Sorry to report that the TotSC content is chock full of visual and scripting bugs, much unlike the OC, but I slogged my way through it. You have to talk to a town crier to unlock access to it.
-The first time I made it to the top of Balduran's shipwreck with Karoug, Garrick used a wand of cone of cold and it destroyed the pallet that lead to the lower levels. Apparently it wasn't marked as plot so it could be destroyed, so I had to reload because I was stuck there.
-The outside of Durlag's Tower has 3 invisible bridges you can still walk across. There are big stone fragments that are free-floating in the air and they say 'BODY' on them.
-There are a lot of visual anomalies in general in Durlag's Tower. Nothing like corrupted textures but its more like excess environment art that clutters everything up.
-Islanne is marked as plot during the bridge fight with Durlag's family in Level 2. She can't be hurt or killed.
-The Demon Knight's room was almost completely invisible. No floor, no walls - just blackness. There were overhanging structures like the ones seen in BG so I used those as guide, but I was disappointed by how unchallenging the fight was.
Aec'Letec, though, was very challenging, but it was more because he was a scrapper instead of being a fiend that could do any number of things anytime he wanted.
@Malicron, no Mysteries of Westgate. Make sure your game version is 1.23.1765. I do have MoW in my install, though - I don't think it makes any difference.
Make sure you are extracting in MyDocuments/NeverwinterNights2, out in the main folder, NOT in any folders-within-the-folder.
Make sure your version of WinRar matches your Windows version (32 or 64 bit).
Make sure your downloads are not corrupt (they are very sensitive to any instability at all in the data stream of your internet connection.)
Make sure you are following the directions in the downloadable install manual *exactly*. It has screenshots for every step of the way.
@Malicron, well, you would usually get messages from WinRar like "archive ends sooner than expected", or "file so-and-so is corrupt.". Sometimes, if the corruption is minor, it might seem to install, but still not work.
So, it's worth doing a second download just to rule out the corruption possibility. Don't do it a third time though,not unless you're not sure your internet connection is solid. I know that the complete download takes over 45 minutes on high-speed fiber-optic internet.
I'd be glad to try to help you in PM's if I can. @Lemernis also had a lot of trouble on the first computer he was working with, so he may be able to help you, as well. For @Lemernis, he unfortunately was never able to get it to work on that first computer, and worse, it seemed to permanently corrupt his NWN2 installs from disc. (Even after uninstall and reinstall of the whole program - Windows 7 saves something that can cause problems. )
EDIT: btw, the worst thing that can possibly happen is that when you try to start a vanilla game of the OC or either of the two expansions, you get FOUR campaigns that all say "Baldur's Gate Reloaded". That usually means that the user attempted to install it in C/ProgramFiles/Atari first instead of MyDocuments, and that causes MAJOR problems in a Windows 7 disk install, I hate to say. I actually have not seen the devs address this.
They really need to realize and address that their mod may be insufficiently "idiot-proofed" in a way that does not cause unsavvy users to destroy their NWN2 capability on the Windows 7 computer into which they attempted to install BGR in C/ProgramFiles. I'm sure there's a Windows 7 workaround, but I don't know it.
This may be overkill in assuring that everything works properly, but here's the protocol I used:
Fresh installations of the game and its expansions. I started from scratch. I have the game disks. (It'll probably be less painstaking if you download the whole package from GOG.)
Install NWN2. Do not update. Play the campaign a bit. Then update.
Rinse and repeat for the two expansions (MotB first, then SoZ).
The fully updated game version with MotB and SoZ is 1.023 (1765).
Make sure that the folders C:/Programs/Atari/Neverwinter Nights 2/Override and Libraries/Documents/My Documents/Neverwinter Nights2/override are empty (which they will be with a fresh intstall, but check anyway).
Download the six .rar files (I used the Dallas server).
Move the .rars to Libraries/Documents/My Documents/Neverwinter Nights 2.
Extract them using WinRAR or 7zip. I used 7Zip. (If using WinRAR make sure that the bit version matches Windows.)
For each .rar, i.e., Parts 1-6, separately, and in order, right-click and "Extract Here." On Part 1 I was asked by 7zip if i wanted to replace folders that were destinations for the extractions, and I selected yes.
Start the game by selecting "New Game"; then under "Campaigns," select "Baldur's Gate: Reloaded."
@Lemernis, I have posted on the devs' bug report thread that their download may PERMANENTLY DESTROY NWN2 capability on users' computers. Did you ever get NWN2 to work on that first computer again, or am I playing Chicken Little here? I need to know before I discourage a whole lot of people from even attempting to download BGR.
Based on your experience with your first computer, I am currently considering BGR an extremely risky download, that should be flagged by Norton Utilities, much as I love it.
90 percent of people seem to be having no problem, but if that last 10 percent is really putting a setting in their Windows 7 that prevents ever playing NWN2 again unless a solution is found, then I think that's pretty bloody MAJOR beans.
@Lemernis, I have posted on the devs' bug report thread that their download may PERMANENTLY DESTROY NWN2 capability on users' computers. Did you ever get NWN2 to work on that first computer again, or am I playing Chicken Little here? I need to know before I discourage a whole lot of people from even attempting to download BGR.
Based on your experience with your first computer, I am currently considering BGR an extremely risky download, that should be flagged by Norton Utilities, much as I love it.
90 percent of people seem to be having no problem, but if that last 10 percent is really putting a setting in their Windows 7 that prevents ever playing NWN2 again unless a solution is found, then I think that's pretty bloody MAJOR beans.
No, actually I haven't tried playing the game on that computer again. Hard to say if there is just something really buggy with that computer to begin with (although it was running fine before then and it is regularly virus scanned), or whether it was BGR that did it. I don't know how in the world what I experienced could have happened. It was very weird.
At some point on the first computer I tried BGR on, I may uninstall and try reinstalling NWN2 just to see what happens. Perhaps in a few days or so.
...@Lemernis also had a lot of trouble on the first computer he was working with, so he may be able to help you, as well. For @Lemernis, he unfortunately was never able to get it to work on that first computer, and worse, it seemed to permanently corrupt his NWN2 installs from disc. (Even after uninstall and reinstall of the whole program - Windows 7 saves something that can cause problems. )
EDIT: btw, the worst thing that can possibly happen is that when you try to start a vanilla game of the OC or either of the two expansions, you get FOUR campaigns that all say "Baldur's Gate Reloaded". That usually means that the user attempted to install it in C/ProgramFiles/Atari first instead of MyDocuments, and that causes MAJOR problems in a Windows 7 disk install, I hate to say. I actually have not seen the devs address this...
I can say that most definitely in my case installation was attempted in Libraries/Documents/My Documents/Neverwinter Nights 2. So it can happen when following the instructions.
There was one thing I didn't initially do as instructed, however. The very first time I tried the installation, I extracted all six .rars at once, as a group of six. You're supposed to extract Parts 1-6 separately, one at a time, in order.
What was bizarre was that after a complete uninstall of NWN2 with no vestiges of the game anywhere on the computer that I could see or find, I got "Baldur's Gate: Reloaded" showing up in the campaign slots--with BGR not installed. And I uninstalled/reinstalled twice with this happening.
Well, I'm revisiting how different NWN2 is from BG. I barely played the game in back in the day, so I never became very familiar with it to begin with. But it seems to require a lot more planning in terms of the character build, specifically re: knowledge of the feats and skills.
I'm still trying to play a half-elven Fighter/Mage who melees and spellcasts a la BG; which is a very strong character in BG, but not so much in NWN2.
The character is starting as a Fighter (default).
With the ability point distribution system I ended up going with
Str 15 Dex 16 Con 10 Int 16 Wis 8 (Wild Child who worships Shaundakul) Cha 10
and of course with tomes Str, Dex and Int will each be raised by 1.
I kind of forgot about the game's ability enhancing items such as gauntlets that raise Dex to 18 and Str to 18/00. For example, I could sacrifice native Dex at the outset with the plan to use Gauntlets of Dexterity.
But even as the abilities are above, the F/M can cast Enlarge Person on himself for the tougher fights. And then he can also wear the Gauntlets of Weapons Expertise.
I had to abandon the idea of dual-wielding Long Swords (although at least very early on Two-Weapon Fighting, Two-Weapon Defense, and Parry seemed to be working okay against gibberlings and kobolds). Just out of Candlekeep I now have the character in scale mail and using a medium shield and scimitar.
I'm going with either
Fighter 2-> Wizard 5-> Eldridge Knight 3
or
Fighter 1-> Wizard 6-> Eldridge Knight 3
and I'm wondering if adding one extra level of Fighter is worth sacrificing a Wizard level...
*****
Note: I followed Flashburn's advice to
-Open the NWN2 Toolset (NWN2ToolsetLauncher.exe) -Click on Plugins at the top -> Campaign Editor -Select BGR -In the box at the right, Under 'Behavior', click 'AllowUnrestrictedLevelUp' and change it to 'True.' -Click 'Save Campaign' above the box, and you're finished.
So that NPCs can multiclass. But I'm actually a bit hazy on how that will work, since in NWN2 it seems you can select multiple classes for characters to begin with.
Lemernis: You're right in NWN2 you can select multiple classes normally, but only for your PC. NPCs are usually restricted to whatever class/es the mod or campaign has set. What the toolset fix does is unlock NPCs so you can choose any class for them. For example Jaheira could only level up in druid for this mod, but with the toolset fix she can level up in any class you want
@Lemernis, Imoen takes levels as a rogue unless you talk to her and run a dialogue sequence where you say "I've noticed your interest in wizard. (sic) Would you like to explore that further?"
I've been afraid to click on that, because it ends up with her switching her class levels to wizard, and I don't want her to, and I'm not sure it can be taken back without messing with the mod settings in the toolset, which I don't really want to have to learn to do.
Actually, since you changed your settings to take control of every npc's leveling, you can probably give npc's levels in anything you want at any time now.
@Belgarathmth - Hmm...I was slightly hoping that leveling up different classes would have been more like NWN: SoU a la Dorna, Xanos, and Deekin. Apparently, not though.
@SapphireIce101, it may be like that - that you can tell them to focus on a new one, and then later tell them to go back and focus on the first one again. I haven't tried it.
@Lemernis, Imoen takes levels as a rogue unless you talk to her and run a dialogue sequence where you say "I've noticed your interest in wizard. (sic) Would you like to explore that further?"
I've been afraid to click on that, because it ends up with her switching her class levels to wizard, and I don't want her to, and I'm not sure it can be taken back without messing with the mod settings in the toolset, which I don't really want to have to learn to do.
Wait, so all of her levels in thief turn into wizard levels? WTF?! One, that's not even remotely how it worked in Baldur's Gate, two, it makes no logical sense, and three, it's not a necessity of the engine, as the dwarf (i forget his name) in the NWN2 original campaign can change class to monk while keeping his levels in fighter. Bad programing, that.
@belgarathmth Doing the unrestricted multiclass tweak I suggested is really easy. You could say it's "idiot-proof," like you've been wanting the devs to do with their install instructions.
All it does is make it so your companions can level up the same way you do. You can pick and choose their classes like you can choose yours. If you have a save from before you talked to Imoen about becoming a mage, you can reload that with the tweak. The next time she levels up, she can take a level in whatever she qualifies for, just like you, so you can make her a wizard on her next level up. You can get her to level up into Arcane Trickster as well if you build her toward that.
@Lemernis I just beat BGR yesterday and I've seen most of the memorable magic items. Unfortunately the Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise just give a +1 attack bonus to unarmed. There isn't a way to make it a main-hand/off-hand attack bonus because its a limitation of NWN1's item creation. If you ask me, I would've done it via a +2 STR (+1 attack/+1 damage) bonus. Then again, the Gauntlets of Ogre Power only add 2 STR too.
Parry warrants a wall of text on its own, so read about it here: http://nwn2.wikia.com/wiki/Parry Long story short, it loses utility at higher levels.
Also, you may want to consider taking the Bladesinger and/or Swiftblade classes if you're wanting a Fighter supplemented with magery. They get some pretty nifty bonuses at the cost of slower wizard spell progression and caster level. You can offset the caster level loss by taking the Practiced Spellcaster feat, which requires 3 Spellcraft.
I went to download this over the weekend and it prompted me to sign into the server??? I don't want to sign up for another account. Anyone have any idea if there is any way to download the module without having to set up another account on a server that I am going to visit only one or two times?
You just need an account to download large files. Besides, I'd keep an account there for any fixes or patches that are big enough for it to want an account.
@Lemernis, bards get way more love and awesome sauce in NWN2 than they do in BG. They actually do make pretty good fighter-mages, especially with one of those prestige classes @Flashburn mentioned.
You might not care much for their spell list, though - they get healing, charm, and illusion, and virtually no attack magic. You can use scrolls and the Use Magic Device skill to cast anything, but it doesn't exactly fit the image of a Jedi-type holding a sword in one hand and flinging Magic Missiles and Fireballs with the other.
The best "magic knight" type I ever built was my eldritch knight. I didn't take any levels of fighter, though. I went straight Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 10 so I could get to the good stuff.
He started off as a squishy crossbowman like Luke Skywalker with a blaster, and wound up a very strong fighter-mage who could take on the strongest Darth-Vaderesque enemies with a "lightsaber".
@Flashburn - Yeah, I get that. I just don't want yet another account on yet another server that I might visit 2-3 times. Means my info is out there yet again. It just isn't worth it. Kind of the straw that breaks the camel's back syndrome. Besides, I can play BG in the Infinity engine. I guess that is enough.
Well, inspired by @Lemernis, I've started a new game of BGR as a wizard who will become an Eldritch Knight. I have several things to say, ask, and advise about.
QUESTION: Is there any way to stabilize a bleeding-out party member with a potion? If there is, I can't find it. I think that the third edition rules were supposed to allow you to stabilize bleeding-out allies by pouring potions of healing on them. If that can be done in BGR, I can't figure out how. I'm pretty sure healing packs and heal skill would do it, BUT there are no bloody HEALING PACKS to be had in BGR!!!!! HINT, HINT: add them, puh-leeze!!
As things stand now, is a cleric or druid required to be able to stabilize a bleeding-out party member?
ADVICE: To everyone who is frustrated or complaining about balance in BGR. Swallow your pride, and set the difficulty slider down to easy. This will eliminate critical hits for enemies, guarantee that you and allies get *at least* 50 percent damage (instead of all those annoying hits for one hp), and cut the enemies down to 50 percent of their rolls (which I could *swear* are cheated to maximum damage every time they hit on core rules.)
ADVICE FOR WIZARD PLAYERS: Acid Splash doesn't require a ranged touch attack, and guarantees you a three point hit if the difficulty slider is on easy. Fill your first level spell book with one Mage Armor and two Shield. (The Mage Armor lasts twice as long as the Shield.) The two of them together will give you EIGHT to AC!! Use a club, not a dagger, so you don't have to worry about breakages. This way, Carbos, Shank, and the Super Rat Friends are not nearly as scary. (Not to mention the kobolds you and Imoen are about to have to face.)
AGAINST TARNESH: Having Endure Elements on you, Imoen, Monty, and Xzar will protect everybody from his Combust spell. Between a wizard PC and Xzar, you should be able to cast it on four people, and it lasts twenty-four hours, so you don't have to worry about it wearing off just at the critical moment. Shield on your wizard PC will ensure that Tarnesh cannot get you with any of his Magic Missiles. Just be sure to cast it at the start of the battle and not before, because it lasts only seconds for a first level wizard.
Back with more later. This game rocks! Long live BGR!
@belgarathmth _ you can stabilize a bleeding out character with healing skill. Just put a few points into it and be on the lookout for health kits. And anyone can learn that skill. No need for cleric or druid.
Comments
-The first time I made it to the top of Balduran's shipwreck with Karoug, Garrick used a wand of cone of cold and it destroyed the pallet that lead to the lower levels. Apparently it wasn't marked as plot so it could be destroyed, so I had to reload because I was stuck there.
-The outside of Durlag's Tower has 3 invisible bridges you can still walk across. There are big stone fragments that are free-floating in the air and they say 'BODY' on them.
-There are a lot of visual anomalies in general in Durlag's Tower. Nothing like corrupted textures but its more like excess environment art that clutters everything up.
-Islanne is marked as plot during the bridge fight with Durlag's family in Level 2. She can't be hurt or killed.
-The Demon Knight's room was almost completely invisible. No floor, no walls - just blackness. There were overhanging structures like the ones seen in BG so I used those as guide, but I was disappointed by how unchallenging the fight was.
Aec'Letec, though, was very challenging, but it was more because he was a scrapper instead of being a fiend that could do any number of things anytime he wanted.
Are you reporting bugs at https://www.assembla.com/spaces/bgr-bugtracker/messages ?
We also have a conversation going at http://neverwinter.nexusmods.com/mods/794 under the "Posts" button. (Not "Forums".)
Make sure you are extracting in MyDocuments/NeverwinterNights2, out in the main folder, NOT in any folders-within-the-folder.
Make sure your version of WinRar matches your Windows version (32 or 64 bit).
Make sure your downloads are not corrupt (they are very sensitive to any instability at all in the data stream of your internet connection.)
Make sure you are following the directions in the downloadable install manual *exactly*. It has screenshots for every step of the way.
How do I know if my download is corrupted?
@Malicron, well, you would usually get messages from WinRar like "archive ends sooner than expected", or "file so-and-so is corrupt.". Sometimes, if the corruption is minor, it might seem to install, but still not work.
So, it's worth doing a second download just to rule out the corruption possibility. Don't do it a third time though,not unless you're not sure your internet connection is solid. I know that the complete download takes over 45 minutes on high-speed fiber-optic internet.
I'd be glad to try to help you in PM's if I can. @Lemernis also had a lot of trouble on the first computer he was working with, so he may be able to help you, as well. For @Lemernis, he unfortunately was never able to get it to work on that first computer, and worse, it seemed to permanently corrupt his NWN2 installs from disc. (Even after uninstall and reinstall of the whole program - Windows 7 saves something that can cause problems. )
EDIT: btw, the worst thing that can possibly happen is that when you try to start a vanilla game of the OC or either of the two expansions, you get FOUR campaigns that all say "Baldur's Gate Reloaded". That usually means that the user attempted to install it in C/ProgramFiles/Atari first instead of MyDocuments, and that causes MAJOR problems in a Windows 7 disk install, I hate to say. I actually have not seen the devs address this.
They really need to realize and address that their mod may be insufficiently "idiot-proofed" in a way that does not cause unsavvy users to destroy their NWN2 capability on the Windows 7 computer into which they attempted to install BGR in C/ProgramFiles. I'm sure there's a Windows 7 workaround, but I don't know it.
Fresh installations of the game and its expansions. I started from scratch. I have the game disks. (It'll probably be less painstaking if you download the whole package from GOG.)
Install NWN2. Do not update. Play the campaign a bit. Then update.
Rinse and repeat for the two expansions (MotB first, then SoZ).
The fully updated game version with MotB and SoZ is 1.023 (1765).
Make sure that the folders C:/Programs/Atari/Neverwinter Nights 2/Override and Libraries/Documents/My Documents/Neverwinter Nights2/override are empty (which they will be with a fresh intstall, but check anyway).
Download the six .rar files (I used the Dallas server).
Move the .rars to Libraries/Documents/My Documents/Neverwinter Nights 2.
Extract them using WinRAR or 7zip. I used 7Zip. (If using WinRAR make sure that the bit version matches Windows.)
For each .rar, i.e., Parts 1-6, separately, and in order, right-click and "Extract Here." On Part 1 I was asked by 7zip if i wanted to replace folders that were destinations for the extractions, and I selected yes.
Start the game by selecting "New Game"; then under "Campaigns," select "Baldur's Gate: Reloaded."
Based on your experience with your first computer, I am currently considering BGR an extremely risky download, that should be flagged by Norton Utilities, much as I love it.
90 percent of people seem to be having no problem, but if that last 10 percent is really putting a setting in their Windows 7 that prevents ever playing NWN2 again unless a solution is found, then I think that's pretty bloody MAJOR beans.
Thanks. Turns out four of the six files were "ending sooner than expected" so I'm re-downloading them. Should take care of the problem, with any luck.
At some point on the first computer I tried BGR on, I may uninstall and try reinstalling NWN2 just to see what happens. Perhaps in a few days or so.
Ah, good, I hadn't noticed the hotfix. Thanks for that.
There was one thing I didn't initially do as instructed, however. The very first time I tried the installation, I extracted all six .rars at once, as a group of six. You're supposed to extract Parts 1-6 separately, one at a time, in order.
What was bizarre was that after a complete uninstall of NWN2 with no vestiges of the game anywhere on the computer that I could see or find, I got "Baldur's Gate: Reloaded" showing up in the campaign slots--with BGR not installed. And I uninstalled/reinstalled twice with this happening.
I'm still trying to play a half-elven Fighter/Mage who melees and spellcasts a la BG; which is a very strong character in BG, but not so much in NWN2.
The character is starting as a Fighter (default).
With the ability point distribution system I ended up going with
Str 15
Dex 16
Con 10
Int 16
Wis 8 (Wild Child who worships Shaundakul)
Cha 10
and of course with tomes Str, Dex and Int will each be raised by 1.
I kind of forgot about the game's ability enhancing items such as gauntlets that raise Dex to 18 and Str to 18/00. For example, I could sacrifice native Dex at the outset with the plan to use Gauntlets of Dexterity.
But even as the abilities are above, the F/M can cast Enlarge Person on himself for the tougher fights. And then he can also wear the Gauntlets of Weapons Expertise.
I had to abandon the idea of dual-wielding Long Swords (although at least very early on Two-Weapon Fighting, Two-Weapon Defense, and Parry seemed to be working okay against gibberlings and kobolds). Just out of Candlekeep I now have the character in scale mail and using a medium shield and scimitar.
I'm going with either
Fighter 2-> Wizard 5-> Eldridge Knight 3
or
Fighter 1-> Wizard 6-> Eldridge Knight 3
and I'm wondering if adding one extra level of Fighter is worth sacrificing a Wizard level...
*****
Note: I followed Flashburn's advice to
-Open the NWN2 Toolset (NWN2ToolsetLauncher.exe)
-Click on Plugins at the top -> Campaign Editor
-Select BGR
-In the box at the right, Under 'Behavior', click 'AllowUnrestrictedLevelUp' and change it to 'True.'
-Click 'Save Campaign' above the box, and you're finished.
So that NPCs can multiclass. But I'm actually a bit hazy on how that will work, since in NWN2 it seems you can select multiple classes for characters to begin with.
I'm now told that the ability raising items only do so by +2 in this mod and that Enlarge Person is not nearly as good as Strength is in BG.
Will I have the option to keep Imoen as a Thief throughout in BGR? Or does this mod force in some way that she will take levels in Wizard?
I've been afraid to click on that, because it ends up with her switching her class levels to wizard, and I don't want her to, and I'm not sure it can be taken back without messing with the mod settings in the toolset, which I don't really want to have to learn to do.
Actually, since you changed your settings to take control of every npc's leveling, you can probably give npc's levels in anything you want at any time now.
Bad programing, that.
Doing the unrestricted multiclass tweak I suggested is really easy. You could say it's "idiot-proof," like you've been wanting the devs to do with their install instructions.
All it does is make it so your companions can level up the same way you do. You can pick and choose their classes like you can choose yours. If you have a save from before you talked to Imoen about becoming a mage, you can reload that with the tweak. The next time she levels up, she can take a level in whatever she qualifies for, just like you, so you can make her a wizard on her next level up. You can get her to level up into Arcane Trickster as well if you build her toward that.
I just beat BGR yesterday and I've seen most of the memorable magic items. Unfortunately the Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise just give a +1 attack bonus to unarmed. There isn't a way to make it a main-hand/off-hand attack bonus because its a limitation of NWN1's item creation. If you ask me, I would've done it via a +2 STR (+1 attack/+1 damage) bonus. Then again, the Gauntlets of Ogre Power only add 2 STR too.
Parry warrants a wall of text on its own, so read about it here:
http://nwn2.wikia.com/wiki/Parry
Long story short, it loses utility at higher levels.
Also, you may want to consider taking the Bladesinger and/or Swiftblade classes if you're wanting a Fighter supplemented with magery. They get some pretty nifty bonuses at the cost of slower wizard spell progression and caster level. You can offset the caster level loss by taking the Practiced Spellcaster feat, which requires 3 Spellcraft.
You might not care much for their spell list, though - they get healing, charm, and illusion, and virtually no attack magic. You can use scrolls and the Use Magic Device skill to cast anything, but it doesn't exactly fit the image of a Jedi-type holding a sword in one hand and flinging Magic Missiles and Fireballs with the other.
The best "magic knight" type I ever built was my eldritch knight. I didn't take any levels of fighter, though. I went straight Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 10 so I could get to the good stuff.
He started off as a squishy crossbowman like Luke Skywalker with a blaster, and wound up a very strong fighter-mage who could take on the strongest Darth-Vaderesque enemies with a "lightsaber".
QUESTION: Is there any way to stabilize a bleeding-out party member with a potion? If there is, I can't find it. I think that the third edition rules were supposed to allow you to stabilize bleeding-out allies by pouring potions of healing on them. If that can be done in BGR, I can't figure out how. I'm pretty sure healing packs and heal skill would do it, BUT there are no bloody HEALING PACKS to be had in BGR!!!!! HINT, HINT: add them, puh-leeze!!
As things stand now, is a cleric or druid required to be able to stabilize a bleeding-out party member?
ADVICE: To everyone who is frustrated or complaining about balance in BGR. Swallow your pride, and set the difficulty slider down to easy. This will eliminate critical hits for enemies, guarantee that you and allies get *at least* 50 percent damage (instead of all those annoying hits for one hp), and cut the enemies down to 50 percent of their rolls (which I could *swear* are cheated to maximum damage every time they hit on core rules.)
ADVICE FOR WIZARD PLAYERS: Acid Splash doesn't require a ranged touch attack, and guarantees you a three point hit if the difficulty slider is on easy. Fill your first level spell book with one Mage Armor and two Shield. (The Mage Armor lasts twice as long as the Shield.) The two of them together will give you EIGHT to AC!! Use a club, not a dagger, so you don't have to worry about breakages. This way, Carbos, Shank, and the Super Rat Friends are not nearly as scary. (Not to mention the kobolds you and Imoen are about to have to face.)
AGAINST TARNESH: Having Endure Elements on you, Imoen, Monty, and Xzar will protect everybody from his Combust spell. Between a wizard PC and Xzar, you should be able to cast it on four people, and it lasts twenty-four hours, so you don't have to worry about it wearing off just at the critical moment. Shield on your wizard PC will ensure that Tarnesh cannot get you with any of his Magic Missiles. Just be sure to cast it at the start of the battle and not before, because it lasts only seconds for a first level wizard.
Back with more later. This game rocks! Long live BGR!