Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Blibbering_Humdinger 10-31-07, 04:17 AM	I love the Baldur's Gate games. They're just awesome. The Icewind Dale games are cool, too, but Baldur's Gate rocks. So I thought we could all get together, roast some virtual marshmallows, and share our stories of what it was like to be a Child of Bhaal. Myself, I first played the game as a Half-Elf Fighter/Thief, using the portrait of the smirking fellow with the pointy ears and goatee. Didn't know that was an evil bard at the time, but who cares--there were only so many portraits to choose from, and I'd yet to discover the joys of custom faces and voices. This character's name was Jarras, and he was a pretty fun character for the three or four hours it took me to finally find my way out of Irenicus's dungeon (I got BG2 before I got BG1). Once I was in Athkatla, however, I found myself severely over-challenged, being new to the thing and a novice at how to play. I got Aerie and killed the stupid gnome illusionist, and then I got killed by a rowdy dwarf in the upstairs of an inn, who insulted my half-elvishness. Later I got BG1 and re-made Jarras for that game, but found the role hard to play. The Fighter/Thief motif just didn't fit the Orphan from Candlekeep role. So I lost interest. Eventually restarted as a Ranger using my own name for the character. Got up to the Cloakwood--by way of a very roundabout route that took me anywhere and everywhere outside Baldur's Gate, including Durlag's Tower, the Ice Dungeon, Firewine Bridge, and Ulcaster School--before getting side-tracked. Oh, well... Now, some time later, I've found my way back to the game, this time as a character that actually feels like a role I'm playing, as opposed to a little 2D pawn I move and command with my laptop's touch-pad. His name is Handel, and he's a male human bard, Neutral Good, with proficiencies in Large Sword, Bow, and Spiked Weapons. Currently he's level six, armed with a Long Sword +1 and a Long Bow of Marksmanship. Reputation is 19, having been dropped two points for recruiting Viconia and then raised a notch by Officer Vai's appraisal of my work on the bandits' camp. Current party is Khalid (Level six, with three levels of proficiency in Large Swords, one in bows, and one in axes; armed with a Long Sword +2 and a War Hammer +1, equipped with a Large Shield +1 and Full Plate Armor, Helmet, Gauntlets of Dexterity, and Boots of Grounding; he used to use Throwing Axes, but until I get the stuttering featherweight some Ankheg Armor to lessen his burden, he won't be able to carry them), Jaheira (Level 4/4 or 4/5, I think, and armed with Quarter Staff +1 and Sling +1, Plate Mail, and helmet, and a Ring of Holiness), Imoen (currently in the process of Dual-Classing; Level 2 mage with an inactive Level 5 Thief waiting to awaken when she gets to Level 6), Kivan (who goes through Halberds like there's no tomorrow when he's not picking off his quarry with his Composite Long Bow +1), and Viconia (a Level 4 Cleric, just recruited and outfitted in the armor of the Flaming Fist who attacked her ;) with a War Hammer +2 thrown in for good measure). I'll probably be ditching Viconia soon--she seems unhappy with my present rep and will probably leave of her own accord once it gets back to twenty--but for now she'll serve the part of extra healer, at least until I find a good-aligned cleric to take up her slack. I've also recruited Xzar and Montaron (who I ditched at the Friendly Arm after the Nashkel Mines were cleared, though not before Xzar informed me that I'd proven unsympathetic to his interests and that he was looking forward to owning a charming little ashtray made from my skull), Xan (who sits quietly in the Friendly Arm Inn, holding on to all my unneeded scrolls and potions so I can reclaim them later), Garrick (who serves a similar purpose, being wholly unnecessary in a party that's already led by a bard anyway), Minsc and Dynaheir (who are only at the Friendly Arm because I wanted to have Kivan and Imoen along for the Bandit Camp and Cloakwood adventures) and Branwen (who finds my heroics just as dishonorable as the Loki spawn she left behind, and stubbornly refuses to associate with me any longer... pft... stupid neutrals. Jaheira won't shut up about my heroism, either...). I'm currently planning to recruit Safana, so I'll have a reserve thief whilst Imoen is building up her magical powers. After that I'll brave the Cloakwood. I've decided not to go through Ulcaster, Firewine Bridge, or any of the TotSC adventures until I've at least opened up Baldur's Gate for access. But first I need to get myself some Ankheg Armor, so I'm going to ditch Viconia, drop Kivan at the Friendly Arm Inn, and recruit Minsc as my pack-mule so I can gather up some Ankheg plates, sell as many as I can, and then have my last one made into a suit of armor so that Khalid will stop complaining about how much he has to carry. As for character role-play, most of it's in my head, but I have an image of a very naive sort of character, one who's head is full of tales of valor, glory, heroics, a real rush-to-save-the-damsel-in-distress sort of kid. Like me, actually. When I get to BG2, where you can write you're own journal and bio entries, I'm going to really go all-out with the role-play--it's gonna be like a combination videogame/novelization! My own Abdel Adrian, ha! Gameplay style is usually pretty straightforward--rarely to I have to leave Formation Movement and Khalid is usually the only one who goes in for close-range combat (being an almost untouchable fighter with a relatively through-the-roof accuracy rating for his swordplay--for a stuttering featherweight, Khalid is badass, and I'll be sorry to see him go in BG2). I haven't gone in against any of the really hard fights, yet--Sirines and basilisks and such--so I expect that to change by the time I've started deviating from the main course of the story further than little sidequests like the dead cat in the waterfall or Melicamp the Chicken. During the gameplay, I like to read the text out loud when voice-acting isn't provided. (BG1 is very light on voice-acting.) I cannot tell a lie--I love the sound of my own voice when I'm voice acting, especially when I'm acting a Dwarven voice! You should hear me when I play the dwarven roles reading the Drizzt books to myself or my brother! Pure gold, man! :D So I'm really being the player and the DM--acting all the parts. Skills. :P Overall, a fun experience, though as a bard who mostly keeps his distance, picks off foes with a watered-down Taulmaril the Heartseeker, and buffs his allies with his enchanted magical singing voice so that they can kick some tail, the, um, badass factor is sorely lacking... Next time I'm going to play as a straight-up dwarven fighter, Thibbledorf Pwent style--charge in, kicking and cursing. Ain't no better way to die! :D
meto30 10-31-07, 04:28 AM	I am truly unfortunate to have missed the chance to play BG. Korean game market changes every week, and I'll have to pay triple the original price to buy Baldur's Gate nowadays... But I played NWN2, NWN2: MotB, NWN, and NWN:HotU. Did you play the Neverwinter Nights series?
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin 10-31-07, 11:35 AM	I've played the BG series, the IWD series (except Trials of the Luremaster), and all the NWN series, except Mask of the Betrayer which I haven't gotten around to yet. I love the BG series the most. My signature character for that series was a CG female half-elven fighter/mage. It's been a while since I've played those games, though. I have the outline of my PC's story in my head, but I've never written it down, nor do I plan to. Also have to admit I'm not inclined to read the dialogue out loud, either.:)
Blibbering_Humdinger 10-31-07, 02:09 PM	I am truly unfortunate to have missed the chance to play BG. Korean game market changes every week, and I'll have to pay triple the original price to buy Baldur's Gate nowadays... But I played NWN2, NWN2: MotB, NWN, and NWN:HotU. Did you play the Neverwinter Nights series? Never played Neverwinter Nights, no. My FR videogame experience extends only to the BG games, the BG: Dark Alliance games, the ID games, and Demon Stone--all of which are awesome. But I've only ever beaten the Dark Alliance games and Demon Stone, them being relatively short hack-n-slash binges. I've made a promise to myself not to buy Neverwinter Nights until I've beaten all four of the BG and ID games I have now (not least because I'm in a poor financial situation at the moment--I have to resist temptation, and when it comes to money, I have almost zero restraint...).
Ogiwan 10-31-07, 05:20 PM	BG and BGII are widely regarded as among the best RPGs ever. I would also like to recommend Planescape: Torment, though, since I think it is actually a better game than either of the Gates. All three, however, are far superior to either Neverwinter Nights. My character was an elf Fighter/Mage named Ogiwan. My end BGI party was the redoubtable Minsc (and Boo!), Khalid, Branwyn, Imoen (I kept her as a thief), and....someone else.....that emo ranger? My end BGII party was Jahira, Minsc (and Boo!), Keldar (the Inquisitor, right? I gave him the Holy Avenger and Gloves of Dex and watched him wipe the floor with casters), Meself, Aerie, and Jan. For the last, I needed a thief, and his illusionist stuff was occasionally handy. I did manage to sling a lot of spells, though, but I had to memorize quite a few breaches.
Lord Karsus 10-31-07, 06:23 PM	-I never played BG or BGII either. Never played IWD, but I did finish IWDII. I finished NWN, and the expansion pack Shadows of Undrentide (Which I notice is canon, as per AGHotR, now). I got NWNII for Chanukkah, but my computer isn't advanced enough to play it. I was going to get a new computer to play it, eventually, but my game was "pilfered" when I moved the other day...:(
SgtAnjay 10-31-07, 09:30 PM	I have tons of fond memories about the Baldur's Gate games. I never actually finished BG1, but my party at the farthest point was half-elf bard (me), minsc and boo, dynaheir, kivan, branwen, and imoen (as thief). BG2 and TOB I loved even more, and played through a variety of times. My prime party, though, was half-elf bard, Minsc, Viconia, Jan, Anomen, and Imoen. What's more...heh, well, I got my then girl-I-was-interested-in (and now wife) to stop playing Starcraft and the Sims long enough to give BG2 a try, thanks to all the accolades BG2 got. She loved it enough to go ahead and give a tabletop game a try. And the rest was history....:D
meto30 10-31-07, 11:00 PM	I asked the local game shop owner if he could help me get my hands on BG. He recommended me to use the thousands of file sharing sites in Korea. I've already done that. All I have to do is type in Baldur's Gate and I can get my hands on virtual disk files of all the games. But BG is such an awesome game that I believe it deserves to be bought, not copied and pirated. And as I finished my sentence, the shop owner told me: "Ah, but with graphics like that, you won't find it anywhere. Even starcraft sales are dropping becuase of WoW and Lineage II." And in that moment I reconfirmed my disgust at Korean society's emphasis on graphical beauty. With a tidbit of guilt. I am a WoWser. ;) I believe my nation is too hostile towards my hobby. WoW Example: A warrior who loves roleplaying joins a party to complete a difficult quest. The rest of the party is waiting. Warrior gets the quest from the NPC, and reads the quest text. He finds that the quest has a deep story, and is excited. As he reads, the party mage says [Mage]: Warrior? What are you doing over there? Get here! [Warrior]: Sorry, let me finish reading this quest. [Mage]: Why? Get here now! [Warrior]: It's an interesting read. [Mage]: I have no time for you to waste. Indulge in your inferiority somewhere else. I am losing my patience. [Druid]: Wasteful Ohtaku. Duckoo Duckoo! PS:(Duckoo is Korean slander version of the Japanese word Ohtaku) Of course, the statement is stated in circumspect words, but the message is there. Taking interest in quest text, storylines, NPC personality and such is not only a bad hobby in Korea, but a sign of inferiority. You'll see this slander whenever you play games with 'typical' Koreans.
Burzmali 11-01-07, 12:30 AM	Ahh. Baldurīs Gate. Awesome game. ! Mi knowledge about D&D and Forgotten Realms begins with that game. I remember played BG2 as a mage, barbarian and thief. But mi better memories comes with the NPCs. Edwin, Jaheira, MINSK !, Yoshimo, Viconia. I think that one of the most coolest aspect of those games comes from the dialogues between the companions. I still remeber Minks screaming: GO FOR THE EYES BOO, GO FOR THE EYES GOOOOOOO. :D Also Jaheira talking about how she dislikes the cities and Yoshimo saying : AHH ITīS THE CITY every time we enter the docks.:cool: I played IWD I and II those are good, but really cant match BG series. I played NWN1 along with the 2 expansions and a lot of modules. For the original game and the first expansion those were fine, but still misses the magic of the companions talking between each other. That is something the second expansion try to bring to the game but still canīt match with BG series in that aspect. (Tommy and Deeking dialogue prior to enter drow zone !) Played NWN2 but didnt finished it (the NPC fighter dwarf was very cool !).
Ogiwan 11-03-07, 12:08 PM	I'm still making my way through NWN2. Also, it seems that Minsc is quite popular with the people. Possibly because he RULES. Frankly, I think that the storylines themselves are far superior to the norm for games today. However, Planescape: Torment is even better than Baldur's Gate in terms of story. Trust me, it'll floor you.
Charles Phipps 11-03-07, 05:21 PM	Quite a few bits of Baldur's Gate were extremely clever. I remember the most damning aspect of the Third game when I was hunting for Gnolls and this HUGE horde of Xvarts descended down upon me. I fought against them tooth and nail at my meager 2nd levels before I realized I was in the middle of their village and one of them demanded to know why I was attacking THEM. An old D&D joke but a disturbing one. I kept the EXP though because, well, they had it coming for being filled with it and treasure.
Karsus the Mad 11-03-07, 06:00 PM	My favorite was an artificer-type character (custom priest kit I made). Had access to arcane spells rather than divine (because the engine didn't allow custom wizard kits:( ), and had a special ability to make a random magic item once per day (power of the item was level dependent, as was the gold and XP drain). Second favorite was Laethril, my elven high mage character I made for solo play. I never got too far into the game with him tho'. Kept getting too many ideas for him and spent more time editing than playing. And of course I had to make Karsus, but that simply wasn't fair to the villians.
Lord Karsus 11-03-07, 09:35 PM	And of course I had to make Karsus, but that simply wasn't fair to the villians. -Heh, I did that in Neverwinter Nights. It was fun to nuke those escaped convicts with Meteor Swarms. They had it coming...
Blibbering_Humdinger 11-04-07, 01:10 AM	Quite a few bits of Baldur's Gate were extremely clever. I remember the most damning aspect of the Third game when I was hunting for Gnolls and this HUGE horde of Xvarts descended down upon me. I fought against them tooth and nail at my meager 2nd levels before I realized I was in the middle of their village and one of them demanded to know why I was attacking THEM. An old D&D joke but a disturbing one. I kept the EXP though because, well, they had it coming for being filled with it and treasure. Ah, the Xvart village! I love that part! But, uh, it's the first game, not the third. There is no third, really, just two games and an expansion for each--though the Throne of Bhaal expansion for BGII is its own story arc, and completes the "trilogy" of Baldur's Gate. I remember the first time I raided the Xvart village (by accident, much like you, and on the same quest, too!), Nexlit or whatever the boss-guy's name was claimed that a bear named Ursa would protect them, "because Ursa kind!" Ursa then proceeded to plow through the Xvart forces, decimating them all--boss dude included. By the time she got around to facing me, I'd put so many arrows into her she didn't get two feet before dropping dead. Some secret weapon. :rolleyes:
Charles Phipps 11-04-07, 05:05 AM	You're right, it is the first Baldur's Gate game. I suppose what I got most out of the Baldur's Gate games is how much that I could steal from them for campaigns and not feel particularly guilty about them for. 1. Viconia Devir: I've used her for some time in my campaigns (though I changed her to a Priestess of Loviatar because Shar is a major villainess). The NE Hussy has spent much time in and out of our player characters beds while inadvertently helping the forces of good against the forces of evil. She's also a pleasant way for me to hurt their fortunes as she helps herself to ample amounts of treasure. It's extra fun because there's a Paladin of Sune in the party as well (I fudged the rule on evil party members). 2. Bhaalspawn: Was there any more ready made concept for PCs than finding out you're the descendent of the Dead God of Murder? In our game, it worked wonderfully and allowed the Ranger to properly manifest a personality depth he didn't have before. Plus, there's something about Highlander-esque plots that made me want to stick in Birthright's blood rules if I ever stop using the ones from Dragon. 3. Imoen: I just love her as our player character's Witch-Thief Sidekick. She adds a chipper valor to our adventures and ample excuse for comic relief. Imoen is a henchmen with plenty of kick to her. The best part of Imoen is the fact that she's also non-offensive enough in power to really not show up our players. Of course, I worry that the lecherous oafs will have rather untoward thoughts towards their "kid sister" but that's fun for the future. 4. Irenicus: Irenicus is a character we haven't introduced yet but I'm pretty sure he'll be a major villain the future. I've made him one of the Ten "Known" Best Wizards in the world in the background and the party isn't aware of a good deal of what he's performed that are prime motivations in their current adventures. 5. Sarevok: I've actually not broken canon because there's nothing that says he's NOT him but Sarevok is also the Pereghost in my campaign and close to being the Chosen of Cyric. I liked the idea of using the Kurgan for pictures for my players' mental image while also giving an idea of what Bhaal's essence is doing to his personality. 5. Yaga-Shura: I'm currently having him as a major villain in our campaign aside from Saverok. I use him because it's rare to have a truly good non-human antagonist in the games and I never would have thought of a Fire Giant master villain in my game. He's the head of the Giant HordeTM in our games.
captaincarot 11-04-07, 11:28 AM	i've played every class, most races and both male and female, through the whole of BG1 BG2 and TOB, it took me nigh on 3 years to do it and i've also done the cheat where you keep the tomes such as gainful exercise playing full party of your own created charachters. save the charachter, with the tomes, and then give the tome to some one else in the party then remake the party with the saved charachter. this results in you being able to get everyones stats right up to maximum, and took each of those right through to the end as well to see what it's like with a bunch of gods. though some of the best bits are when you get minsc into a rant, some of them had me howling with laughter for ages. especially if you can get him in the party with some of the evil charachters or less than honourable ones and hold it together. The dodgy gnome theif from BG2 who's name escapes me at the moment is always a good one for getting him going some of their banter is priceless.
Blibbering_Humdinger 11-04-07, 08:18 PM	i've played every class, most races and both male and female, through the whole of BG1 BG2 and TOB, it took me nigh on 3 years to do it and i've also done the cheat where you keep the tomes such as gainful exercise playing full party of your own created charachters. save the charachter, with the tomes, and then give the tome to some one else in the party then remake the party with the saved charachter. this results in you being able to get everyones stats right up to maximum, and took each of those right through to the end as well to see what it's like with a bunch of gods. though some of the best bits are when you get minsc into a rant, some of them had me howling with laughter for ages. especially if you can get him in the party with some of the evil charachters or less than honourable ones and hold it together. The dodgy gnome theif from BG2 who's name escapes me at the moment is always a good one for getting him going some of their banter is priceless. I remember when Minsc tried to decapitate me for taking too long rescuing Dynaheir! That was fun. Unfortunately, I had to decapitate him to avoid being decapitated myself... Serves me right for following a loon into battle. :P
Charles Phipps 11-04-07, 08:26 PM	If there's one thing I truly hate about Baldur's gate its the ridiculous lethality of the game. It's like Dave Arensun wrote the game's combat codes. It's a damn min-maxer's fantasy and I miss the Final Fantasy nature of things where you were automatically min maxed! But yeah, there's nothing more humiliating than having to scrounge subquests for EXP like a Dwarvish Banker counting coins.
Alleran 11-04-07, 08:38 PM	All I have to do is type in Baldur's Gate and I can get my hands on virtual disk files of all the games. But BG is such an awesome game that I believe it deserves to be bought, not copied and pirated. They've released a big "Four in One" set recently - it's got BGI, Tales of the Sword Coast, BGII, and Throne of Bhaal all on DVDs. Great value. I'll always have a soft spot for the Baldur's Gate series, I think. It was what introduced me to the Realms, and it makes up a fair chunk of the image I still have of it. I'll always remember things like Irenicus' duel with the Cowled Wizards in Athkatla and my measly little Level 7 self standing there going :eek: at all the spells and magical power he was tossing around like water. Favourite character would have to be Imoen. Seriously. I don't know just what it is about her, but I always take her along. It doesn't matter what alignment I'm playing, really (though if I go evil, I always pick Lawful Evil). Favourite villain was Irenicus - some of his monologues were great, especially towards the end. "I... I do not remember your love, Ellesime. I have tried. I have tried to recreate it, to spark it anew in my memory. But it is gone... a hollow, dead thing. For years, I clung to the memory of it. Then the memory of the memory. And then nothing. The Seldarine took that from me, too!" Aah, remembering my character standing on the battlements of the de'Arnise Keep while thinking to myself "Yeah, *******, I OWN this joint!"... assembling the Crom Faeyr (even now, that name still sounds awesome... the Crom Faeyr, Hammer of Thunderbolts - I still use it in other stories)... :cool: 'Scuse me. I think I need to go start up the game again.
Karsus the Mad 11-05-07, 02:39 AM	There's also the BG Trilogy. It's a fan mod that combines them all seamlessly. http://www.teambg.eu/index.php?page=links All this talk of the games tho' made me want to play again. -Heh, I did that in Neverwinter Nights. It was fun to nuke those escaped convicts with Meteor Swarms. They had it coming... Hehehehe...I like creating my own spells. Multiple target magic missles that loop cast themselves. That was hard on my system tho'. Magic missles just flinging all over the place, with my character jiggling so fast he looks like he's spasming from an anurism or something.
Blibbering_Humdinger 11-08-07, 04:34 PM	I haven't tried BGT yet, but I found something that, in my mind, is just as good--it's called Baldur's Gate Tutu--I'm using a version called "EasyTutu"--that modifies Baldur's Gate to run on the BGII engine. I picked this because 1) it is (reputedly) less buggy, and 2) there's a far greater mod-compatibility rate, because most mods that support this type of thing are either made exclusively for Tutu and not BGT, or are originally made for Tutu and then ported over to BGT. EDIT: It also isn't forced to include BG2's experience gain for using character class skills such as thief skills, which keeps the game balanced. In BGT, your levels early on can really skyrocket because you gained like twelve zillion points just by looting and pillaging Beregost. So now I'm enjoying my romp around the Baldur's Gate area with my shiny new human fighter (in Shadows of Amn I'm going to dual-class into a Fighter/Mage when I hit the 13th level or so, and thus will confront Irenicus and beat him at his own game! I'll be the uber-spellsword who dual-wields! It's gonna be AWESOME... mwahaha...), in beautiful resolution (one of the unsupported, astronomical ones, ha! to the Nine Hells with your wussy 800x600, nothing less than 1024x760 will serve MY hunger for graphical awesomeness!) with several mods added, including: - BGII-styled worldmap with the Cloakwood available from the off (but the mines within are still locked until you would normally be able to reach them); - A batch of bards (they use Volo's avatar and have little text blurbs flashing above their heads as they announce their presence to their potential customers) who, for a fee, can lower your reputation by intentionally maligning your good name. Keeps the evil-aligned characters happy, see. - Several fan-built added NPCs, including a fairly amusing gnome cleric of Deneir--a librarian hero, ha ha--who first appears in the Candlekeep prologue (a nice touch: she draws attention to the Bhaalspawn prophecy with her first line, and she has a decent voice-actor, too). Her name is Finch, and she's not recruitable 'til Beregost. - A few added quests here and there, including an NPC quest for Finch - A very well-done mod which allows you to converse with your party members. Some, such as Xzar, are highly amusing. Others, however, such as Khalid and Montaron (the more ill-tempered of the two requires serious prodding, at least), give away vital bits of character info too early in the game--one's affiliation with the Harpers and the other's affiliation with the Zhentarim, not to put too fine a point on it. - Character romances, a la BGII. - BANTER! YAY! And Imoen just never shuts up! DOUBLE YAY! They even added some rather leading banter text that hints at Imoen's later Thief/Mage class--when you pick up the spoils from the first assassin at the Friendly Arm Inn, Tarnesh (I think), Imoen chimes in with an amusing blurb about the spell scrolls you picked up. I wonder what else there is to discover... - BGII portraits for Jaheira, Minsc, Edwin, Imoen, and any others that re-appear as recruitables in BGII. - An "unfinished business" mod which reinstates material in the game that was intended for inclusion but cut during the development process for one reason or another. Also added these awesome mods to my BGII game: - Virtue statistic--this ingenious modification adds a "Virtue" count next to your Reputation score, and modifies your moralistic system as follows: your alignment changes based on how moral your actions are and what your Virtue score thus becomes (Paladins and Rangers must be extra careful--even one or two ill acts may make a Paladin fall, and Rangers fall when their virtue drops below a certain point). Reputation is based solely on what others think of you, so if you're sneaky, you can even pull off murders that would otherwise drop your rep without turning a hair. You can have a Rep of 20 and still be Chaotic Evil with a perfectly happy party of slimeballs. This system is by far more realistic than the original Reputation system. - Flirt packs--with this, the character that becomes your love interest does not call all the shots. Allows you to initiate dialogue and interaction with your love interest, rather than just waiting for them to start one of the game's love talks. The seriousness varies depending upon what stage the relationship has reached. - Xan as a recruitable NPC! They gave him an inferior voice actor, alas, but the spirit of hopelessness and hollowness endures! And Xan is perfectly happy to chat with you whenever you so desire--simply have your NPC initiate dialogue and choose from the available options. (EDIT: I also took advantage of the component that allows you to choose his class kit, and made him a Wild Mage--the other choices were Mage, Mage/Fighter, and Sorcerer.) - An "unfinished business" mod similar to the above BGI mod, which includes such things as an extended Xzar/Harper plot, a quest for Minsc (the kidnapping of Boo!), and an Artemis Entreri cameo which occurs if you recruit the aide of Drizzt to take down Bodhi. (All components are optional in this and the other; if you don't want Entreri, just don't install him.) All this and more can be found at the website of the Pocket Plane Group (http://www.pocketplane.net/mambo/). Unless your computer is pressed for space, however, I strongly recommend using the "Normal" install for BGTutu--this installs the Tutu mod as a seperate program by copying BGI's full-install files (provided you full-installed it in the first place), so as to keep your BGI game and all files therein untouched and unchanged while you play Tutu from a completely different location on your computer. Also note that Baldur's Gate Tutu plays using the "Shadows of Amn" or "Throne of Bhaal" CD, depending upon the version of Tutu installed. And of course, all caution is advised when dealing with mods. Some can be glitchy, and while the creators are tirelessly trying to iron out the bugs ("Squash 'em flat, Handel, squash 'em flat!" - Imoen) there is, alas, always another bug. Two pertinent ones: green water in BGTutu while 3D acceleration is on (repairable by an optional--but large--Degreenifier mod) and a tendency for saved games to become inexplicably corrupt in the fine locale of Beregost (the only known remedy is to simply save before entering in a seperate file... a precaution you should always be taking with mods, anyway).
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin 11-08-07, 09:22 PM	The Flirt Pack is wonderful. I also enjoyed the Kelsey romance mod.
Blibbering_Humdinger 11-09-07, 12:43 AM	I haven't had a chance to try out the flirt pack, but I caught a glimpse of what Kelsey was like when I tested him out in Throne of Bhaal with those Presto! Instant Party Member! (Patent Pending) statue doohickies. He seems to be in love with Imoen. The lines they exchanged when he joined up with me and Imoen, when I forced him to leave the party before Imoen, and when I booted Imoen from the party were all brief, but hint at hilarious mushiness that I'm not really sure whether I'll be appalled at or tickled to death by. ^_^' I've gone mod-crazy today. I just discovered Ascension and Redemption--Weimer's post-development mod of ToB and a fan's Irenicus-centric add-on to the former, respectively. They both sound promising. I can't wait until I actually get to the point where I get to test 'em. :D
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin 11-09-07, 01:37 PM	Be careful, though--I've heard that the Ascension module (designed by Dave Gaider on his own, if I recall correctly, not Weimer) is really, really difficult. I mean cheesy, over-the-top difficult. As for Kelsey--if the PC is female, Kelsey will romance her if she accepts it. If not, he'll romance Imoen.:) I like the regular BG romances too, though--I've played them all except Jaheira's.
Karsus the Mad 11-09-07, 02:10 PM	Blibbering, does that tutu mod allow you to play your BG2 character in BG1? I went and reinstalled everything (no mods yet), and suddenly remembered why I wasn't particularly fond of playing BG1.
Bluenose 11-09-07, 02:23 PM	Blibbering, does that tutu mod allow you to play your BG2 character in BG1? I went and reinstalled everything (no mods yet), and suddenly remembered why I wasn't particularly fond of playing BG1. BG Tutu and EasyTutu basically take BG1 and convert it to run using the BG2 version of the engine, so you can run with any of the BG2 options. The character will transfer across seamlessly, rather more so than in original versions. I'd also recommend the BG1 NPC Project (available at Gibberlings3 (http://www.gibberlings3.net/) which adds banters, romances, and quests for the original BG1 NPCs. Be careful with the latest version of it V14 as there's a bug in the install for some people that they discuss a work-around for in the forums.
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin 11-09-07, 03:56 PM	Blibbering, does that tutu mod allow you to play your BG2 character in BG1? Hmm, how would that work? You'd be transfering from a high level game (and character) to a low level game (and character).
Blibbering_Humdinger 11-09-07, 05:13 PM	Be careful, though--I've heard that the Ascension module (designed by Dave Gaider on his own, if I recall correctly, not Weimer) is really, really difficult. I mean cheesy, over-the-top difficult. Whoops, mixed up the names. :embarrass But yeah, I've heard of the difficulty boost. I've installed other difficulty-boost mods, too, like one that makes the enemies in BG2 behave with more intelligence. (Also a few that bring BG2 spells more in line with those of BG1--Monster Summoning and Animal Summoning are less pathetic now, and Dimension Door is back, though if used improperly it can break the game, or so I'm told--and Goodberries has been enchanced so as not to be COMPLETELY useless--it's HP boost increases at certain level intervals.) But I installed ToB partly for the challenge. I'm used to easy RPGs--Final Fantasy VII, for example--and want to be really challenged. So I'm making the normal-difficulty BG series as complex and challenging as I can make it. That way, when Zack, my Human Fighter Level 13/Mage Level 28 emerges from the smoke and rubble at the end, victorious in whatever Bhaalspawn destiny he manages to grab (or whatever destiny ToB has set for me), I'll truly feel epic... like Elminster! As for Kelsey--if the PC is female, Kelsey will romance her if she accepts it. If not, he'll romance Imoen.:) Yeah, well, as I'm playing a male character on my first time through, I won't have to worry about Kelsey. A certain recruitable drow NPC mod of Gaider's, however... will romance the player regardless of race, gender, or current romantic pursuits. Luckily, if you rebuff him he doesn't persist, so... I like the regular BG romances too, though--I've played them all except Jaheira's. Somehow, I'm repelled by the idea of romancing Jaheira. Partly because I liked Khalid as a character enough so that I'd feel really rotten for stealing his wife, and mostly because Abdel Adrian of the badly-novelized Baldur's Gate book series did, and I don't want to do ANYTHING Abdel did if I can help it. Viconia's the one I intend to romance, partly because I want to see just how bad she can treat me before I completely blow up at her, partly because I want to change her alignment to Neutral Good (I like redemption stories and stuff ^_^') and partly because Drizzt fans like me tend to have unhealthy and somewhat disturbing fondness for dark elves *ahem* :embarrass To Karsus the Mad: I don't know--I haven't tried. All I know is that with Tutu, you can create characters using all of the character kits and classes from the sequel, everything from Monk to Kensai to Wild Mage. You get to choose your proficiencies with a bit more specificness and thought (no longer can one generalized "Large Swords" slot account for scimitars, long swords, bastard swords, and two-handed swords simultaneously), though one character, Khalid, now begins with what I percieve to be the most ridiculous default arrangement imaginable for the stuttering featherweight: he dual-wields bastard swords and has no long-range capabilities at all. X_X In exchange for the lack of general categories, you are allowed to pour out all four of your fighter's initial points on one weapon, so if you really want to feel awesome, start the game with four-rank proficiency in Two-Handed Swords. :P Also included in the package are options of difficulty whereby you always learn spells and always gain the max hit roll at level up, for which those of us who would repeatedly save and reload until we got those spells and max hit rolls are invariably grateful--saves much, much time. The only odd thing is that when your character begins in Candlekeep, they gain -1 quest experience. As they had zero to begin with (presumably, anyway--you can still load upper-level characters, I'd imagine), they'd lose nothing at all. But then again, maybe this is a provision for upper-level BG2 characters to bring their XP total back down to the 161,000 BG1 cap (which is still in effect).
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin 11-09-07, 07:22 PM	Whoops, mixed up the names. :embarrass Yeah, well, as I'm playing a male character on my first time through, I won't have to worry about Kelsey. A certain recruitable drow NPC mod of Gaider's, however... will romance the player regardless of race, gender, or current romantic pursuits. Luckily, if you rebuff him he doesn't persist, so... You did it again--that's Weimer's mod. :heehee I've never tried the Soloufein module, myself--number one, I read that it's super hard (that is, there is tough combat involved). Number two, Soloufein the romancable NPC, from all I've read, seems odd and doesn't jive very much with the Soloufein you meet in the Underdark. I've also read, though it was a while back, that a lot of the poetry he reads (yes, really) is real world poetry that is uncredited by the module. This could have changed though. Somehow, I'm repelled by the idea of romancing Jaheira. Partly because I liked Khalid as a character enough so that I'd feel really rotten for stealing his wife, and mostly because Abdel Adrian of the badly-novelized Baldur's Gate book series did, and I don't want to do ANYTHING Abdel did if I can help it. Haha! The main reason I didn't romance Jaheira, I'll admit, is because that romance is (was?) apparently buggy, and I didn't want to try it badly enough to bother with it. I can kind of understand the creep factor some people mention for not liking the Jaheira romance, but overall my opinion is one of indifference. I love Jaheira as a character and as my PC's friend, but I've never felt the desire to try her romance. Viconia's the one I intend to romance, partly because I want to see just how bad she can treat me before I completely blow up at her, partly because I want to change her alignment to Neutral Good (I like redemption stories and stuff ^_^') and partly because Drizzt fans like me tend to have unhealthy and somewhat disturbing fondness for dark elves *ahem* :embarrass I enjoyed the Viconia romance, very much. :) If you help her become "redeemed" though, her alignment changes to True Neutral.
Blibbering_Humdinger 11-09-07, 08:38 PM	You did it again--that's Weimer's mod. :heehee I've never tried the Soloufein module, myself--number one, I read that it's super hard (that is, there is tough combat involved). Number two, Soloufein the romancable NPC, from all I've read, seems odd and doesn't jive very much with the Soloufein you meet in the Underdark. I've also read, though it was a while back, that a lot of the poetry he reads (yes, really) is real world poetry that is uncredited by the module. This could have changed though. Tough combat = gameplay goodness in my book, so no worries there. As for real-world poetry... I'm not particularly interested in poetry, so even if it were credited, I wouldn't know where it came from. And I have a tin ear for poetry anyway. Haha! The main reason I didn't romance Jaheira, I'll admit, is because that romance is (was?) apparently buggy, and I didn't want to try it badly enough to bother with it. I can kind of understand the creep factor some people mention for not liking the Jaheira romance, but overall my opinion is one of indifference. I love Jaheira as a character and as my PC's friend, but I've never felt the desire to try her romance. The official Throne of Bhaal patch (http://www.bioware.com/games/throne_bhaal/support/patches/) fixes the Shadows of Amn Jaheira romance bugs. I enjoyed the Viconia romance, very much. :) If you help her become "redeemed" though, her alignment changes to True Neutral. Oh. I heard it was Neutral Good. But that was from a fan review someplace, so I'll chalk it up as bad information. Thanks for setting me straight.
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin 11-09-07, 08:56 PM	Tough combat = gameplay goodness in my book, so no worries there. As for real-world poetry... I'm not particularly interested in poetry, so even if it were credited, I wouldn't know where it came from. And I have a tin ear for poetry anyway. But it's bad form to use someone else's work and not credit them for it. That was my point. The official Throne of Bhaal patch (http://www.bioware.com/games/throne_bhaal/support/patches/) fixes the Shadows of Amn Jaheira romance bugs. Meh, like I said I was never that interested to begin with. Oh. I heard it was Neutral Good. But that was from a fan review someplace, so I'll chalk it up as bad information. Thanks for setting me straight. You're welcome.:)
Charles Phipps 11-09-07, 09:15 PM	The only patch I ever got was an Imoen romance.
Karsus the Mad 11-09-07, 10:17 PM	Hmm, how would that work? You'd be transfering from a high level game (and character) to a low level game (and character). Well, I was hoping my elven high mage from ToB would be importable to BG1. His CRE file survived on a 180MB mini disc, despite the purging I went through a few years ago.
captaincarot 11-10-07, 09:50 AM	there's tough combat and then there's ascencion mod level combat that stuffs insane. there is no way anyone could lay through it in real time it's just mental. i had to relaod 3 times in 10 minutes because it had wiped my entire party before i worked out what was going on in 1 combat.
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin 11-10-07, 06:07 PM	Well, I was hoping my elven high mage from ToB would be importable to BG1. His CRE file survived on a 180MB mini disc, despite the purging I went through a few years ago. Hmm, it might be possible. Again, I don't quite see the point, but if want you want to do is go through BG1 as a super high level character, you can probably remove the BG1 level cap and remake the character using an editor like Gatekeeper.
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin 11-10-07, 06:08 PM	there's tough combat and then there's ascencion mod level combat that stuffs insane. there is no way anyone could lay through it in real time it's just mental. i had to relaod 3 times in 10 minutes because it had wiped my entire party before i worked out what was going on in 1 combat. See, I don't have the patience for super-tough combat like that. I play these games to have fun, not to reload thousands of times, and hence I don't download modules with reputations of being "virtually impossible".
Owlperson2007 11-10-07, 08:10 PM	Louise spent one whole year of her college life trying to beat BG1 and I have it on good authority at one point she was playing it in her sleep. She showed me it but I couldn't get through the first part of BG2 because I kept sniggering at Minsc's silly voice and Jaheira's fake Russian accent. I thought I had a silly voice BUT some of the characters brought back painful memories of bad impressionists trying to do me and getting it all wrong and so I had to give up on it.
Karsus the Mad 11-10-07, 09:29 PM	Hmm, it might be possible. Again, I don't quite see the point, but if want you want to do is go through BG1 as a super high level character, you can probably remove the BG1 level cap and remake the character using an editor like Gatekeeper. The point is I hate large parties and would enjoy starting the beginning with the character I ended it all with. The AI of the infinity engine (despite my attempts) is mentally retarded. ;) It's not something a logical human above the age of 5 should put up with. I prefer my party not being stupid and running into combat and dying, or holding back and allowing me to die. Since I'm not able to hack the actual engine itself, I choose to lessen the damage done by the junior grade algorithm responsible for NPC behavior by simply limiting the number of npcs in the party. I also have some kits I want to use.....hehehehe
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin 11-10-07, 09:38 PM	The point is I hate large parties and would enjoy starting the beginning with the character I ended it all with. The AI of the infinity engine (despite my attempts) is mentally retarded. ;) It's not something a logical human above the age of 5 should put up with. I prefer my party not being stupid and running into combat and dying, or holding back and allowing me to die. Since I'm not able to hack the actual engine itself, I choose to lessen the damage done by the junior grade algorithm responsible for NPC behavior by simply limiting the number of npcs in the party. I also have some kits I want to use.....hehehehe Understood.:) Like I said, get Gatekeeper (I'm assuming it's still around, after all these years), and you can do pretty much anything you want with your character. Give him as much XP as you want, whatever stats you want--and I mean, you can give him all 25s--and whatever items you want. I believe there are ways you can remove the XP cap as well, although I don't think Gatekeeper can do that--you'll need something else. But I also vaguely recall that removing the XP cap can cause problems.
Blibbering_Humdinger 11-11-07, 01:36 AM	Understood.:) Like I said, get Gatekeeper (I'm assuming it's still around, after all these years), and you can do pretty much anything you want with your character. Give him as much XP as you want, whatever stats you want--and I mean, you can give him all 25s--and whatever items you want. For that, there's the built-in cheat console. Activate the cheat console and you can type in commands to spawn any item, gain any gold or XP you want, and spawn any creature/NPC you happen to need. For stats, simply spawn tomes like no tomorrow and gain, gain, gain! I believe there are ways you can remove the XP cap as well, although I don't think Gatekeeper can do that--you'll need something else. But I also vaguely recall that removing the XP cap can cause problems. I remember mods that boost the XP cap to astronomical proportions beyond even Throne of Bhaal's impressive 8,000,000. I think "Dark Side of the Sword Coast" does that, and adds spells and such to boot, but to my knowedge is not compatible with Tutu or BGT. In any case, a thorough search of Pocket Plane or any similar BG mod-site should bring you into contact with one or two. (Start with Google, and you should find results fairly quickly.)
Butterface 11-11-07, 01:54 AM	I just purchased the compilation DVD set on Ebay - this thread sold me! I played through maybe half of the first BG back when it first came out. . . never touched the sequels. I played through most of NWN 1 and 2, and . . . eh. The plots are just so so. I'm going to get Planescape: Torment at some point too. I don't know how I missed playing these games all these years, considering what a fan I am of FR and Planescape!
Blibbering_Humdinger 11-11-07, 03:46 AM	I just purchased the compilation DVD set on Ebay - this thread sold me! I played through maybe half of the first BG back when it first came out. . . never touched the sequels. GAH! But even if you hate BG1, you have to give BG2 a try! It's just so much better in more or less every way imaginable! If nothing else, Irenicus rocks. :cool: Be aware that the game kicks off with a rather lengthy dungeon ("Irenicus's Dungeon," aptly named, tho' I and some other fans like to call it "Chateau Irenicus." :P ) In any event, the BG2 intro spoils the only parts of the BG1 story you really HAVE to know. Don't watch it unless you intend to skip the first game, tho', as it kills most of the... GAH! what am I saying?! This THREAD kills most of the suspense! That said, BG1 with the BG2 engine and the various available fanmods is just about as entertaining as BG2, if you don't mind the remaining glitches. I played through most of NWN 1 and 2, and . . . eh. The plots are just so so. I'm going to get Planescape: Torment at some point too. I don't know how I missed playing these games all these years, considering what a fan I am of FR and Planescape! I've never even touched Planescape in any format. I'll have to give that setting a try one of these days...
captaincarot 11-11-07, 03:54 AM	See, I don't have the patience for super-tough combat like that. I play these games to have fun, not to reload thousands of times, and hence I don't download modules with reputations of being "virtually impossible". some times i like a challenge, though i did end up playing this game daily for close to 3 years. It was far better than having to spend time with my ex wife. :D the only way i could finish it was to pause through it almost constantly, and also never entered an area without being spelled to the hilt. usually with a spell protection stripper and 2 offensive spells in a cast on seeing enemy trigger also. intelinked with judicious use of run away.
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin 11-11-07, 06:00 PM	For that, there's the built-in cheat console. Activate the cheat console and you can type in commands to spawn any item, gain any gold or XP you want, and spawn any creature/NPC you happen to need. For stats, simply spawn tomes like no tomorrow and gain, gain, gain! It's much, much more efficient to simply type in the stat you want with Gatekeeper. I agree with you that BG2 is definitely worth a try! It does improve on BG1 in most respects, though you'll still find the odd person who prefers BG1.
captaincarot 11-13-07, 12:48 PM	the first time i fought the archlich, is it gaaxx in the catacombs i killed him in 1 shot which was quite impressive, stuffed a wizard eye in front of him and then hit him with the wand of wonder, job done. i couldn't work out what the big deal was untill the second time i tried him and tried something else. but my favourite bit of the game is working out new and inventive ways of mashing demogorgon out of existance.
Charles Phipps 11-13-07, 08:32 PM	I confess, there's something deliciously perverse about the fact that after Dayneia died, that I recruited Edwin. Hence, I was travelling with a Rashemmi (Minsc) and a Red Wizard.
Blibbering_Humdinger 11-13-07, 11:04 PM	I confess, there's something deliciously perverse about the fact that after Dayneia died, that I recruited Edwin. Hence, I was travelling with a Rashemmi (Minsc) and a Red Wizard. You can recruit Edwin at the same time as Dynaheir, actually. Just talk to Edwin with Dynaheir already in your party and Edwin will react along different lines, asking to accompany you so that he can "keep an eye" on Dynaheir. (Funnily enough, Minsc reacts not at all... must be out to lunch with his hamster friend...) Thereafter, for as long as your Rep remains in a desirable range for evil-aligned characters, Edwin is at your beck and call.
Lyvannalas 11-16-07, 09:18 PM	Aw, man...BG2, my sweet, sweet dream of how good modern RPG's could be. I loved playing it, just for the experience to travel with Minsk, Imoen, Haer'dalis and Viconia. Not to forget Yoshimo, Edwin and Korgan. Oh, and Solaufein, whose mod rocks. <sigh> I have been putting off re-installing it for a few years, because I was waiting for Lord Mirrabo to finally finish his ToB Imoen Romance mod, and it seems after only about five years heīll be finally done somewhen at the beginning of next year. FINALLY I can play BG2 again! :) Canīt wait to meet Firkraag and Bodhi again, heh.
MarkusTay63 11-17-07, 12:22 AM	I stopped playing when a Drow named Mikael Jaxxon enticed me into an alley with a piece of candy, and then touched me in my 'special place'. :weep:
Karsus the Mad 11-17-07, 08:34 AM	I stopped playing when a Drow named Mikael Jaxxon enticed me into an alley with a piece of candy, and then touched me in my 'special place'. :weep: You didn't like that mod?:incog: