Did you know with the latest patch I couldn't steal the Cloak of Unerring strikes (+2 Thac0 with offhand) from the lady in the Rasaad starting encounter in BG2EE? It was a multiplayer game and the target "had no items" I could steal with 207 in pickpockets...
Did you know that in the TV show Darkskies from the 90's, in the third episode (Moving Targets) at 15:27-16:03 there is this music theme which really reminds me of BG 1 combat music. Since Darkskies is older than BG, it may be yet another popcultural reference by Bioware. Or maybe it is just a freely available theme and went to both TV show and a PC game.
If you choose to ransom Lady Elgea instead of release her you can then pick pocket Welther to get the Silver Pantaloons without taking a hit to your reputation. Then you can return to where Lady Elgea is being held to release her and get some experience (though not as much as you would have gotten had you released her immediately).
Did you know that when you reach the cloak wood mines, you don't need to fight the assassins all at once? Have a character with algernoon's cloak stealth and then use the item to charm the assassin who speaks. You'll lose your stealth, but nobody goes hostile.
You can now position your party exactly as you want before the fight starts. But be warned, when the charm wears off, or if you attack the speaker (the guy with the boots of the speed), the rest of the assassins will go hostile.
Did you know that group infravision has one very important use. If Kagain, Khalid, Garrick or Eldoth start running away on you (particularly at night) you can very cleary see them while they do so.
Did you know that if you encounter a bounty hunter in BG1 (from having low reputation) you can cast a charm spell on him. After you talk to him he will decide to leave you alone...for now.
If you charm either Bruno or Rieltar in Candlekeep they reveal the Iron Thrones plans.
I'm one of the western divisional leaders of the Iron Throne. We are here at Candlekeep negotiating with the Knights of the Shield. We have been creating a misinformation campaign to blame the Zhentarim for all the troubles in the region. We are trying to create tensions between the governments of Baldur's Gate and Amn. With iron being the most important resource in a war, the Baldurian government will have to go to us in order to get any. We have disrupted all iron trade through the region using the Blacktalon mercenaries and the Chill. The only known iron mine in the region is at Nashkel, and we have effectively crippled that mine. We have our own mine operating in Cloakwood. When the Baldurian government comes to us for iron, we will be able to make exorbitant trading demands, and thus become the preeminent trading power in this region.
Did you know that if you encounter a bounty hunter in BG1 (from having low reputation) you can cast a charm spell on him. After you talk to him he will decide to leave you alone...for now.
If you charm either Bruno or Rieltar in Candlekeep they reveal the Iron Thrones plans.
I'm one of the western divisional leaders of the Iron Throne. We are here at Candlekeep negotiating with the Knights of the Shield. We have been creating a misinformation campaign to blame the Zhentarim for all the troubles in the region. We are trying to create tensions between the governments of Baldur's Gate and Amn. With iron being the most important resource in a war, the Baldurian government will have to go to us in order to get any. We have disrupted all iron trade through the region using the Blacktalon mercenaries and the Chill. The only known iron mine in the region is at Nashkel, and we have effectively crippled that mine. We have our own mine operating in Cloakwood. When the Baldurian government comes to us for iron, we will be able to make exorbitant trading demands, and thus become the preeminent trading power in this region.
On this trend:
Did you know we had a thread with lots of "charmed tidbits" revealed : )
Did you know that if you encounter a bounty hunter in BG1 (from having low reputation) you can cast a charm spell on him. After you talk to him he will decide to leave you alone...for now.
If you charm either Bruno or Rieltar in Candlekeep they reveal the Iron Thrones plans.
I'm one of the western divisional leaders of the Iron Throne. We are here at Candlekeep negotiating with the Knights of the Shield. We have been creating a misinformation campaign to blame the Zhentarim for all the troubles in the region. We are trying to create tensions between the governments of Baldur's Gate and Amn. With iron being the most important resource in a war, the Baldurian government will have to go to us in order to get any. We have disrupted all iron trade through the region using the Blacktalon mercenaries and the Chill. The only known iron mine in the region is at Nashkel, and we have effectively crippled that mine. We have our own mine operating in Cloakwood. When the Baldurian government comes to us for iron, we will be able to make exorbitant trading demands, and thus become the preeminent trading power in this region.
On this trend:
Did you know we had a thread with lots of "charmed tidbits" revealed : )
Did you know that if you encounter a bounty hunter in BG1 (from having low reputation) you can cast a charm spell on him. After you talk to him he will decide to leave you alone...for now.
If you charm either Bruno or Rieltar in Candlekeep they reveal the Iron Thrones plans.
I'm one of the western divisional leaders of the Iron Throne. We are here at Candlekeep negotiating with the Knights of the Shield. We have been creating a misinformation campaign to blame the Zhentarim for all the troubles in the region. We are trying to create tensions between the governments of Baldur's Gate and Amn. With iron being the most important resource in a war, the Baldurian government will have to go to us in order to get any. We have disrupted all iron trade through the region using the Blacktalon mercenaries and the Chill. The only known iron mine in the region is at Nashkel, and we have effectively crippled that mine. We have our own mine operating in Cloakwood. When the Baldurian government comes to us for iron, we will be able to make exorbitant trading demands, and thus become the preeminent trading power in this region.
On this trend:
Did you know we had a thread with lots of "charmed tidbits" revealed : )
Pehllus Tanislove found near the governer building along with bodyguards,and Qar Jysstev in the sculpture quest are members of the Counsil of Six. Kill them for some joyfulness.
There is a string reference in BG2EE for a spell called Spacewarp. Its supposedly SPPR716 but that file doesn't appear. At least not in the enhanced edition. A reference to it however be found in the Spell.IDS file.
Spacewarp (Alteration)
Sphere: Numbers Range: 150 ft. Duration: 1 turn Casting Time: 7 Area of Effect: 25-ft. radius sphere Saving Throw: None
According to one view of the universe, what we perceive as gravity is actually a localized warping of the fabric of space-time. The Spacewarp spell creates a temporary but very intense warping in a limited area.
When the priest casts this spell, selects a specific point to be the center of effect. This point may be anywhere within 150 feet of the caster, including in midair.
When the spell is completed, this center of effect gains a gravity field equal to the force felt at the surface of the earth. In other words, gravity is centered at this point; everything within 50 feet of this center that is not attached to something immovable will fall toward the selected point.
This localized gravity affects only loose objects and creatures capable of movement (i.e., not trees, whose roots are buried in the ground). It does not affect the ground itself—soil, plants, desert sand, lake water, etc. are immune to the effect.
I don't know how this one slipped my mind for so long...
There is a member of the Jansen family that you meet in NWN! His name is Erb Jansen and you meet him in Luskan's Wink and Tickle brothel where he works as a prostitute. He tells the typical Jansen style stories about being a 'chest connoisseur' and the various clans of the Jansen family... and turnips naturally. He even gives you a quest to recover something of his from a client. One of the stories he tells is about a town called 'Culiver' which was purchased from a member of the Jansen family for the price of a bunch of turnips. He then goes on to say that the subsequently renamed they town "Waterdeep".
Did you know that the stereotypical eagle screech that you hear on TV and in the movies and even in BG when an eagle flies overhead is not actually a sound made by an eagle? The screech that everyone is so familiar with is actually made by a red-tailed hawk... The red-tailed hawk is a bird native to most of North America and one of the most commonly seen raptors (birds of prey) where I live. The iconic bald eagle mostly just makes small squeaky noises so the red-tailed hawk screech is usually used instead because it is more epic. Remember that next time you hear that famous screech sound!
Did you know that the stereotypical eagle screech that you hear on TV and in the movies and even in BG when an eagle flies overhead is not actually a sound made by an eagle? The screech that everyone is so familiar with is actually made by a red-tailed hawk... The red-tailed hawk is a bird native to most of North America and one of the most commonly seen raptors (birds of prey) where I live. The iconic bald eagle mostly just makes small squeaky noises so the red-tailed hawk screech is usually used instead because it is more epic. Remember that next time you hear that famous screech sound!
Not really related to BG, since there aren't any frogs or toads in BG as I recall, but like the last post in movies and TV we''ve all heard them making that 'ribbit' sound. However, there is actually only one species of frog in the world that makes that noise, and it happens to be native to California where obviously early film makers just went outside to record that sound effect and it's been used all over the place since.
I can't remember if it's been mentioned as the thread has grown so long, but one of the flying machines outside the circus has it's invention credited to one Eduardo Jansen.
I used that trick when I got to BG2, which means that I wasn't even active on the forums back then. You can't pretend to invent stuff on a 15 years old game with all the Guides of Cheese out there.
@CrevsDaak: I'd hate to think there's nothing left to discover in BG2.
How did you come up with that trick, anyway? I got the idea from hearing about Ghoul Touch in spider form, and realized Shocking Grasp would open up more possibilities.
At least tell me nobody used it to kill Kangaxx with flashers. My poor ego...
Not only does this apply to BG, but it also applies to real life! ...
Did you know that the stereotypical eagle screech that you hear on TV and in the movies and even in BG when an eagle flies overhead is not actually a sound made by an eagle? The screech that everyone is so familiar with is actually made by a red-tailed hawk...
The red-tailed hawk is a bird native to most of North America and one of the most commonly seen raptors (birds of prey) where I live. The iconic bald eagle mostly just makes small squeaky noises so the red-tailed hawk screech is usually used instead because it is more epic. Remember that next time you hear that famous screech sound!
Did you know if you ever actually see the rare sighting of an actual red tailed hawk in the game its actually Tobias from Animorphs.
True story.
I'm kidding. Everyone knows any red tailed hawk found in the game is really the latest villain the Harpers have captured and transformed into a bird
I feel like most people probably already know this, but I just found it out so I'll add it anyway.
Did you know if you talk to the harlot in Saradush prior to killing Gromnir, she'll tell you that Gromnir deserves to die? Then if you talk to her again after actually killing Gromnir, she gives you some XP before walking away. Funny how you can play a game for over ten years and still discover new things about it.
In the same time, Irenicus as a character was created by Ross Gardner during a D&D game. Ross Gardner (http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,6531/) was a designer and a writer for BG, now he's a technical director for the Sword Coast Legends.
I've searched a little more and have found an interview with Cameron Tofer in which he talks about origins of Minsc and Boo:
- We were kind of working on our own games... I guess the story goes, James Olin (the Baldur’s Gate Lead Designer), we shared an apartment in college. So there was the crew of us and when we hooked up with BioWare we were making our little games and stuff and we all got hired at once. It was James, Dean, Ben, then later Ross and all those guys – the original D&D campaign. So all those Baldur’s Gate characters like Minsc or whatever, they were all from our high school campaign.
- The BG characters had years of role-playing behind them. There’s huge depth of character, at least to us.
- In the original campaign, Sarevok was just another player character in our group. He was a ranger as well in the campaign. So it was Minsc and Sarevok, and Sarevok had this, Sarevok had that...
- That’s where Boo came along because one evening we’re doing level ups and he can get a thing now. “Can I have a bear?” “No.” “Can I have a wolf?” “No.” “What can I have?” So we started looking through and then we found this *laughing* Spelljammer book... “miniature giant space hamster.”
Did you know that in the TV show Darkskies from the 90's, in the third episode (Moving Targets) at 15:27-16:03 there is this music theme which really reminds me of BG 1 combat music. Since Darkskies is older than BG, it may be yet another popcultural reference by Bioware. Or maybe it is just a freely available theme and went to both TV show and a PC game.
@ChorazyGlus Did you know that it was the music composer (Michael Hoenig) for the entire BG trilogy who wrote the music for Dark Skies? I guess he decided to reuse some of his work.
How did you come up with that trick, anyway? I got the idea from hearing about Ghoul Touch in spider form, and realized Shocking Grasp would open up more possibilities.
At least tell me nobody used it to kill Kangaxx with flashers. My poor ego...
When I started playing BG2, I got NearInfinity and saw how every tiny bitty piece of the engine worked, and found that magically-created weapons remove weapons from Polymorph. I originally discovered this with Melf's Minute Meteor, but later on use Shocking Grasp (it's level one, good electricity damage at high levels). I didn't give flashers much use (I didn't know they had AoE range), I used (CLuaConsole'd) Arrows of Detonation instead for my infernal trickery (which I used mostly to kill Golems on low levels without having to rely to traps).
@Mortianna Now I feel like I was fed some humble pie I know that Hoenig did both Dark Skies and BG series, but I did not connect it in my brain... still, good thing he reused the theme; way too epic to be forgotten in the cancelled TV show.
Edit: Now come to think of it, it is a damn shame James Horner did not compose anything for videogames. I think. So many epic film scores...
Sorry if either of these were already entered - I don't have the epic fortitude to read all 19 pages of them just now Soon however, soon...
- Before you rescue Viconia in BG1, take a moment to charm the Flaming Fist Mercenary who is pursuing her, then talk to him. He mentions how Viconia is wanted for murdering a farmer and his family. Holy Cold Blooded Batman! It even gives you a journal entry.
- Tony Jay, the voice of Kresselack the Black Wolf from Icewind Dale, is also the voice of Monsieur D'Arque in Disney's Beauty and the Beast (the old man who works with Gaston to try to commit Belle's father to the Asylum). CRAZY OLD MAURICE HMM??
Comments
Well:
Horn of Kazgorath: 15 (30 on recharge)
Greagan's Harp: 20 (20 on recharge)
Staff of Striking: 20 (25 on recharge)
Did you know that the negative effect of the Horn is just 10 points of crushing damage each time?
Don't be afraid to use it! Especially if you have Mirror Image/Stoneskin/Ironskins on you - this way you won't take damage at all.
You can now position your party exactly as you want before the fight starts. But be warned, when the charm wears off, or if you attack the speaker (the guy with the boots of the speed), the rest of the assassins will go hostile.
Did you know we had a thread with lots of "charmed tidbits" revealed : )
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/18570/fun-with-charms
Kill them for some joyfulness.
Spacewarp
(Alteration)
Sphere: Numbers
Range: 150 ft.
Duration: 1 turn
Casting Time: 7
Area of Effect: 25-ft. radius sphere
Saving Throw: None
According to one view of the universe, what we perceive as gravity is actually a localized warping of the fabric of space-time. The Spacewarp spell creates a temporary but very intense warping in a limited area.
When the priest casts this spell, selects a specific point to be the center of effect. This point may be anywhere within 150 feet of the caster, including in midair.
When the spell is completed, this center of effect gains a gravity field equal to the force felt at the surface of the earth. In other words, gravity is centered at this point; everything within 50 feet of this center that is not attached to something immovable will fall toward the selected point.
This localized gravity affects only loose objects and creatures capable of movement (i.e., not trees, whose roots are buried in the ground). It does not affect the ground itself—soil, plants, desert sand, lake water, etc. are immune to the effect.
There is a member of the Jansen family that you meet in NWN! His name is Erb Jansen and you meet him in Luskan's Wink and Tickle brothel where he works as a prostitute. He tells the typical Jansen style stories about being a 'chest connoisseur' and the various clans of the Jansen family... and turnips naturally. He even gives you a quest to recover something of his from a client. One of the stories he tells is about a town called 'Culiver' which was purchased from a member of the Jansen family for the price of a bunch of turnips. He then goes on to say that the subsequently renamed they town "Waterdeep".
Did you know that the stereotypical eagle screech that you hear on TV and in the movies and even in BG when an eagle flies overhead is not actually a sound made by an eagle? The screech that everyone is so familiar with is actually made by a red-tailed hawk...
The red-tailed hawk is a bird native to most of North America and one of the most commonly seen raptors (birds of prey) where I live. The iconic bald eagle mostly just makes small squeaky noises so the red-tailed hawk screech is usually used instead because it is more epic. Remember that next time you hear that famous screech sound!
I can't remember if it's been mentioned as the thread has grown so long, but one of the flying machines outside the circus has it's invention credited to one Eduardo Jansen.
http://gibberlings3.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=21181&hl= improved anvil&page=69
... I thought I invented it...
How did you come up with that trick, anyway? I got the idea from hearing about Ghoul Touch in spider form, and realized Shocking Grasp would open up more possibilities.
At least tell me nobody used it to kill Kangaxx with flashers. My poor ego...
True story.
Did you know if you talk to the harlot in Saradush prior to killing Gromnir, she'll tell you that Gromnir deserves to die? Then if you talk to her again after actually killing Gromnir, she gives you some XP before walking away. Funny how you can play a game for over ten years and still discover new things about it.
In the same time, Irenicus as a character was created by Ross Gardner during a D&D game. Ross Gardner (http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,6531/) was a designer and a writer for BG, now he's a technical director for the Sword Coast Legends.
http://www.develop-online.net/interview/self-publishing-is-critical-to-survival-why-n-space-teamed-up-with-digital-extremes/0203124
I've searched a little more and have found an interview with Cameron Tofer in which he talks about origins of Minsc and Boo:
- We were kind of working on our own games... I guess the story goes, James Olin (the Baldur’s Gate Lead Designer), we shared an apartment in college. So there was the crew of us and when we hooked up with BioWare we were making our little games and stuff and we all got hired at once. It was James, Dean, Ben, then later Ross and all those guys – the original D&D campaign. So all those Baldur’s Gate characters like Minsc or whatever, they were all from our high school campaign.
- The BG characters had years of role-playing behind them. There’s huge depth of character, at least to us.
- In the original campaign, Sarevok was just another player character in our group. He was a ranger as well in the campaign. So it was Minsc and Sarevok, and Sarevok had this, Sarevok had that...
- That’s where Boo came along because one evening we’re doing level ups and he can get a thing now. “Can I have a bear?” “No.” “Can I have a wolf?” “No.” “What can I have?” So we started looking through and then we found this *laughing* Spelljammer book... “miniature giant space hamster.”
http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/interviews/jim-zubcameron-tofer-interview
Now I feel like I was fed some humble pie
Edit: Now come to think of it, it is a damn shame James Horner did not compose anything for videogames. I think. So many epic film scores...
- Before you rescue Viconia in BG1, take a moment to charm the Flaming Fist Mercenary who is pursuing her, then talk to him. He mentions how Viconia is wanted for murdering a farmer and his family. Holy Cold Blooded Batman! It even gives you a journal entry.
- Tony Jay, the voice of Kresselack the Black Wolf from Icewind Dale, is also the voice of Monsieur D'Arque in Disney's Beauty and the Beast (the old man who works with Gaston to try to commit Belle's father to the Asylum). CRAZY OLD MAURICE HMM??