot more than a mortal to create a barrier like that. In fact if every wizard in the world, including elminster and simbul helped to make something like that, it still wouldnt work. The only way to create a barrier like that is to ask a god to do it for you, and there arent any gods that would help a bhaal child, that would just be helping possible competition.

 

Since apparently access to the pocket plane can not be blocked (at least not as easy as ethereal/astral travel can be, as certain high level mage spells can block access to the ethereal/astral planes) would it not have been a good idea to evacuate as many people from Saradush as possible into the pocket plane before assulting Gromnir? The people could then be sent somewhere else if that option became available, or (worst case) returned to the ruins of Saradush after it was destroyed and the armies moved on?

 

If you play with a basically good-aligned protagonist, it sounds an interesting thought.

Too bad that such effects cannot be extended in games such as BG(II) usually. It would mean too much combinations and immense work for the creators of the game. A good example is the case of teleports: many people use Dimension Door to leave the area (e.g. after you competed their quest). The player has never had such power, not even at high levels!

Anyway, as for me, your train of thought is interesting and theoretically right.

 

The Kelsey mod actually answers your question nl255.
*spoiler*

When you arrive in the city and check the tavern with Kelsey in your party he is approached by his brother's spouse. After a long-winded conversation the question arises if you can just take Kelsey's brother and his beloved out of the city. However the PC replies that he can't because he lacks the 'affinity' for this person because they aren't one of the PC's companions.

However I admit that before I aquired the Kelsey Mod I asked the exact same question myself "Why can't I just evacuate the city using my pocket plane?".

 

I do not consider the 6-party limit as a logical explanation. Theoretically anyone could be a party member... The 6-member limit has been made artificially, by the creators. It is totally okay, because this is a RPG. But extending power to a non-party member is impossible? Why party members are so special?

 

Because you hold affinity with them. You've travelled with them all and you have a special 'bond' with them - one that would have taken weeks, if not months to create. Sure you didn't travel with 'all' of them during SoA but the game assumes you completed all their sub-quests.

On the note of 6 player limit, I would enjoy having a party of all the NPCs - imagine the conversations, not to mention the power!

 

Excellent argument, and goes well with the mystical world of AD&D.

...and the XP allocation.

 

There are many quests that grant each party member the same XP no matter how many members you have. You still have to admit it'd be fun.

 

OK I admit it would be fun... and a strategic game
By the way, as far as I remember, the non-divided XP points are only when a Chapter is finished, or a great quest connecting to the main storyline. And there are not many such quests. But nevermind.

 

But what about Sarevok?

 

He is the brother of protagonist. But that may make the bond even stronger.
What do you mean exactly?

 

My point was that the other party members get brought along by the pocket plane ability of the PC because they've been travelling with him for weeks or months but Sarevok has only recently joined the party. Actually you could have finished SOA as a soloist and then recruited 5 party members you had never met before and still the pocket plane ability would work for them.

 

Actually, it's almost all of the quests.

 

You are right. Let me rephrase my earlier statement:
Usually, you get a high amount of non-divided XP points when a Chapter is finished, or a greater quest (often connecting to the main storyline) So here, I do not mean 1000xp/character or 3000xp/character xp-rewards. There is a lot of these, but they are significant (as far as character level improvement is concerned) only if you do many many quests - of course a real player should do so

 

Don't all of the Stronghold quests net you 60k xp, a lot of the minor WK seem to net tons of xp?

 

In the end would it matter? because if you had all say... 8 mages? you could magic missle 8 times a round, and at level 7 that's 4 missiles per, and 32d4 dmg a round from a 1st level spell!! + you would have about 10 fighters, 3 or 4 ranges, and like 4 rogoues running around distracting and anhilating. In the end even mages would be useless because yo magic missle them to death before they can cast their first spell, (this is how I really beat Irenicus the first time I fought him, I had 3 fighters, all of which could use bows, and I just nailed him with arrows and missled before he could cast anything, and charged with my melee, he ran away within the first 30 seconds ). Once you have characters like HD, who can boost your parties attack and such, and clerics like Viconia who cast Protection from Evil and Chant, you're characters all gain an effective level!! and when some of your tanks are about to die, you can have them run away and be healed easily because you have another 9 backing them up!!! WOOT!!


And as far as being on topic goes... I don't think affinity has anything to do with it. The fact remains that in a D&D campaign the DM says no you cannot do this, because it would ruin his plans for you and what he's accomplishing in the end. Most of the time a DM should notice that things such as this can occur and he/she works out reasons why it can't be done, but in the instance of the pocket plane, it comes down to, they did not want you to evacuate the city, maybe they didn't realize people would wonder, or maybe they did and decided it didn't matter, they didn't want you to do it.