Newbie Questions

Porcelyn

This is my first time playing BG and I'm a bit confused.
If a companion dies are they gone forever? Do you have to reload a save and try again?
If I remove companions from my party, where do they go? Can I select them again?
Is there a way to skip the opening movie?

Sorry if these are dumb questions.

Daelric

If a party member dies but their picture is greyed you can go to a temple and have em resurrected for like 600 gold, unless they get chunked when they die and their picture disappears.

As for removing them, some stay where they are others will bounce totally so save before you do that.

Arsene_Lupin

The amount of gold it costs to revive a party member (just like in Dragon Quest games) is based on that party member's level.

The only way to remove a party member from your party is to do so manually.

The only way to permanently lose a party member is to remove them from your party when they're dead. Sorry, Khalid.

Porcelyn

Ok, thanks. SHould I loot the party member's body and got to the temple or just go to the temple to rez them?

Scooter

@Porcelyn loot the body of everything first or else you'll lose it all

Silverstar

You should pick up their gear but not their body (you can't either). Then it's off to the temple for a resurrection.

BelgarathMTH

Raise Dead costs 100 gold per dead character level.

New gamers from the more modern "death is a minor inconvenience and they'll just stand right back up" games will indeed be baffled by the golden age games where injuries do not heal on their own, and death is permanent unless you have access to a high-level priest.

Nazad

Regarding removing living companions from your party, several factors contribute to what the companion does when removed. Your reputation and their alignment can be a factor. Imoen is the easiest companion to add/remove from your party. She will always stay where you leave her and she never leaves as the result of low reputation. I try to store companions at the Friendly Arm Inn when I don't need them.

Some companions will leave if you don't attend to their quests early enough. Examples: Jaheira and Khalid, as well as Xzar and Montaron, will ditch you if you don't go to Nashkel quick enough. If you hear your companions saying, you need to go do x or y, it's a sign that they're thinking about ditching you. If you remove them from your party before completing their quest, I think they all leave for good and you can't get them back.

If you like to keep a variety of companions handy, try to keep your reputation neutral, somewhere around 8-12, which doesn't offend anyone. That way, when you add or remove companions from your party, they won't react to your low or high reputation and suddenly walk away. Keeping Viconia and/or Dorn in your party helps maintain neutral reputation, as each lowers your reputation by 2.

Porcelyn

Xan died and I looted his body. He's greyed out in the party. I'm at the temple of wisdom but I don't see how to have him brought back.

Silverstar

Talk to the priest. Select the snake-around-sword icon for healing services. Select Xan. Choose "Raise Dead" from the list of options. Click Buy.

CaptRory

Look at the list of services for ressurection. Fiddle around with it a bit.

Porcelyn

Ok got it. Thanks so much. Very informative Nazad.

Darkovan

BG1 is super hard for people new to it, dont give up on it though despite how frustrating the early levels are, it gets super fun in the higher levels when your not constantly dieing/reloading.

atcDave

And you can skip the opening scene (or any cinematic) just by left clicking.

I would second those who say the beginning levels are tough. Level one characters in particular are fragile and don't have a lot of abilities or resources. But that improves as you level up. Characters around 5-9th level are my absolute favorite to play. They are powerful enough to be dangerous and capable, but still need to be careful in big fights.