Alternative to no reload policy
Edwin
Member Posts: 480
Here is a method I employ to add challenge and diversity to Baldur's gate, particularly when I am playing a new mod.
1. Play on Core Rules.
2. Instead of no reload you get an auto-save and optionally quick-save only.
3. No resurrection....this forces you into some fairly oddball and interesting parties.
(as an alternate to no resurrection, you can give yourself a strict time constraint on how many hours an NPC may be dead before they are beyond resurrection.)
1. Play on Core Rules.
2. Instead of no reload you get an auto-save and optionally quick-save only.
3. No resurrection....this forces you into some fairly oddball and interesting parties.
(as an alternate to no resurrection, you can give yourself a strict time constraint on how many hours an NPC may be dead before they are beyond resurrection.)
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If an NPC gets killed that is just tuff luck in this scenario. It encourages smart, careful, thoughtful play rather than just throwing your best tanks at the horde and hoping to get lucky rolls. It introduces the unheard of option of running away from a fight in which you are getting raped to avoid losing an NPC that is precious to you because you have made the bargain that if they die, they are truly dead. Maybe you will feel more compelled to use a less confrontational dialogue choice in some scenarios. The point is, it will be a different sort of game by necessity in the way you must play. It instills a sense of gravity to all decisions made.
In the unfortunate event that an NPC does die, there are all sorts of adventurers in The Sword Coast area who would like to be a member of the group. You can wind up with a motley (but very interesting) crew.
Limiting resting is a huge thing for me in terms of a fun level of challenge, it truly makes you conserve your resources and think ahead, and it makes every spell you cast/every potion you drink count. I'm not sure that my system of resting only at inns is the best one, it often means that my party is fatigued before starting a quest due to travel times... but it's the best system I've come up with so far.
The main reason I decided to play that way is I found myself with the same party members time after time during my first play-throughs of BG. BGEE was actually the very first time I had Eldoth and Skie in my party, despite having played the absolute dogs**t out of this game for years.
When NPC mods started appearing in abundance after BG2 came out, that was even more incentive for me to play that way. Having the necessity of recruiting new party members is the main reason, but there was also a mentality that came from being introduced to gaming waaaaay back when dying in a game had much more consequence than it does now. Back then, many games punished you hard for dying. You had to either start over entirely or from a much earlier point int the game.
Since the late 90's games are designed with a 'don't fear The Reaper" mentality. It has nothing really to do with adhering to the spirit of Resurrection in games. It is just a self-imposed mechanic that brings some different flavor.
I'm using a min/maxed elven archer (usually I don't dump wis/int/cha but on this character, only a few rolls in I got 18/00 STR and couldn't pass it up, I was able to max dex/con/str but the other stats suffered for it). I used shadowkeeper to redistribute NPC proficiencies more to my liking, but did not otherwise change their stats. My current party is CHARNAME, Imoen, Branwen (stupifier+shield), Kaigan (dual wielding greywolf's longsword and the undead +3 one), Neera (since I expect a mage to die at least once, hopefully it's her ha!), and Dorn. Meanwhile Garrick, Jaheira, Khalid, Xzar and Monteron are hanging out in the Jovial Juggler suite in case I need them later (I rounded these folks up, cause I think they disappear later in the game if you don't take them and if you reject them after initial conversation same thing.. I think). I plan to stick pretty much to that party until I have a casualty or until cloakwood mines, where I will likely switch out Branwen for Yeslick, or at least find a way to store him at the inn for later use. Also @lvl 5 if Neera isn't already toast, I'll swap her for the new super cool sorcerer I've been reading all about
So far I have not had to reload, so I'll play it out as a no reload game as long as I can (still using the no resurrection restriction), then if CHARNAME dies, I'll continue it as a minimal reload, since the main reason I started this up was because, I too always seem to end up with the same NPCs and am hoping this will drive me to some new party combinations.
I do have a question though, if anyone gets petrified, do you consider them gone or under your system is it allowable to use a stone to flesh scroll? CHARNAME carries one with him at all times now, cause in a previous game of mine I lost a party member that got petrified when we were waylaid (no way to zone back to them). I've been on the fence about this for my current playthrough (luckily it hasn't come up yet), so I'd like to hear your opinions on that.
One other thing I have done as more of a personal idiosyncrasy regarding fairness is this:
If I recruit a character and kick them out of the party somewhere along the way I leave them with the most valuable piece of equipment they have accrued, or several pieces that add up to that value if the item is something I cannot live without.
It always felt sorta cheesy to strip um bare and leave um in the wilderness.
If resurrection isn't good enough for my foster father Gorion then it isn't good enough for this Bhaalspawn.
I like that mentality.
But yeah, I get your point. I just didn't understand it without explanations.
Elves can only resurrected with Resurrection
You actually need rare materials to cast the raise dead spell which also means that not every Priest from some backwater town should be able to do it
Resurrection is only possible until the character has been brought to his proper afterlife. Otherwise you would have to negotiate with the appropriate god.
Granted a caster usually can but he'd leave behind the rest of the party, in which case their is no point in continueing to play.
Edit: And by the way, I'd love to negotiate with Gods over bringing back a trustworthy ally. The possibility to resurrect could have been much more fleshed out, bringing along its own quests and dialogue and all...