Thanks @thespace. We needed more information about how players in your group approach the game. At what point in the game do you usually feel the desire to restart usually? Why does pushing forward in the game at that point feel less desirable? I'm really interested in learning what elements in the game are more appealing or less appealing to some players.
I almost always preplan my NPCs sometimes I make changes This game I have a CHARNAME that is a duel class Berserker Cleric I have been using Brawen as my Cleric and was planning to replace her with Baloth once CHARNAME leveled up enogh but now I decided to keep Brawen and have one defensive cleric and one offensive cleric
Finally I'm ready to answer the question. I've read it the very first day this poll has been made and all this time afterwards I've been thinking about what can I say to contribute to this topic.
First of all, this is a very interesting discussion and it's pleasant to read. Thanks for a chance to get insights from other people.
For me this game is all about characters, their interaction, step-by-step improvement, finding out new effective ways of using their abilities and trying new tactics. In my case the time spent on analyzing the game manuals, different sites with information about the character development, NPC's specials and considering the best suitable party for my current taste is practically equal to the in-game time. So, creating any new character is alsways a long procedure. And because I cannot feel some atmosphere of the game when it's a solo run I like to think not only about the main character but also about his party: what NPCs should I take, in what order, at what level, should there be some periods when the party is not complete... After the party is more or less determined in my mind, I start thinking about their profeciencies, what weapons will they use, what spells will they learn in the first place... How can I distribute manuals between them? Is it connected with the next part of the game or not?
But I like experimenting. And when the usual planning become a little redundant, I choose a new challenge. A random optional game is a good example. Or a game when there's a lot of role-playing.
Usually my favourite party consists of the main character (a thief or a bard of some kind), Jaheira, Viconia, Kivan, Dynaheir and Yeslik. When BG:EE came out, Dorn and Neera automatically became my new favourites. But I've liked the most when I've tried to role-play and the current members decide if they take a new NPC with them or not. This way I've discovered that Garrick, Tiax and Quale are very decent and useful.
I like to pre-plan my party, but not to complement my PC, but to meet a certain criteria. When I start a game I ofter say to myself: this time I will travel with an all evil party, cuz I'm evil. Or an all female party, cuz I want some women power. Or an all non-human party, because I feel racist against humans today. Or a party of arcane spellcasters and one thief (and boy, wasn't that one a fun playthrough. How I managed to get Dynaheir and Edwin not kill each other I have no idea. Perhaps my bardic charisma helped. Or a party consisting only of NPCs first found in the wilds (my druid distrusted city-dwellers). Or a 'pick a first new one you meet after the old one dies' party. That one is completely unpredictable, and leads to some fun combinations. It can be applied to all the above points to some extent (if you have a high mortality rate in your party, you're going to run out of suitable NPCs eventually).
Sometimes I cling to my chosen pattern and party, sometime I ditch it and go with whatever the game gives me. I also start the game much more often than finish it - you could say I have a mild case of restartitis ;P , though I usually get at least to chapter 6, and TotSC quests are a must.
I tend to preplan my characters, their rough parties at different points in the game, and who I want with them at the end. But, although I picked that option, I usually do it thematically rather than due to complimentary abilities. I will often style it by alignment, as well, which usually means I have all evil parties. XP
I am a bit OCD and I love worldbuilding and constructing character arcs (less so the actual act of writing them, sadly). So I tend to have things like: My PC is like X, she/he is class Y and/or will dual-class at level Z into class V for the following reasons: A, B, C, D. If I'm playing with my personal 'can dual into a kit' rules, then I have to RP that, and take party members that she or he could learn the new kit skills from.
I have a fighter PC who duals to Assassin, for example. She has low Con and high Int, and I RP that she studied anatomy, alchemy and botany in an attempt to find a way to overcome her initial frailty through some kind of natural or chemical means, as well as through physical training. She uses a Quarterstaff, because it was useful both as an attacking and defending weapon, and as a crutch for when she grew tired, which was frequently. Over the journey she slowly realises she has more aptitude as a rogue, and decides to switch focus. The +1 to hit/damage comes from her earlier knowledge of anatomy and her prior training as a fighter. Since she is evil, she is travelling with Dorn, who has poison weapon. Drawing on her earlier studies and high Int she observes Dorn and ultimately manages to work out how to craft effective poisons. She also begins to learn how to use Crossbows and Longswords, which she learns from Dorn and Shar-Teel, respectively. She only gets 15 Thief Points per level, because she was originally trained as a warrior and takes longer to master these things. Perhaps she also picks up better knowledge of anatomy from Xzar, who is a necromancer and thus probably has knowledge of such things. Later on, her knowledge of anatomy will permit her to reach far higher backstab multipliers.
In said character's playthrough, I also have a bunch of arcs for pretty much all of her party members: Dorn, Shar-Teel, Edwin, Xzar and Monty, Eldoth, Kagain, Viconia. Notably I have not actually (re)started this game yet, because I have too much fun planning it (I did an initial more powergamey run with the character, which I did finish).
I generally take the common party that people play. Jaheira, Khalid, Minsc, Dynaheir and Imoen. From time to time I'll boot one or two of them out to try something different, except Imoen. She stays.
I plan characters around their banter potential. I also have a habit of playing as an NPC for the protagonist by doing the delete protagonist trick.
In BG1 I play as Xan, who takes Skie, Eldoth, Garrick, Shar-Teel and Alora along. They are my group of misfit adventurers who are the ultimate underdogs that fail at everything.
In BG2 I play as Minsc, who takes Aerie, Haer'Dalis, Mazzy, Cernd and Viconia along. They are my group of circus freaks. It's funny to have Minsc declare Aerie to be his witch, then later hits on her driving Haer'Dalis crazy.
I always preplan my parties, but instead of making the decision based on complementing abilities I try to create a party based on personality decision. Basically it's like if my PC would be able to meet all NPCs at the same time, who would he choose. Sometimes, especially in my first/main playthroughs I just create my PC, keep his attitude, personality and general way of thinking (so I role play ) and decide on the spot. However those decision are a bit slanted as I know all NPCs already and I already have a vague idea in my mind about who I would like to join up with. But until I meet those "permanant" members I switch party members.
I usually choose the NPC's who have the best in game banter. Keldorn and Viconia is hilarious. Sometimes I even run with Haer'Dalis (even though I dislike him) for the funny love triangle that goes on.
In BG1 however (As there is almost no banter), if I play good, I roll with the BG2 canon party of Minsc, Jaheira, Khalid, Imoen and Dynaheir. If I play evil, I usually roll with Edwin, Viconia or whoever I want until towards the end of the game where I revert back to Minsc, Jaheira, Khalid, Imoen and Dynaheir. I like consistency
Too many options, I can't seem to get beyond the bandit camp with anybody. I might be able to settle on one character after the next patch (I have a feeling it'll be the last one before BG2EE).
The NPCs in Baldur's Gate don't have much in terms of personality, so I pick them on a compromise between balance, usefulness, and alignment. For example, even though Edwin is the best mage, I usually won't take him if my PC is of good alignment.
I think the question makes preplanning sounds a little more powergamey than it has to be. I do consider what type of party I want to create in terms of classes, but I also consider who would fit into the party in terms of roleplay, and who my PC would be likely to take- both are equally important to me for a "standard" run. Theres no reason why my intelligent PC can't think "party needs another mage", the same as me, but only accept a mage based on personality ect into the party.
There can also be other factors- I'll never take more than one mod NPC into my party, which can require forethought. Similarly, if I haven't played for a while I tend to avoid characters with little content (Cernd, anyone?).
I do also like to mix things up- all one class parties, other themes- but I'll still preplan what my party is going to be before I start. Apart from no-reloads, it doesn't change. I can be flexible with other decisions for roleplay, but the party decides too much of the game experience for me not to plan it out.
As I tend to play minimal reloads, if a npc gets chunked, I need to find new members to fill the spot. I always take Imoen and Khalid&Jaheira at the start though. From a rp perspective, who in his right mind doesn't want trusted childhood friend, parent's close friends that have woved to protect and care for you, and goes for the icky-creepy two guys you meet up on the road...the creepy one even offers you a potion to drink!!! Wow.
Comments
I like the attention
I deviate from that course, if I play NPC mods that are immersive and well crafted.
sometimes I make changes
This game I have a CHARNAME that is a duel class Berserker Cleric
I have been using Brawen as my Cleric and was planning to replace her with Baloth
once CHARNAME leveled up enogh
but now I decided to keep Brawen and have
one defensive cleric and one offensive cleric
First of all, this is a very interesting discussion and it's pleasant to read. Thanks for a chance to get insights from other people.
For me this game is all about characters, their interaction, step-by-step improvement, finding out new effective ways of using their abilities and trying new tactics. In my case the time spent on analyzing the game manuals, different sites with information about the character development, NPC's specials and considering the best suitable party for my current taste is practically equal to the in-game time. So, creating any new character is alsways a long procedure. And because I cannot feel some atmosphere of the game when it's a solo run I like to think not only about the main character but also about his party: what NPCs should I take, in what order, at what level, should there be some periods when the party is not complete... After the party is more or less determined in my mind, I start thinking about their profeciencies, what weapons will they use, what spells will they learn in the first place... How can I distribute manuals between them? Is it connected with the next part of the game or not?
But I like experimenting. And when the usual planning become a little redundant, I choose a new challenge. A random optional game is a good example. Or a game when there's a lot of role-playing.
Usually my favourite party consists of the main character (a thief or a bard of some kind), Jaheira, Viconia, Kivan, Dynaheir and Yeslik. When BG:EE came out, Dorn and Neera automatically became my new favourites. But I've liked the most when I've tried to role-play and the current members decide if they take a new NPC with them or not. This way I've discovered that Garrick, Tiax and Quale are very decent and useful.
When I start a game I ofter say to myself:
this time I will travel with an all evil party, cuz I'm evil.
Or an all female party, cuz I want some women power.
Or an all non-human party, because I feel racist against humans today.
Or a party of arcane spellcasters and one thief (and boy, wasn't that one a fun playthrough. How I managed to get Dynaheir and Edwin not kill each other I have no idea. Perhaps my bardic charisma helped.
Or a party consisting only of NPCs first found in the wilds (my druid distrusted city-dwellers).
Or a 'pick a first new one you meet after the old one dies' party. That one is completely unpredictable, and leads to some fun combinations. It can be applied to all the above points to some extent (if you have a high mortality rate in your party, you're going to run out of suitable NPCs eventually).
Sometimes I cling to my chosen pattern and party, sometime I ditch it and go with whatever the game gives me. I also start the game much more often than finish it - you could say I have a mild case of restartitis ;P , though I usually get at least to chapter 6, and TotSC quests are a must.
I am a bit OCD and I love worldbuilding and constructing character arcs (less so the actual act of writing them, sadly). So I tend to have things like: My PC is like X, she/he is class Y and/or will dual-class at level Z into class V for the following reasons: A, B, C, D. If I'm playing with my personal 'can dual into a kit' rules, then I have to RP that, and take party members that she or he could learn the new kit skills from.
I have a fighter PC who duals to Assassin, for example. She has low Con and high Int, and I RP that she studied anatomy, alchemy and botany in an attempt to find a way to overcome her initial frailty through some kind of natural or chemical means, as well as through physical training. She uses a Quarterstaff, because it was useful both as an attacking and defending weapon, and as a crutch for when she grew tired, which was frequently. Over the journey she slowly realises she has more aptitude as a rogue, and decides to switch focus. The +1 to hit/damage comes from her earlier knowledge of anatomy and her prior training as a fighter. Since she is evil, she is travelling with Dorn, who has poison weapon. Drawing on her earlier studies and high Int she observes Dorn and ultimately manages to work out how to craft effective poisons. She also begins to learn how to use Crossbows and Longswords, which she learns from Dorn and Shar-Teel, respectively. She only gets 15 Thief Points per level, because she was originally trained as a warrior and takes longer to master these things. Perhaps she also picks up better knowledge of anatomy from Xzar, who is a necromancer and thus probably has knowledge of such things. Later on, her knowledge of anatomy will permit her to reach far higher backstab multipliers.
In said character's playthrough, I also have a bunch of arcs for pretty much all of her party members: Dorn, Shar-Teel, Edwin, Xzar and Monty, Eldoth, Kagain, Viconia. Notably I have not actually (re)started this game yet, because I have too much fun planning it (I did an initial more powergamey run with the character, which I did finish).
In BG1 I play as Xan, who takes Skie, Eldoth, Garrick, Shar-Teel and Alora along. They are my group of misfit adventurers who are the ultimate underdogs that fail at everything.
In BG2 I play as Minsc, who takes Aerie, Haer'Dalis, Mazzy, Cernd and Viconia along. They are my group of circus freaks. It's funny to have Minsc declare Aerie to be his witch, then later hits on her driving Haer'Dalis crazy.
Sometimes, especially in my first/main playthroughs I just create my PC, keep his attitude, personality and general way of thinking (so I role play
In BG1 however (As there is almost no banter), if I play good, I roll with the BG2 canon party of Minsc, Jaheira, Khalid, Imoen and Dynaheir. If I play evil, I usually roll with Edwin, Viconia or whoever I want until towards the end of the game where I revert back to Minsc, Jaheira, Khalid, Imoen and Dynaheir. I like consistency
There can also be other factors- I'll never take more than one mod NPC into my party, which can require forethought. Similarly, if I haven't played for a while I tend to avoid characters with little content (Cernd, anyone?).
I do also like to mix things up- all one class parties, other themes- but I'll still preplan what my party is going to be before I start. Apart from no-reloads, it doesn't change. I can be flexible with other decisions for roleplay, but the party decides too much of the game experience for me not to plan it out.