Just completed this EPIC game for the first time!! (Most Memorable Moments) SPOILERS
Heindrich
Member, Moderator Posts: 2,959
After over 240 hours of gaming over the course of the last 6 months, Sima Jin (Charname) stands victorious as Melissan joins Karoug, Aec'Letec, Sarevok, Bhodi, Irenicus, The Five and many others upon the list of the vanquished!
Player Emotion:
Most Memorable Moments: (Chronological Order)
1) First time I used Lightning... Pretty much never touched Lightning based spells again because: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/comment/452390
2) First time I used Fireball... I one-shot the party again. BUT... I was so impressed with the destructive potential of Fireball that I quickly tried to pack Dynaheir's spellbook with as many as I could. I don't think I used Minute Meteors until BG 2.
3) The "I WAS FRAMED!" moment following the death of the Iron Throne leadership. My law abiding Charname allowed himself to be taken in by the Flaming Fists. Following a brief spat with Angelo, he has Imoen executed. "WTF?!"
4) Karoug the cheesy Greater Wolfwere. Crazy regeneration, I didn't have a single silver weapon on me, and had yet to learn of the wonder that is Melf's Minute Meteors. This is the only encounter in the whole saga that forced me to check the internet for specific answers.
5) Aec'Letec: my favourite battle of BG 1. It was challenging for sure, but oh so epic! Especially the first time I killed him, and was about to celebrate, and then ... "oh crap..."
6) Beginning of SoA. "Dynaheir?! NOOOO!!!"... a few minutes later... "Khalid!?! NOOOO!!!"... a bit after that... "Imoen?!!? NOOOOO!!!". Charname was so shaken he turned from Lawful Good to Lawful Neutral.
7) Yoshimo's betrayal. I was caught totally unprepared. Yoshimo carried all the equipment I planned for Imoen. I swore revenge, and was SO pleased when it was achieved.
8) The Battle of Spellhold. Forget Irenicus, who is his jailer mage?! The bastard killed/petrified Jaheira, Aerie, Imoen and Minsc before Jin and Anomen took him down. This meant that I had to face Irenicus with only 2 battered party members still standing... and an army of psychos behind their backs. It was a miracle that didn't end up being a reload and is probably my most memorable battle of the entire saga, mostly because I totally did not expect to pull it off...
9) First encounter with a dragon. "OMG it's HUGE!"... Thankfully it was Adalon.
10) Aerie turned into a vampire! Another "NOOOOO!!!" moment. Tried desperately to Dispel, and avoid having to kill her. Then found the books that offered hope, and reluctantly had Jaheira carry out the act. Was SO relieved to find her body and SO relieved to have her restored.
11) First Demilich encounter. Stumbled into the one in Watcher's Keep, next to the Githyanki camp. Couldn't work out how to hurt it, and by the time Jin used Slayer form to bring it down, Aerie, Imoen, Minsc and Jaheira had been Imprisoned. I had no idea where to find Freedom Scrolls, and would spend the next few sessions trying desperately to find one in Watcher's Keep with a 'B team of Keldorn, Mazzy, Nalia and Valygar'. Eventually, with Keldorn also Imprisoned by Azamantes, I had to give up my 'blind playthrough' principles for the first time and ask for help.
12) Killing Demogorgon. Ok, it didn't technically happen, cos I chose to trap Demogorgon and the treacherous Vigil Knights in the Vault, but I decided to take on Demogorgon for fun. Pulling it off on the third attempt was a great feeling. "I beat Demogorgon, I must be good!" lol
13) Losing Anomen. Not always my favourite companion, but he sure was the strongest. I was starting to wonder if chunking/permanent death didn't happen in BG 2... and then poor Ano got hit by a ranged attack from Abazigal for 125(?!!) damage. Instantly turning him into a charred corpse beyond any healing or resurrection spells. That was a shocking moment for sure, and so close to the end, a sad end for a character who had come so far.
14) Melissan. WHAT. A. BATTLE.
Hmmm… this is already a wall of text, I might as well build it taller!
She sure doesn't give a shit about playing fair! On my first attempt, I stumbled in totally unprepared (I expected to have to battle through some minions before actually facing her in battle.) I confidently threw 4 spellbooks (Jin, Aerie, Imoen and Jaheira) at her in what I thought would be a devastating barrage of magical power. She laughed off Timestop, and somehow survived 4 or 5 Horrid Wiltings and Dragon's Breath. Swords eventually completed the job, but before I could celebrate, I realised to my dismay that this was only the first of 4 battles against Melissan, plus 3 groups of other guardians, AND there was no chance to rest. Having used most of the party's firepower already, they were overwhelmed in the second encounter against Melissan.
Second attempt.
This time, I was well prepared. All the subtle utility spells went out of the spellbooks, and I packed as much firepower and magic penetration as I could, and prepared all the useful scrolls, ammo, potions etc that I've hoarded for the entire game until now.
Stage 1:
Because I tried to conserve spells/resources the first encounter ended up being even more tricky than in the first attempt. Minsc got petrified and somebody else needed to be raised with Rod of Resurrection, but I got past it without using many spells.
Air Elementals:
Handled fairly easily by a stream of Earth Elemental summons from a Staff of Earth that I saved up until now, though Jaheira got level-drained, which cost me an Insect Plague and Deva.
Stage 2:
Once more saving resources meant it took longer than I’d have liked, and Rod of Resurrection was needed for one or two again.
Ice Elementals: chewed through my Earth Elementals like paper, so the party had to get stuck in themselves, resulting in many injuries, but I had plenty of Health Potions, so it wasn’t too bad.
Stage 3:
Melissan unloads all her cheese. She opens with a random attack that knocked my entire party unconscious (nothing I could do about positiong, of course), and disrupting all the spells I was about to throw at her. Then before the party recovered, she Timestopped. T_T
Having just about survived that opening onslaught, she teleports behind the big beam of Bhaalspawn essence (wasting more of my spells and making it hard to see what she’s doing) and then starts to summon an endless stream of Balors and Marileth Demons(!!?!!!?) Each time I take one down, another one is summoned immediately. She repeatedly restores her protections, heals herself at least once and mercilessly strips the party of buffs/protections.
Realising that it was hopeless to try to kill the tide of demons, and having already exhausted way more resources than I planned, including my best summons, I decided to ignore the demons and threw the party forwards to try to take Melissan down in combat. This is when Jaheira was hit with a vorpal weapon. I am not sure if it was Melissan or one of her demons. But after almost 240 hours in my company, from 0 xp to over 5M xp… Jaheira was gone! Permanently. T_T
What followed was a bit of a blur, and I was pretty demoralised, but I guess my plan worked. Two more companions fell in battle (not permanently), but Melissan retreated once more.
Fallen Solar and Co:
My party, battered and exhausted (literally all fatigued already), and (wo)man down, expected to find a third group of elementals, maybe Fire, or Earth… Seeing nightmarish Marileth Demons and a Fallen Solar, as well as an Alu-Fiend, emerge from the third Bhaal essence source was crippling news. Keldorn’s (replacement for the fallen Anomen) Dispel Magic thankfully could take down Marileth protections and somehow the party survived… well, with the help of Rod of Resurrection, again.
Final Stage:
I expected this to be hardest stage, which is why I had saved all my Simulacrums, Horrid Wilting and Spell Triggers until now. I literally had only 4 summons left (including from equipment), mostly Aerial Servants and Skeleton Warriors, having used Devas and Juggernault Golem to survive the third stage. However, with 2 Imoens, Aeries and Jins ready to face Melissan, all hope was not lost!
The warriors, (Keldorn, Jin and Minsc) drank the last of the Strength Potions and Potions of Heroism that I had left, and with a prayer to Helm, the battle was joined. Melissan finally withered in the face of the full force of the party’s righteous fury, laying into her with The Answerer, Gram the Sword of Grief and Pison’s Blade, whilst a barrage of penetration Spell Triggers and Horrid Wilting rained down on her. In the end, the final stage was easier than I expected, but I am certainly not complaining! The whole battle took 2-3 hours, and if I fell at the final hurdle, I was not looking forward to doing it all again from the beginning.
EPILOGUE
And so Jin stood victorious as Solar explained his options. The power of godhood tempted him sorely. He had experienced the frustration and pain of powerlessness, as he was unable to protect those he cared for the most... Khalid, Dynaheir, Imoen, Aerie etc... He had sworn to become the most powerful being in the realms so that nobody can ever harm Imoen and Aerie again...
But accepting godhood meant leaving them behind, and a continued existence of constant strife, with more experienced, and possibly more powerful deities like Cyric, counted as his enemies. What good is power if obtaining it would rob him of what he was trying to save and protect in the first place? And could he really control the essence of the Lord of Murder? Will such evil power rob him of whatever is left of his compassion, love and innocence? Will he become the very thing he had been fighting to prevent all long... the rise of a new Lord of Murder.
Thus, Jin looked upon Aerie, his beloved, her belly starting to swell with the growth of their baby boy, smiled, and asked Solar to remove the taint of Bhaal from him, and grant him the freedom to live out the rest of his mortal days with Aerie by his side.
Months later, Aerie would give birth to a baby boy, who she agreed to name Anomen, in honour of Jin's former companion, at times rival, and in the end, great friend. Years after that, a baby girl was born, who they named Jaheira, in memory of the fierce warrior-druid who was Jin's mentor, protector and counsel through his darkest hours, and who fought fearlessly by his side until the bitter end.
I wish Imoen and Minsc (and Boo!) also hung around with Charname in the future, but the epilogues clearly states that they didn't.
Player Emotion:
Most Memorable Moments: (Chronological Order)
1) First time I used Lightning... Pretty much never touched Lightning based spells again because: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/comment/452390
2) First time I used Fireball... I one-shot the party again. BUT... I was so impressed with the destructive potential of Fireball that I quickly tried to pack Dynaheir's spellbook with as many as I could. I don't think I used Minute Meteors until BG 2.
3) The "I WAS FRAMED!" moment following the death of the Iron Throne leadership. My law abiding Charname allowed himself to be taken in by the Flaming Fists. Following a brief spat with Angelo, he has Imoen executed. "WTF?!"
4) Karoug the cheesy Greater Wolfwere. Crazy regeneration, I didn't have a single silver weapon on me, and had yet to learn of the wonder that is Melf's Minute Meteors. This is the only encounter in the whole saga that forced me to check the internet for specific answers.
5) Aec'Letec: my favourite battle of BG 1. It was challenging for sure, but oh so epic! Especially the first time I killed him, and was about to celebrate, and then ... "oh crap..."
6) Beginning of SoA. "Dynaheir?! NOOOO!!!"... a few minutes later... "Khalid!?! NOOOO!!!"... a bit after that... "Imoen?!!? NOOOOO!!!". Charname was so shaken he turned from Lawful Good to Lawful Neutral.
7) Yoshimo's betrayal. I was caught totally unprepared. Yoshimo carried all the equipment I planned for Imoen. I swore revenge, and was SO pleased when it was achieved.
8) The Battle of Spellhold. Forget Irenicus, who is his jailer mage?! The bastard killed/petrified Jaheira, Aerie, Imoen and Minsc before Jin and Anomen took him down. This meant that I had to face Irenicus with only 2 battered party members still standing... and an army of psychos behind their backs. It was a miracle that didn't end up being a reload and is probably my most memorable battle of the entire saga, mostly because I totally did not expect to pull it off...
9) First encounter with a dragon. "OMG it's HUGE!"... Thankfully it was Adalon.
10) Aerie turned into a vampire! Another "NOOOOO!!!" moment. Tried desperately to Dispel, and avoid having to kill her. Then found the books that offered hope, and reluctantly had Jaheira carry out the act. Was SO relieved to find her body and SO relieved to have her restored.
11) First Demilich encounter. Stumbled into the one in Watcher's Keep, next to the Githyanki camp. Couldn't work out how to hurt it, and by the time Jin used Slayer form to bring it down, Aerie, Imoen, Minsc and Jaheira had been Imprisoned. I had no idea where to find Freedom Scrolls, and would spend the next few sessions trying desperately to find one in Watcher's Keep with a 'B team of Keldorn, Mazzy, Nalia and Valygar'. Eventually, with Keldorn also Imprisoned by Azamantes, I had to give up my 'blind playthrough' principles for the first time and ask for help.
12) Killing Demogorgon. Ok, it didn't technically happen, cos I chose to trap Demogorgon and the treacherous Vigil Knights in the Vault, but I decided to take on Demogorgon for fun. Pulling it off on the third attempt was a great feeling. "I beat Demogorgon, I must be good!" lol
13) Losing Anomen. Not always my favourite companion, but he sure was the strongest. I was starting to wonder if chunking/permanent death didn't happen in BG 2... and then poor Ano got hit by a ranged attack from Abazigal for 125(?!!) damage. Instantly turning him into a charred corpse beyond any healing or resurrection spells. That was a shocking moment for sure, and so close to the end, a sad end for a character who had come so far.
14) Melissan. WHAT. A. BATTLE.
Hmmm… this is already a wall of text, I might as well build it taller!
She sure doesn't give a shit about playing fair! On my first attempt, I stumbled in totally unprepared (I expected to have to battle through some minions before actually facing her in battle.) I confidently threw 4 spellbooks (Jin, Aerie, Imoen and Jaheira) at her in what I thought would be a devastating barrage of magical power. She laughed off Timestop, and somehow survived 4 or 5 Horrid Wiltings and Dragon's Breath. Swords eventually completed the job, but before I could celebrate, I realised to my dismay that this was only the first of 4 battles against Melissan, plus 3 groups of other guardians, AND there was no chance to rest. Having used most of the party's firepower already, they were overwhelmed in the second encounter against Melissan.
Second attempt.
This time, I was well prepared. All the subtle utility spells went out of the spellbooks, and I packed as much firepower and magic penetration as I could, and prepared all the useful scrolls, ammo, potions etc that I've hoarded for the entire game until now.
Stage 1:
Because I tried to conserve spells/resources the first encounter ended up being even more tricky than in the first attempt. Minsc got petrified and somebody else needed to be raised with Rod of Resurrection, but I got past it without using many spells.
Air Elementals:
Handled fairly easily by a stream of Earth Elemental summons from a Staff of Earth that I saved up until now, though Jaheira got level-drained, which cost me an Insect Plague and Deva.
Stage 2:
Once more saving resources meant it took longer than I’d have liked, and Rod of Resurrection was needed for one or two again.
Ice Elementals: chewed through my Earth Elementals like paper, so the party had to get stuck in themselves, resulting in many injuries, but I had plenty of Health Potions, so it wasn’t too bad.
Stage 3:
Melissan unloads all her cheese. She opens with a random attack that knocked my entire party unconscious (nothing I could do about positiong, of course), and disrupting all the spells I was about to throw at her. Then before the party recovered, she Timestopped. T_T
Having just about survived that opening onslaught, she teleports behind the big beam of Bhaalspawn essence (wasting more of my spells and making it hard to see what she’s doing) and then starts to summon an endless stream of Balors and Marileth Demons(!!?!!!?) Each time I take one down, another one is summoned immediately. She repeatedly restores her protections, heals herself at least once and mercilessly strips the party of buffs/protections.
Realising that it was hopeless to try to kill the tide of demons, and having already exhausted way more resources than I planned, including my best summons, I decided to ignore the demons and threw the party forwards to try to take Melissan down in combat. This is when Jaheira was hit with a vorpal weapon. I am not sure if it was Melissan or one of her demons. But after almost 240 hours in my company, from 0 xp to over 5M xp… Jaheira was gone! Permanently. T_T
What followed was a bit of a blur, and I was pretty demoralised, but I guess my plan worked. Two more companions fell in battle (not permanently), but Melissan retreated once more.
Fallen Solar and Co:
My party, battered and exhausted (literally all fatigued already), and (wo)man down, expected to find a third group of elementals, maybe Fire, or Earth… Seeing nightmarish Marileth Demons and a Fallen Solar, as well as an Alu-Fiend, emerge from the third Bhaal essence source was crippling news. Keldorn’s (replacement for the fallen Anomen) Dispel Magic thankfully could take down Marileth protections and somehow the party survived… well, with the help of Rod of Resurrection, again.
Final Stage:
I expected this to be hardest stage, which is why I had saved all my Simulacrums, Horrid Wilting and Spell Triggers until now. I literally had only 4 summons left (including from equipment), mostly Aerial Servants and Skeleton Warriors, having used Devas and Juggernault Golem to survive the third stage. However, with 2 Imoens, Aeries and Jins ready to face Melissan, all hope was not lost!
The warriors, (Keldorn, Jin and Minsc) drank the last of the Strength Potions and Potions of Heroism that I had left, and with a prayer to Helm, the battle was joined. Melissan finally withered in the face of the full force of the party’s righteous fury, laying into her with The Answerer, Gram the Sword of Grief and Pison’s Blade, whilst a barrage of penetration Spell Triggers and Horrid Wilting rained down on her. In the end, the final stage was easier than I expected, but I am certainly not complaining! The whole battle took 2-3 hours, and if I fell at the final hurdle, I was not looking forward to doing it all again from the beginning.
EPILOGUE
And so Jin stood victorious as Solar explained his options. The power of godhood tempted him sorely. He had experienced the frustration and pain of powerlessness, as he was unable to protect those he cared for the most... Khalid, Dynaheir, Imoen, Aerie etc... He had sworn to become the most powerful being in the realms so that nobody can ever harm Imoen and Aerie again...
But accepting godhood meant leaving them behind, and a continued existence of constant strife, with more experienced, and possibly more powerful deities like Cyric, counted as his enemies. What good is power if obtaining it would rob him of what he was trying to save and protect in the first place? And could he really control the essence of the Lord of Murder? Will such evil power rob him of whatever is left of his compassion, love and innocence? Will he become the very thing he had been fighting to prevent all long... the rise of a new Lord of Murder.
Thus, Jin looked upon Aerie, his beloved, her belly starting to swell with the growth of their baby boy, smiled, and asked Solar to remove the taint of Bhaal from him, and grant him the freedom to live out the rest of his mortal days with Aerie by his side.
Months later, Aerie would give birth to a baby boy, who she agreed to name Anomen, in honour of Jin's former companion, at times rival, and in the end, great friend. Years after that, a baby girl was born, who they named Jaheira, in memory of the fierce warrior-druid who was Jin's mentor, protector and counsel through his darkest hours, and who fought fearlessly by his side until the bitter end.
I wish Imoen and Minsc (and Boo!) also hung around with Charname in the future, but the epilogues clearly states that they didn't.
Post edited by Heindrich on
29
Comments
Yup, and for a first playthrough, blind!
So many memorable "OMG" moments.
I was worried when you hit the Imprisonment deal. I thought you'd continue through the whole Watcher's Keep thinking you'd get the scroll in there, and you'd just end up running in to the... Imprisoned One, and DOOM and all that.
Congrats! What was some of the memorable OMG moments for you?
Just kidding. Good job
Some 5 months later I got BG2:SoA, played a lot, I was already a game badass, but I did not knew item locations and that stuff, so I kept on dying. But I've created a new type of playing: The "DO, RELOAD, DO BETTER, RELOAD, DO MUCH BETTER AND BE HAPPY!!!!!!", so after one run I was already a BG2 guru, because I had played every area like thrice (at least, that 11th time of Firkraag's Dungeon took me 20 minutes), this way you can end like with 6,5 millions XP because you know what to do, in my second BG2 run I wanted to play solo, right now I am in chapter three, too much things to do!
And I told her that every PC she plays must be min/maxed and with a good roll, she seems to be very lucky, she got a 91 with a F/T at the second roll :P I wish I could be so lucky!
And thus the corruption of powergaming spreads further...
*Casts Protection from Powergaming*
Thanks! It took me a while but I updated my most memorable moments from the entire saga above. @Twani
lol... that's pretty much what I did. I wish I could claim that I found the Freedom Scroll blind, but I got as far as (and past) Azamantes, but then lost Keldorn to Imprisonment in that battle as well, and finally lost hope that I'd find the desperately needed scrolls blindly stumbling through ToB.
That's the only time in BG 2 that I was forced to to break my strict rules on playing without foreknowledge.
If you'd seen the scene of Aerie giving birth, Imoen is very excited about being an aunt. Jaheira most likely would have been the mid wife (it could have been Cernd, but usually it's Jae). If there's any avariel or gnomish equivalent, I imagine Aerie might have made them godparents to her children if they all survive.
Wait are u saying Aerie can give birth ingame?! How long does it take? I did wonder if I might have missed out on some content due to my 'realistic rest' thing.
Some of the ToB party banter seemed a bit out of place. Like I vaguely recall a conversation about Imoen, which would seem more appropriate when the party first rescued her outta Spellhold.
Also, I don't know if it's scripted, but the last Aerie 'banter' I got was where she and Jin got married in a simple ceremony (vows and all). It happened just before they stepped into the Throne of Bhaal, which was kinda fitting, reaffirming their bond before Jin faces his destiny.
However, it was weird having her mention 'beautiful dawn' when they were in the Pocket Plane at the time. lol
Thanks! Although I'm not sure if I satisfy 'min-reload' rules. I never counted (or made a list) of reloads in BG 1. (A lot, as a total noob, every new encounter, every new spell, was a potential for disaster... lol)
In BG 2 I suffered 22 reloads in total. All were due to Charname death, except no.9, which was for Aerie, who along with Imoen, were 'protected from permadeath' for RP reasons (and so I can experience the 'main plot content in my first playthrough).
Deaths Location/Quest Cause
1 ........D'Arnise Keep ..................................Yuan-ti Mage (Yeah... don't judge)
2 ........Planar Sphere ..................................Lea'Liyl
3 ........Planar Sphere ..................................Tanar'ri
4 ........Guarded Compound ..........................Hostile Party
5 ........Guarded Compound ..........................Hostile Party
6 ........Pit of the Faithless ..........................Gauth
7 ........Spellhold Anomen ..........................Mind Flayer Control
8 ........Spellhold Courtyard ..........................Shadow Fiend (Carelessness)
9 ........Underdark ..........................................Balor (Aerie Chunked)
10 ........Underdark ..........................................Demon Knights
11 ........Underdark ..........................................Elder Orb
12 ........Underdark ..........................................Elder Orb
13 ........Ust Natha ..........................................Drow Gladiator
14 ........Underdark ..........................................Beholders
15 ........Temple Sewers ..................................Mindflayer (Careless Brain Devouring)
16 ........Watcher's Keep lv2 ..........................Fire Giant (Careless Fire Giant clobering)
17 ........Watcher's Keep lv5 ..........................Spirit Altar
18 ........Watcher's Keep lv5 ..........................Seal Guardian Party (The one with Hive Mother)
19 ........Watcher's Keep lv5 ..........................Seal Guardian Party (Same as above)
20 ........Temple of Bhaal ..........................Nyalee (Some kinda Death Spell)
21 ........Abazigal's Lair ..................................Draconis
22 ........Throne of Bhaal ..................................Melissan
Personally I think the Godfather would have to be Minsc and Boo and the Godmother Jaheira (to stick with the original characters)
Hamster and children everywhere... REJOICE!
Butt-wiping for goodness! We will leave no crevice uncleaned!
When the going gets tough, someone change his diaper!
"Hey Minsc, how was baby-sitting" "er... he dropped evil around every corner... careful not to step in any!"
also, any bullies in school would feel the backhand of justice!
When Minsc does go home, I think Aerie would want to travel there with him, so that's another adventure to look forward to.
Thanks! Melissan is cheesy enough as it is. I'd never want to face a tougher version! lol
That said, I imagine that if I knew what was coming, I could better pace my use of spells, instead of saving all the Aces for the final stage. Also, next time I am going to use more Dual-classed/Pure mages, less Multi-class, so Melissan is definitely gonna get 'Planetar'd' and I'm also going to use wish for a 'pit stop' in the middle of this marathon. @booinyoureyes
Erm... yeah one of the biggest mistakes of my playthrough... I did kill the Shadow Dragon and Firkraag (but did it after Underdark, thus Adalon first). So I did find Carsomyr, which was another 'OMG' moment, quickly followed by "NOOO!!!" when I realised nobody in my party could use it. I had no idea that I'd be needing Keldorn's help in the future, so I sold it to a merchant that I can't remember...
...certainly not Sister Garlena, cos when I had to call on Keldorn when I lost 4 party members to Imprisonment, I immediately thought of Carsomyr. Sadly I couldn't find it either on my inventory or with Sister Garlena, and of course, I could not return to SoA areas in ToB to look for it.
When Anomen perma-died, and I had to call on Keldorn again for the endgame, I kicked myself for selling Carsomyr even more.
I personally HATE permanent death and would always reload. You are hardcore man, much respect for taking on the game with such willpower!
When you play again, will you do it from BG2 or from the first game? Will you take a different party? Maybe play... evil? I've tried so many times, can't do it
My dealings with the Shadow Thieves were minimal, in fact I tried hard to avoid it, and tried everything I could think of to rescue Imoen through more 'respectful channels'. This was due to the most shameful thing Jin and his company ever did in the entire saga, when they accidentally killed Shandalar's daughters in a bungled raid for Halruuan airship components, whilst working for the Thieves Guild of Baldur's Gate. Filled with guilt and regret, Jin refused to cooperate with Thief guilds until it became clear that his choice was Shadow Thieves or Vampires.
I don't think I'll ever play evil in BG. The game is too compelling and immersive for me to roleplay behaving like an asshole to characters I know and love. I don't have a 'never play evil' principle in gaming, but it just seems... uncomfortable, in BG. Believe it or not, my Warhammer 40,000 tabletop army was Chaos Space Marines (the bad guys, if u don't know the lore).
My next BG playthrough will be Black Pits, with the party I asked for advice about on this forum.
My next 'main game' playthrough will be another full saga playthrough with a 'rebooted Jin', this time all the way from BG EE to BG 2 EE (I used BG 2 Vanilla for my first playthrough cos BG 2 EE hadn't been released when I started). I will use some different NPCs like Neera and Kivan in BG 1, and probably Neera and Keldorn in BG 2.
Not quite, Jin was a Half-Elf Fighter/Mage. Which in BG 1, meant that he was basically an inferior warrior/archer (compared to a pure fighter/archer), cos he never took off his armour, lol. In BG 2, he did start to come into his own, although I did mess up his weapon proficiencies, so he always struggled to hit particularly tough enemies, in comparison to Minsc and Anomen. @booinyoureyes
Jin will be Kensai/Mage this time. Which means he's gonna be weaker in BG 1, stronger in BG 2, compared to the first playthrough. I'll make the switch right at the beginning of SoA, whatever his Kensai level is then, since that makes sense RP-wise.