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Misconceptions You Had

MitchforkMitchfork Member Posts: 390
in General Discussion (Spoiler Warning!)
When you first started playing these games what were some of the misconceptions you had about game rules, tactics, or lore?

1. When I first got the game I would always make a Half-Elf Fighter/Mage... and then immediately buy Splint Mail because that's the best you can afford. I would only take it off to use Identify.
2. I always thought Necromancers were the best Mages because magic that dealt with death had to be the best magic.
3. In BG1 there's a cave on the map with the Xvart Cow encounter with a lone Ettercap in it. There's a Web trap on the entrance that is pretty much guaranteed to go off unless you know it's there- the first time I went in the cave Charname got beat up and killed while being held by the web. I didn't notice that it was a trap, though... I thought Ettercaps were just really dangerous. If I ever rolled a Ranger I would always pick Ettercap as the racial enemy.
4. I thought that "1d8" meant "from 1 to 8" and "6d6" meant "from 6 to 6." I always wondered why Fireball only did 6 damage and why they made the number confusing to read.
5. I thought the Flaming Fist helmets must be better than the regular helmets since they looked different. I would always try to pick a fight with a lone Flaming Fist mercenary in the Friendly Arm Inn to get one (and his plate mail).
6. I would always try to fight Thalantyr in High Hedge because his Flesh Golems are hostile. Plus he seemed pretty evil.
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Comments

  • MitchforkMitchfork Member Posts: 390
    Tresset said:

    The one that really got me was that when Landrin told me she had spiders in her house I went there thinking I would be killing some real world sized spiders. I had been thinking that the quest made little sense but it all became clear once I went in and saw these giant sized spiders in there. I was still quite surprised by it though.

    I was always scared of that quest, since whenever I tried it as a kid I would get poisoned and die quickly. I still only do it if I've got a few antidotes and a Sleep spell.
    nano said:

    I would never recruit anyone Evil because I thought that they would betray me. If I picked one up by accident I'd get him killed as soon as possible.

    I never picked up Xzar and Montaran after I learned they were evil on my first play.

  • AnotherLifeAnotherLife Member Posts: 115
    I used to use Jaheira to resurrect fallen members, but when she got killed I left her there and later removed her from the party since I didn't know you could resurrect ppl in a temple.
  • mjsmjs Member Posts: 742
    in bg2: that traps were terrible. i couldn't set them with enemies around, they almost never set successfully and when they did, they did little damage

    this of course mainly stemmed from the fact i didn't see you could scroll down the thief abilities list when levelling up so i ended up with 200% in find traps (more means you find them quicker!), 200% (in case there's one i can't open with like a +10 fey blade inside it) and 200% stealth (which i never used in ToB anyway!)

    and 15% in detect illusions and set traps
  • PantalionPantalion Member Posts: 2,137
    Why can't my Ranger/Cleric use swords? They could in Eye of the Beholder! Non-swords suck!
    Half-Elves are the best race, because they get all the elf multiclassing but *can* be raised from the dead (Eye of the Beholder again).
    Pffft. These spells do nothing to the targets on a successful save? They must suck! Fireball always does half damage after all.
    What's the point of non-damage spells anyway?
    Wow this game is hard!
    It's always better to be in a full party...
    Ugh! Evil people? Get out of my party before you steal my socks or something.
    Pffft. Who would ever single class. Fighter/Mage/Thief is three times as awesome! And I can be a Fighter/Mage/Cleric too! Only a sucker wouldn't do two or three things instead of one.

    I never actually outgrew that last one, multiclass forever!
  • TheWhitefireTheWhitefire Member Posts: 119
    "Druids must be awesome because they can turn into animals! Turning into animals is good, right?"
    "Use Minsc's berserk ability all the time forever. Doesn't matter if he turns on your mage!"
  • moody_magemoody_mage Member Posts: 2,054
    TvrtkoSvrdlar said:

    "x) I kept hoarding all the potions, fearing they were some sort of uber item I'd need for the end boss"

    I've completed BG X numbers of times over the last decade and a bit and I still do this. I think it's more habit now than anything else though.
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    edited December 2013
    I'm Guilty of being a potion/scroll/wand hoarder as well. Although this is less a miss-conception as simply my nature of being a packrat. Given the choice of expending something of limited use or hoarding it, I save.

    image

    Cthulu saves... In case he is hungry later.
  • kryptixkryptix Member Posts: 741
    decado said:

    TvrtkoSvrdlar said:

    "x) I kept hoarding all the potions, fearing they were some sort of uber item I'd need for the end boss"

    I've completed BG X numbers of times over the last decade and a bit and I still do this. I think it's more habit now than anything else though.
    Definitely guilty of this as well, I can't seem to use consumables until my party gets wiped and only Charname is left at which point she has to solo the rest of the encounter.

    I have so many potions my potion bag is way overflowing and I even filled my bag of holding and I have a scroll case full of combat buffs and debuffs in chapter 2...
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    I thought my ranger having 14 in every stat would make him awesome since he'd be so well rounded. An ankheg fixed that misconception right quick.
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    Also: if my character has one pip in every weapon he'd be AWESOME
  • jackjackjackjack Member Posts: 3,251
    I thought daggers were effective. I still refuse to stop using them, on principle.
  • ZarakinthishZarakinthish Member Posts: 214
    TvrtkoSvrdlar said:

    "x) I kept hoarding all the potions, fearing they were some sort of uber item I'd need for the end boss"

    decado said:

    I've completed BG X numbers of times over the last decade and a bit and I still do this. I think it's more habit now than anything else though.

    the_spyder said:

    I'm Guilty of being a potion/scroll/wand hoarder as well. Although this is less a miss-conception as simply my nature of being a packrat. Given the choice of expending something of limited use or hoarding it, I save.

    kryptix said:

    Definitely guilty of this as well, I can't seem to use consumables until my party gets wiped and only Charname is left at which point she has to solo the rest of the encounter.

    I have so many potions my potion bag is way overflowing and I even filled my bag of holding and I have a scroll case full of combat buffs and debuffs in chapter 2...

    I too am a chronic hoarder. I don't just hoard potions and spells, I hoard just about every item of any value in the game. At the start of the (first) game, I give myself the bag of holding. I'm so bad that I modified the bag of holding, gem bag, potion case, and scroll case to hold 60000 items EACH. Not that I expect to ever reach that number, I just like knowing I have that much room.

    As for misconceptions, I can't really think of having any. Besides having played PnP AD&D for a few years before the game came out originally, as well as having played a couple Gold Box engine games, I was very careful about reading game manuals (and readme files). I also make a habit of reading the descriptions of all the items in the game.
    While I had no misconceptions that I can recall, I never was able to get through the original BG and TotSC because each time I got to the city of Baldur's Gate, I got lost and couldn't find my way around. The crappy combined journal and quest log didn't help either.
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    the_spyder said:

    \

    There was (apparently) an urban legend that Xzar and Monty would betray you just prior to the final battle. It was a legend that I believed whole heartedly right up until a few months back. yeah, laugh at me. I can take it. I laughed at myself when I found out the truth.

    @spyder I heard that one tooo!!!! Except that it was right before fighting Mulahey in Nashkel, becasue the Zhentarim were behind the iron shortage. So I never got them either.

    d'oh!
  • EudaemoniumEudaemonium Member Posts: 3,199
    booinyoureyes said:

    the_spyder said:

    \

    There was (apparently) an urban legend that Xzar and Monty would betray you just prior to the final battle. It was a legend that I believed whole heartedly right up until a few months back. yeah, laugh at me. I can take it. I laughed at myself when I found out the truth.

    spyder I heard that one tooo!!!! Except that it was right before fighting Mulahey in Nashkel, becasue the Zhentarim were behind the iron shortage. So I never got them either.

    d'oh!
    This is kinda funny. Clearly, the Iron Throne's propaganda is working!
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    still thin its weird they sent level one agents to fix their problem... and a crazy one at that!
  • GemHoundGemHound Member Posts: 801
    edited December 2013
    1. When I first played the game, I always played Dwarves since dwarves are powerhouses when pumped with ale. How wrong was I.
    2. I love to hoard potions, scrolls, wands, and expensive weapons.
    3. In my first play-through, I thought the Flaming Fist were and instant-death squad. Now I laugh at them as the bodies pile around the CHARNAME at times.
    4. On my first playthrough, I read every grave site in Nashkel over multiple sittings. I was rewarded with over 100 Phoenix Guards that crashed my computer.
    5. In my first Playthrough, I thought Ogrillons were actually Flesh Golems and I did not find out there were Flesh Golems ingame until my fourth playthrough.
    6. I also thought that a Warhammer was the most effective Cleric weapon in my first playthrough. True for BG1, false for BG2.
    7. I originally thought the Cleric Spell sanctuary was useless. Now I don't leave home without it.
    8. I thought Ogres were invincible killing machines until my second playthrough. Now, I purposefully path towards the Ogre South of the Friendly Arm Inn and kill it at the start of the game.
    And the list continues, yet I think I have written enough.
    Post edited by GemHound on
  • ReadingRamboReadingRambo Member Posts: 598
    I didn't realize until last week that you can assign actions to hot keys. I bought BG 1 at launch >.<
  • EudaemoniumEudaemonium Member Posts: 3,199
    booinyoureyes said:

    still thin its weird they sent level one agents to fix their problem... and a crazy one at that!

    Same as K+J being level 1 Harpers, or Edwin, Dynaheir and Minsc all managing to make their way over from the Unapproachable East and still be level 1. Its a mechanics does not equal reality situation.

    Xzar has 16 Wisdom and is at least savvy enough to send frequent reports back to HQ without you once noticing. Insane he might be, but he seems fairly competent at his job.
  • EudaemoniumEudaemonium Member Posts: 3,199
    It becomes 10 in BG2. He at least wises up a bit.

    Edwin is the type of person who has genius-level intellect but doesn't really have a clue about how the world works. The type of character who constructs elaborate and foolproof plans in his mind that are then foiled by very simple everyday things that any average person would figure out, and then proceeds to blame the fools who fooled up his foolproof plan.
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