Oy. I thought it's only when leaving the Mutamin map. Guess I was lucky so far or EE changed it. I frequently get 2 wyvern encounters per way when travelling in Cloakwood to make up for it.
I'm not hardcore enough to NEVER reload. If that's your thing, cool, but I play to relax, not to challenge myself with unneccessary "rules". If a NPC I still want in my party dies, I raise them at a temple. If a basilisk encounter petrifies an NPC I still need (or has gear I still need), I reload. I'm no solo-no-reload-no-resurrection-all-difficulty-enhancing-mods-installed metagamer.
Sidenote: You can't simply rebuy all gear. There are unique items like named weapons.
Hey, I reload all the time myself! And the only difficulty-enhancing mods I use are aTweaks, SCS and such, i.e. not the "super-omg-hard-Tactics". I believe a game needs to be challenging, otherwise it becomes boring for me, on the other hand, when a game is TOO challenging it ALSO becomes boring for me!
I rarely ress chars at the temples, because if I char dies, it usually means I've messed up the fight! So I do it again and get it done right, but sometimes I just reload out of cheer frustration at Shar-Teel getting critted for 16 when she had exacly 16 hp left, just as many of you! I am no power-gamer, but:
Baldur's Gate is a game I really love because it is one of the few CRPS that are actually challenging. Many of the newer games are simply too easy for my tastes, making them boring after awhile. There are many situations in BG like the one you describe, and I believe they are great because, really: There is an obvious solution to your problem. You buy the scrolls, and save yourself the trouble. In essence I believe you are asking for a fix for something which isn't broke.
PS Afaik, any of the desert areas east of the Beregost Temple has some chance of Basilisk encounters...which is why I haven't been that far east, yet! DS
I'm stunned that somebody got Viconia that early. In my recollection, she is in a dangerous place for low level characters to go meeting her. Am I confused?
Oy. I thought it's only when leaving the Mutamin map. Guess I was lucky so far or EE changed it. I frequently get 2 wyvern encounters per way when travelling in Cloakwood to make up for it.
This encounter also existed in vanilla BG, as well as the one with ettercaps.
@NocturneN - You made it sound like reloading in that situation is a sin. I rarely raise or reload myself, because there's simply rarely a situation that requires it. But that one certainly was such a situation. Xzar is prone to die from a kobold arrow with his pitiful 4 HP, but then, at low levels he has barely any gear to carry and isn't neccessary for the mines. Nothing lost by raising him after the mines are done. For me, it's no fun to be prepared for every possible situation on/between every map. Plus, it's not even possible sometimes. While there are plenty of scrolls for sale, High Hedge only sells 3 potions of mirrored eyes. You'd need to get lucky with loot or stray further from the chapter 1/2 maps to get more. I prefer the challenge of not always having all the scrolls and gear and spells I would want. I rarely buy potions and rely on what I find/loot and don't go out of my way to "get item X before doing quest Y".
@reedmilfam: Viconia is east of the Friendly Arm, very close to the entry point. She's attacked by only one Flaming Fist. If you have all NPCs you met so far - Khalid, Jaheira, Imoen, Xzar, Montaron - it's not risky. There are bandits on that map, too, but they are much further in.
Comments
I rarely ress chars at the temples, because if I char dies, it usually means I've messed up the fight! So I do it again and get it done right, but sometimes I just reload out of cheer frustration at Shar-Teel getting critted for 16 when she had exacly 16 hp left, just as many of you! I am no power-gamer, but:
Baldur's Gate is a game I really love because it is one of the few CRPS that are actually challenging. Many of the newer games are simply too easy for my tastes, making them boring after awhile. There are many situations in BG like the one you describe, and I believe they are great because, really: There is an obvious solution to your problem. You buy the scrolls, and save yourself the trouble. In essence I believe you are asking for a fix for something which isn't broke.
PS Afaik, any of the desert areas east of the Beregost Temple has some chance of Basilisk encounters...which is why I haven't been that far east, yet!
Xzar is prone to die from a kobold arrow with his pitiful 4 HP, but then, at low levels he has barely any gear to carry and isn't neccessary for the mines. Nothing lost by raising him after the mines are done.
For me, it's no fun to be prepared for every possible situation on/between every map. Plus, it's not even possible sometimes. While there are plenty of scrolls for sale, High Hedge only sells 3 potions of mirrored eyes. You'd need to get lucky with loot or stray further from the chapter 1/2 maps to get more. I prefer the challenge of not always having all the scrolls and gear and spells I would want. I rarely buy potions and rely on what I find/loot and don't go out of my way to "get item X before doing quest Y".
@reedmilfam: Viconia is east of the Friendly Arm, very close to the entry point. She's attacked by only one Flaming Fist. If you have all NPCs you met so far - Khalid, Jaheira, Imoen, Xzar, Montaron - it's not risky. There are bandits on that map, too, but they are much further in.