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I got my gf into BG...

I'm a Baldur's Gate veteran, started playing BG1 the year it came out and I'm very knowledgeable about everything all the way through TOB. Somehow I got my girlfriend to buy the iPad version and now she wants to play multiplayer. Seeing as it isn't currently working for us, I've been helping her learn the ropes and that's only reminding me how much there actually is to know about this game.

I'm going to assume that she will be deadweight in a multiplayer game and that is why I'd like to get some opinions on party members. We're going to play on "normal" difficulty and shamelessly give our characters perfect stats taking into account racial factors/fighter strength being 18/00. If we each get three characters, I would like mine to be able to handle any situation without her, these are currently what I'm planning to use:

Gnome fighter/illusionist, protagonist w/ find familiar
Human berserker dualled to cleric very early on as in lvl 2
Human fighter dualled to thief also at lvl2, grandmastery in long bows eventually

*(dualling at level 2 is only so that the characters are as pure in their second class as possible, get 18/00 str, and grandmastery in their respective weapons. Of course they could get a lot more experience in the first class w/o jeopardizing the second but playtime as the 2nd class is a factor)*

I believe that those three characters could be self sufficient, but the levels to dual them at are up to discussion and so are their classes.

But I don't have the slightest clue as to what classes my gf should play. All opinions are welcome. Off-topic discussions on playing multiplayer with your significant other are also welcome.
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Comments

  • emjayemjay Member Posts: 84
    You might find it easier to just play through with less characters, say 2 each. That way the experience will be shared around less and you'll level up faster, which is particularly important if you want to dual or multiclass. Plus it may be difficult to coordinate a full party of 6 between two players well.

    As far as making it easy for her, I would suggest you just make her some kind of ranged specialty class, such as an archer or sorcerer (not having to prepare spells is soo much simpler for a new player), and maybe a thief that also uses bows in combat. My reason being is that she play the thief role to get value out of the game without fighting much, and avoid getting her characters killed a lot as this will be offputting.

    It also frees up the need for you to have a thief, because you can call on her to deal with locks etc in her own time. This leaves you with more combat power between your 2 characters.
  • emjayemjay Member Posts: 84
    Also, it might be more fun for her to be the protagonist character and do the talking to people. If thats the case her being a ranger kit would be good, as it will keep the protagonist out of melee combat and give them a reasonable HP buffer
  • IllustairIllustair Member Posts: 878
    Wow I envy you for getting your gf into BG. In my opinion avoid dual-classing...the down time can be difficult at times, esp for someone new to the game or gaming per se for that matter. Let her go for the multiclass option. If I remember correctly, I started off using F/M/T...that way I learned most of the 3 classes in one go.
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    If I ever convince my wife to play, I'll deserve a full page entry in Ripley's Believe It or Not :)
  • colonel_burgercolonel_burger Member Posts: 279
    Just don't take her to the blushing mermaid (or meet viconia) or she'll figure out where you've been hiding all these years ;-)
  • hammernanvilhammernanvil Member Posts: 98
    edited January 2013
    Lol I got my gf to play words with friends, that's the extent of her gaming career
  • Abdel_AdrianAbdel_Adrian Member Posts: 430
    Haha these are some entertaining comments. But for the record, the characters I've mentioned are the ones I would like to play- didn't really consider dual or multiclassing for my gf, especially not dualling because I doubt we would get to BG2. Since my dualling would occur at level 2, that's only 2000exp for two characters, a drop in the bucket only a few levels later.
    Ranged classes probably would be good for her, a sorcerer is a big no no for a new player though. The fact that you only learn spells via levelling up means you need a knowledge of ALL the spells and how to use them best. A mage gives you a lot more wiggle room to change for different situations even if you have to keep track of your spellbook
  • NonnahswriterNonnahswriter Member Posts: 2,520
    Mages/sorcerers tend to die a lot though if you're not careful, and I know that if I was first playing, I wouldn't be very happy knowing I got saddled with a "weakling" character. :P It sounds like an archer-build is the way to go, either a thief to help her get used to the technical stuff or just a straight-up fighter that likes to use bows. Or, if you want to help her understand spells/preparations, go with a ranger. They can use priest spells at a certain level... (ok, level 8, but by then she'd hopefully get a good grasp on the ropes of things, right?)

    I hope you have better luck introducing this game to your girlfriend than I did to my boyfriend. Poor guy spent over an hour to make his character, only to watch her die as his weapon broke while he was still in Candlekeep (and naturally the bug of "no-sound-of-weapon-breaking" happened, and he didn't know it until halfway through combat). And then it froze on him shortly after leaving, and he got angry at the autosave feature sending him all the way back at the beginning. D: My beloved game hated him, and he hasn't touched it since...
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  • emjayemjay Member Posts: 84
    Yes a sorcerer really needs to know which spells to pick, but then you can help with that, she isn't playing alone. I just meant it would be better than a mage in terms of not having to fiddle with your spellbook for every new fight etc.

    My suggested newbie friendly classes
    Archer kit
    Fighter (bows/crossbows/greatswords)
    Barbarian (if she wants to hit things)
    Fighter/thief (shortbow/longsword spec)
  • KaltzorKaltzor Member Posts: 1,050
    edited January 2013
    You could always give her some simple class that isn't hard to play at first, maybe a fighter/ranger with bows to not be taking all the hits.
  • mirkmirk Member Posts: 15

    I'm going to assume that she will be deadweight...

    Pray that she will never read this as this might end in serious trouble for you :)

    Oh and yes, I would go for 2 members party, each of you controlling 1. In this way, it will be you two playing together. If you would be able to handle everything on your own, how would it differ from you just playing alone?

  • TetraploidTetraploid Member Posts: 252
    Haha, this is very similar to my situation: I managed to persuade my boyfriend to play!

    Is she just new to BG or has she played other games with similar concepts? My bf has played Dragon Age, for example. He's taken quite a bit of guiding through character creation etc but he's grasped the basic ideas fairly well and I wouldn't call him 'dead weight'. Especially since, if you reroll a bit, player made characters have better stats than NPCs, meaning you can afford a slightly less optimal playing experience in other aspects of the game. He's playing a Blackguard, which doesn't require too much thought, he can just hit things for most of the time, but it does mean he gets a couple of interesting abilities he can play with too, so it's more interesting than a straightforward fighter. I'd say something like that, which isn't ability or spell dependent like a pure mage but has something more to do that just attack with a weapon, is a good choice for a new player. Maybe something like a fighter/cleric? Survivable if she forgets about her spells, but even better if she doesn't!
  • IllustairIllustair Member Posts: 878

    a sorcerer is a big no no for a new player though. The fact that you only learn spells via levelling up means you need a knowledge of ALL the spells and how to use them best. A mage gives you a lot more wiggle room to change for different situations even if you have to keep track of your spellbook

    I beg to differ though. If it is a choice between mages and sorcerers...sorcerers are easier in my opinion. She only needs to pick damage-dealing spells, and less room for utility spells (that most likely is the job for a mage). Mages have to reassess the spell book every once and a while. If she enjoys reading, and you say she's already interested in BG, she'd probably enjoy reading BG manual for spells (or the entire manual even ;p) - that would definitely give her a huge head start.
  • LindeblomLindeblom Member Posts: 257
    Depending on what your girlfriend wants out of the game, I guess the answer would be different, but here are my 2 cents.
    Have her make a Fighter, lot's of HP and armor, and also a lot of action. Smashing skulls is waaaay more fun than picking locks. At least the first 2 runs.
    You make a character you like and then you add up with real npc's of the game, not self-made ones. The whole experience of finding new people to join your group is something you should NOT take away from her.
    Build a party that would work smoothly, and seriously with your experience pretty much any 6 characters should have a smooth ride through BG.
    If she gets more confident, maybe have her run 2 characters (herself and Minsc?) and you 4 support characters, Thief, MU and Cleric plus one free choice =).

    Congrats and have fun
  • IllustairIllustair Member Posts: 878
    edited January 2013
    No matter how I try, I still couldn't imagine my gf sitting for hours hitting the re-roll button! :D if your gf ever does that, you must be one of the luckiest guys on earth.
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    For a first time player I'd recommend fighter or berserker. It does take some time to know the system well enough to consider the spellcasting classes. Also controlling more than one character may be a little complicated for someone just starting the game for the first time. That's probably one of the reasons you start the game with just yourself and Imoen, giving you some time to grow used to giving orders to multiple chars before you get a full 6 member party.

    The first time you two play I'd say you should stick to a party of two. Let her play a figther/thief and get a mage/cleric for yourself. Tthis way you have all base classes covered and she gets a chance to see how spellcasting works.
  • Abdel_AdrianAbdel_Adrian Member Posts: 430
    A lot of people are suggesting parties of 2-4 characters or 2 player chars and the rest npcs. I won't go into all the reasons but I'm pretty set on a full team. She is currently playing her own game and is experiencing the npcs for herself so I'm not too worried about robbing her of that experience. Many people have also mentioned the tedious rolling of stats, but that's why we're shamelessly using "ctrl+shift+8" for our party. My gf enjoys reading but does so at a pretty average pace and would have no interest in reading additional BG material such as manuals, that's my biggest deterrent from her having a caster class, but I'm reconsidering the sorcerer. A team with only a fighter/illusionist doesn't have a ton of casting power and combined with a sorcerer, and my advice on spells, we could complement each other nicely. I like the idea of a fighter or berserker, ranger or possibly archer, maybe a cleric class so our party has two divine casters, but ultimately this is all talk, I'm going to let her pick whatever she wants.
  • ReadingRamboReadingRambo Member Posts: 598



    Gnome fighter/illusionist, protagonist w/ find familiar
    Human berserker dualled to cleric very early on as in lvl 2
    Human fighter dualled to thief also at lvl2, grandmastery in long bows eventually

    *(dualling at level 2 is only so that the characters are as pure in their second class as possible, get 18/00 str, and grandmastery in their respective weapons. Of course they could get a lot more experience in the first class w/o jeopardizing the second but playtime as the 2nd class is a factor)*

    Are u sure u can obtain grandmastery after dualing? I don't remember anomen or any pc I've dualled able to do so, but I might be misremembering
  • Abdel_AdrianAbdel_Adrian Member Posts: 430
    edited January 2013
    @ReadingRambo I'm not sure about npcs but I am positive that fighters dualled into another class can pass specialization once they regain fighter abilities. I can confirm it works in BGEE, grandmastery with my zerker->cleric and my fighter->thief

    edit: only 4 points with the exp cap at 161k, but grandmastery is obtainable.
    Post edited by Abdel_Adrian on
  • mjsmjs Member Posts: 742



    I'm going to assume that she will be deadweight in a multiplayer game

    i'm telling! with fresh eyes she might have developed some awesome new stratagems
  • DrugarDrugar Member Posts: 1,566
    Full party sounds good (that way, you both can have 3 characters for a little more diversity).
    I'd suggest Archer, Elven even. With 19 Dex and Archer/elf bonusses to bows plus grandmastery, she'll be a mega-killing death machine even if she has no idea how the game works. If you play a wizard (and take care of the other casters in the group) you can do the tactics, she can do the brute force.

    Making her the main character is also something I'd suggest; if carnage on a godlike sclae doesn't interest her, the storyline might.
  • Abdel_AdrianAbdel_Adrian Member Posts: 430
    @mjs to be honest I've already told her she's going to get me killed and that I've come to terms with it.

    @Drugar Elven Archers do pack quite a punch, so that kind of brute force would be great for her, but I wouldn't mind getting her into the tactics too. I mainly want to be the protagonist for the familiar, the extra 12hp help even more since they go to a fighter multi. Someone mentioned though that I should give her the lead position so she could converse and experience the storyline, but I can easily set the permissions so that she can do anything I could do.
  • SeveronSeveron Member Posts: 214
    I think its unfair to say that you're girl friend will be a deadweight. I don't think it says much either when you have to have perfect stats for your characters in order to play.
    I would suggest she lead the game, she chooses the three characters with advice on each class playstyle, and then you create characters that compliment hers. Sure, I would say you'd be ok to roll good stats but don't make it cheesy by having all perfect stats.
    What will happen is that you'll be doing all killing and adventuring with her following and she may get bored just sitting there. Let her go where she wants and which quests and dungeons to tackle. I believe this will make for a better first time through the game.
  • CorvinoCorvino Member Posts: 2,269
    I managed to convince a mate of mine to play - he's a gamer but no real BG experience. He's playing an unkitted elf ranger, easy to roll, can go melee or ranged comfortably and decent survivability.

    I'm wandering around behind him with a gnome illusionist/cleric, sleep or commanding anything nasty we encounter and healing when needed.

    It works quite well so far. We had some bother with Zargal and company poisoning people but otherwise no problems.
  • leeho730leeho730 Member Posts: 285
    Wow, it's more impressive than getting gf to play wow...
  • AHFAHF Member Posts: 1,376
    I would also second letting her be the protagonist. You will lose out on the extra 12 hps but you can simply adjust your HP if you feel you really can't give that up (and since it sounds like you have the cheats set up). That is especially true if you are considering letting her play a sorcerer. She will absolutely need the extra hps herself more than you with your knowledge of the game. A fighter/illusionist with an 18 constitution will have an upside of 11 hit points per level which is perfectly viable anyway.

    It will be worth the trade off of giving her the control and immersion of being the Bhaalspawn.
  • Abdel_AdrianAbdel_Adrian Member Posts: 430
    @Severon "deadweight" is a bit harsh, I know that with time and patience I could get her to understand the game well enough to be quite good, but until that point...let's just say she's a liability. As far as the stats go, I honestly don't believe it's very cheesy for a new player at all, assuming you dont give your mages 18/00 str or give certain races higher stats than they're allowed- it's extremely easy to roll only a couple times and get 3-4 18s on a character, and it's not much harder to have around 18/90 and higher with three other 18s. Essentially I'm taking fighters with perfect str, dex, con, and giving them better int and wis, not really overpowering in that respect.

    I actually planned on letting her do the bulk of the decision making in game so as to not take that away from her, I don't see how being protagonist effects this at all. I would get to use find familiar and gradually gain a couple of bhaalspawn powers, but otherwise we're the same. If I set the permissions in multiplayer so that she can interact with people, buy/sell, sleep, pause, everything I can do; I don't see what she would be missing out on for not being the protagonist. Is there something I'm missing? All 6 characters experience the same storyline and any of them can assume the role of leader even at the back of your party. And while I've considered a mage or sorcerer for one of her 3 players, I still think that's a bit out there and should be avoided. 12 extra hp wouldn't help a squishie pure caster the least bit once they get hit, not in BG1 at least.
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