Did you know that some characters will recognise other, seemingly insignificant, characters in your travels? Mazzy turns out to know the bartender in the Five Flagons Inn in the Bridge District, who will actually give you a free pair of Boots of Stealth with her in the party! Jan also seems to know Quayle and Tiax, though the dialogue there is insignificant.
Ajantis in the first game tells you that he is a squire to one Keldorn Firecam; Keldorn will recognise him when you kill him in the second game. Anomen was also a squire at around the same time and also knew Ajantis, but his own dialogue from when you kill him was cut. Unfinished Business restores that, however.
Since most players won't bother starting BG1 with 18 Charisma, they won't know that Fuller gives you a +1 dagger as a reward for bringing him those crossbow bolts if you have it.
Remember the introduction video with Sarevok killing a man atop a tall building? That would be the Iron Throne headquarters in the city, and it's possible to get onto the roof, thus visiting the scene (though nothing comes of it).
If you want free easy experience, go to Shoal the Nereid in AR3100, the area one north of the Lighthouse. This isn't possible for solo players since she'll kill someone but then resurrect them, after which you can save her from an Ogre Mage. Do all this, but before she gets out of sight, kill her - 5000 XP! Heck of a lot for something that's doable very early.
The revenant that you meet who wants the Heart of the Golem dagger +2 says this when you ask him what dagger he is talking about:
"The dagger... of he who murdered me... the dagger of Alatos..."
Most probably don't ever make this connection, but Alatos is someone you actually meet later in the game. He is Alatos "Ravenscar" Thuibuld, the head of the shadow thieves in the city of Baldur's Gate.
@PawnSlayer Do you have the dialogue between Tiax and Jan handy ? This must be epic !
and btw. the Fuller's questreward is based on reaction, a mix of reputation and charisma
depending on your Alignment, you start with a greater rep ie. a lower charisma may suffice (or the friend spell, for mages ) A
True, but friends is not a spell that most mages start with, and the only real way to get your reaction any higher than it starts at before you leave Candlekeep without having 18 Charisma.
@PawnSlayer Do you have the dialogue between Tiax and Jan handy ? This must be epic !
and btw. the Fuller's questreward is based on reaction, a mix of reputation and charisma
depending on your Alignment, you start with a greater rep ie. a lower charisma may suffice (or the friend spell, for mages ) A
True, but friends is not a spell that most mages start with, and the only real way to get your reaction any higher than it starts at before you leave Candlekeep without having 18 Charisma.
There is a temple. If you have enough money you could make a few donations...
Did you know that some characters will recognise other, seemingly insignificant, characters in your travels? Mazzy turns out to know the bartender in the Five Flagons Inn in the Bridge District, who will actually give you a free pair of Boots of Stealth with her in the party! Jan also seems to know Quayle and Tiax, though the dialogue there is insignificant.
Which reminds me that if you speak to the bartender with Haer'Dalis in your party, he gives you a diamond.
More fun stuff about inns:
On the second floor of the Crooked Crane Inn (City Gate District in Athkatla) you meet two young lovers, Tiiro and Aulava, about to split up because their families don't like them being together. You can act like a good guy and convince them that love is all that matters.
The Unfinished Business mod restores the full story: When you return at a later time, the nobleman below who told you about them in the first place will yell at you for making them stay together. Turns out they have a really bad influence on each other and have committed several burglaries, arson, and even murder. So for being a romantic fool you end up losing a reputation point. If you go upstairs, you will meet Tiiro and Aulava again and they are most grateful to you. Yeah right - no matter what conversation options you choose, you end up having to fight them. ;-)
One of the sailors in the Vulgar Monkey in Brynnlaw will tell you how he and his mates used to sail to and from Baldur's Gate before someone named [CHARNAME] killed Sarevok, ruining their "business", causing them to become pirates. :-)
If you are a thief with an 18 CHR and talk to the nobles on the first floor of the Candlekeep in, you can get them to lock all of their valuables in the star sapphire chest.
Or you can charm them as a mage for a measly 50 gp.
Charming the Reader in the Infirmary, he will tell you he is working on a novel about Drizzt
At night in Baldur's Gate you can see people sleeping on the park benches!
There's a Storehouse in the fortress on the Cloakwood Mines map (door isn't visible). There's a Guard inside smoking "Black Lotus"
On the Xvart Village map, Nexlit the Xvart tells you Ursa the Cave Bear will protect them. But the first thing Ursa does is attack Nexlit himself! Easy to see if you use an invisibility potion as soon as Ursa appears.
The cook in the Candlekeep Library is called Martha, a pretty clear Martha Stewart reference.
The priests are pretty strange in Baldur's Gate. The priest of Gond has a very funny soundbite where he says that "my friend Oppenheimer's got some cooool invention cooked up". Oppenheimer was also the one who said the Xzar quote "I have become death, destroyer of worlds". Another Priest in the Candlekeep Library is doing the hokey pokey...
Kivan often tells Alora, quite rudely, to shut up.
The North gate out of Baldur's Gate is in the North West Section of the city, but can only be accessed from a specific point in the Ducal Palace area of BG (top left of screen). The gate is closed but there's a friendly Flaming Fist Mercenary there who say's he hasn't seen anyone for a long time.
It's possible to blackmail Lady Areana at the Three Old Kegs inn after killing Cydremac for her - but after a couple of payments (or after getting back from Candlekeep, I'm not sure) there'll be a dumb guy called Tor Lobo there hired to kill you.
It only just came to me, but the weird ghoul in Durlag's Tower - Grael - got to be that way by being struck by AecLetec's Death Gaze. The same thing can happen to you when you face the demon.
If you meet Karoug on Balduran's Island before talking to Kaishas, you can ask to join up with him instead, and he considers it. However, his condition is that you kill all of Kaishas' people first, which Charname rejects on the principle that it's unfeasible to kill an entire island.
No doubt everyone knows this already, but before the fight with TorGal in Nalia's Keep, if you send Nalia up front to talk first, you get special dialogue between her and the troll. I never heard it before because my character's usually the one in front...but it was pretty awesome to see Nalia shine with anger and fury!
Noober and Neeber have another cousin! In NWN there is a guy called Neibor who lives in Neverwinter. When you see him he will start following you and muttering under his breath things like: "Gotta wait for the moment... should I... they look pretty tough... I don't know..." It turns out that he is contemplating picking your pocket (he never does though) in hopes of geting enough money to buy the plot device in the area. When you confront him he actually gives you some useful information about the plot in the area... and then starts following you again.
No doubt everyone knows this already, but before the fight with TorGal in Nalia's Keep, if you send Nalia up front to talk first, you get special dialogue between her and the troll. I never heard it before because my character's usually the one in front...but it was pretty awesome to see Nalia shine with anger and fury!
I wish people would stop prefacing their posts by saying "everyone knows this already," because it usually turns out that I DON'T know it already and end up feeling stupid afterward. ;-)
Anyway, thanks for this tidbit - I was always disappointed that Nalia didn't have more to say about seeing her father lying dead. In fact, in my experience, she doesn't even say anything about it being her father - you just surmise it on your own from looking at him.
If you are a thief with an 18 CHR and talk to the nobles on the first floor of the Candlekeep in, you can get them to lock all of their valuables in the star sapphire chest.
I recently played as an 18 char thief and didn't come across this - what dialogue options was I supposed to use?
No doubt everyone knows this already, but before the fight with TorGal in Nalia's Keep, if you send Nalia up front to talk first, you get special dialogue between her and the troll. I never heard it before because my character's usually the one in front...but it was pretty awesome to see Nalia shine with anger and fury!
I wish people would stop prefacing their posts by saying "everyone knows this already," because it usually turns out that I DON'T know it already and end up feeling stupid afterward. ;-)
Anyway, thanks for this tidbit - I was always disappointed that Nalia didn't have more to say about seeing her father lying dead. In fact, in my experience, she doesn't even say anything about it being her father - you just surmise it on your own from looking at him.
Haha, I actually say it first because I'm the one feeling like the dummy! It sounds like something I heard about why kids give in to peer pressure: "Kids hear all the time that everyone's doing it, and they feel like they have to do it too, but in reality nobody is actually doing it; it's just that everyone thinks everyone is doing it!" Only in this case, it's not that everyone already knows these things; it's that everyone thinks everyone else already knows them. Weird, huh?
Kivan often tells Alora, quite rudely, to shut up.
While we're on the subject, Quayle and Alora don't get along either, a fact that often gets overlooked when BG1 intra-party rivalries are discussed. Quayle will often make nasty remarks to Alora, who will respond with something along the lines of, "Why are you doing this to me? I'm nice to you!"
Only recently I decided to explore the Aran Linvail's dungeon to find all the training sessions with trainees. Oh, I also found another exit from the Guild, which leads far to the east side of Docks District, inside a stone cliff
At least two of the inmates you meet in Spellhold Asylum are old acquaintances from Baldur's Gate: Tiax (He rules!) is a joinable NPC you can meet outside the Flaming Fist's headquarters and Dradeel (who can still hear the wolves' howling) is the mage you help on Balduran's Island.
Another of the inmates, Aphril, can see through planes. If you speak to her, she may tell you that she sees a scarred man speaking to a tower of skulls (a reference to Planescape: Torment: The Nameless One speaking to the Pillar of Skulls in Baator), or she sees a constantly changing city ruled by the Lady of Pain (the city of Sigil, another reference to Planescape: Torment).
The reference to Alatos reminds me of another later encounter who is foreshadowed in the wilderness.
You may have encountered a guy called The Surgeon who will heal the party, somewhere on the western areas of the realm. He has made it his mission to go around healing people because he had a chance to kill his brother, didn't, and the latter went on to become a mass murdering psychopath. His brother's name...Daveorn, whom you will kill at the bottom of the Cloakwood Mines.
Silence's inn in Baldur's Gate charges you to stay the night if you've got a good reaction, and won't let you stay at all if you have a really bad one. In chapter 5 only. By chapter 7, she isn't charging anyone.
Most people may recognise Carbos and Shank in the Athkatla Bridge District fighting over a lady named Bubbles. She will leave the survivor of their fight in disgust. Apologies if this has been posted before in this thread, it might have been.
Speaking of doing the Bridge District Murders, I used to think that reporting all the evidence to the Lieutenant just gets him killed, thus preventing him giving you his reward afterwards. It does get him killed, but you can find his body in the chimney stack and take it to Inspector Brega in the Council of Six building in the Government District, and he gives you exactly the same reward for your efforts.
If you are a thief with an 18 CHR and talk to the nobles on the first floor of the Candlekeep in, you can get them to lock all of their valuables in the star sapphire chest.
I recently played as an 18 char thief and didn't come across this - what dialogue options was I supposed to use?
There are at least two places in the game where you can use the spell Heal to cure someone of their insanity. The first one is one of the guy named Raevilin Strathi that comes out of that one gem of imprisonment in the underdark caves. If you cast heal on him you get some experience and his sword (Albruin +1) The second one is Yakman in watchers keep. If you cast heal on him you get some experience.
You can take the stairs up in Mekrath's lair and you come out on a balcony in the bridge district - you can't leave it though so you have to exit via sewers nevertheless.
There are at least two places in the game where you can use the spell Heal to cure someone of their insanity. The first one is one of the guy named Raevilin Strathi that comes out of that one gem of imprisonment in the underdark caves. If you cast heal on him you get some experience and his sword (Albruin +1) The second one is Yakman in watchers keep. If you cast heal on him you get some experience.
Though in the former case it really isn't worth it, as you get more experience, and the sword anyway, for just killing him. Definitely worth it in the latter case as there's no benefit to leaving Yakman as he is.
And also speaking of DAO. Leliana has a hairstyle similar to Imoen and almost in color too. She is a Rogue also. And her specialization is Bard, which gives her some magical abilities, I think.
Dao are supposed to be genies that are native to the plane of earth. Maybe that is why they are the only genies in the game that cast Flesh to Stone... One of them makes mention of "Janni" which is yet another type of genie. Janni are the weakest of genies and are comprised of all 4 elements.
Did you know that an NPC in Baldur's Gate, Lord Foreshadow, basically told you about Neverwinter Nights?
In the same vein, you also meet someone named Pallonia in the lighthouse area (where you also meet Safana) who refers to "a city where it is never winter," and also "events unfolding in Athkatla that will make the current troubles pale by comparison," and that these events "will unfold regardless of what the outcome is here." This is a reference to NWN and BG2 respectively, and the fact that both of these will be made and released no matter what.
Imoen wasn't originally going to be in the series.
"Originally Imoen did not exist in Baldur's Gate. Her character was a late addition to fill a non-psychotic-thief gap in the early levels. There was no recording budget left, so her lines were scraped together from voice-over left from a scrapped demo. The original character was a guard named Pique"
...That makes me feel like Imoen was going to be an aborted child yet the parents (developers) decided to keep her and she grew to be quite popular.
Some don't like Imoen but I personally like her personality which isn't too annoying (Skie, Nalia) and she's badass in her own cute way. "...O-o-ohh, I'll show you a fight!"
I loved her when she was a carefree, fun-loving klepto in BG1, but I hate how they turned her into a sullen mage with mediocre thieving skills for BG2.
In my current BG1 playthrough, she actually has one of the higher kill-counts in my party, as well as the highest HP total.
Comments
Ajantis in the first game tells you that he is a squire to one Keldorn Firecam; Keldorn will recognise him when you kill him in the second game. Anomen was also a squire at around the same time and also knew Ajantis, but his own dialogue from when you kill him was cut. Unfinished Business restores that, however.
Since most players won't bother starting BG1 with 18 Charisma, they won't know that Fuller gives you a +1 dagger as a reward for bringing him those crossbow bolts if you have it.
Remember the introduction video with Sarevok killing a man atop a tall building? That would be the Iron Throne headquarters in the city, and it's possible to get onto the roof, thus visiting the scene (though nothing comes of it).
If you want free easy experience, go to Shoal the Nereid in AR3100, the area one north of the Lighthouse. This isn't possible for solo players since she'll kill someone but then resurrect them, after which you can save her from an Ogre Mage. Do all this, but before she gets out of sight, kill her - 5000 XP! Heck of a lot for something that's doable very early.
and btw. the Fuller's questreward is based on reaction, a mix of reputation and charisma
depending on your Alignment, you start with a greater rep ie. a lower charisma may suffice (or the friend spell, for mages )
A
"The dagger... of he who murdered me... the dagger of Alatos..."
Most probably don't ever make this connection, but Alatos is someone you actually meet later in the game. He is Alatos "Ravenscar" Thuibuld, the head of the shadow thieves in the city of Baldur's Gate.
More fun stuff about inns:
On the second floor of the Crooked Crane Inn (City Gate District in Athkatla) you meet two young lovers, Tiiro and Aulava, about to split up because their families don't like them being together. You can act like a good guy and convince them that love is all that matters.
The Unfinished Business mod restores the full story: When you return at a later time, the nobleman below who told you about them in the first place will yell at you for making them stay together. Turns out they have a really bad influence on each other and have committed several burglaries, arson, and even murder. So for being a romantic fool you end up losing a reputation point. If you go upstairs, you will meet Tiiro and Aulava again and they are most grateful to you. Yeah right - no matter what conversation options you choose, you end up having to fight them. ;-)
One of the sailors in the Vulgar Monkey in Brynnlaw will tell you how he and his mates used to sail to and from Baldur's Gate before someone named [CHARNAME] killed Sarevok, ruining their "business", causing them to become pirates. :-)
If you are a thief with an 18 CHR and talk to the nobles on the first floor of the Candlekeep in, you can get them to lock all of their valuables in the star sapphire chest.
Or you can charm them as a mage for a measly 50 gp.
Charming the Reader in the Infirmary, he will tell you he is working on a novel about Drizzt
At night in Baldur's Gate you can see people sleeping on the park benches!
There's a Storehouse in the fortress on the Cloakwood Mines map (door isn't visible). There's a Guard inside smoking "Black Lotus"
On the Xvart Village map, Nexlit the Xvart tells you Ursa the Cave Bear will protect them. But the first thing Ursa does is attack Nexlit himself! Easy to see if you use an invisibility potion as soon as Ursa appears.
The cook in the Candlekeep Library is called Martha, a pretty clear Martha Stewart reference.
The priests are pretty strange in Baldur's Gate. The priest of Gond has a very funny soundbite where he says that "my friend Oppenheimer's got some cooool invention cooked up". Oppenheimer was also the one who said the Xzar quote "I have become death, destroyer of worlds". Another Priest in the Candlekeep Library is doing the hokey pokey...
Kivan often tells Alora, quite rudely, to shut up.
The North gate out of Baldur's Gate is in the North West Section of the city, but can only be accessed from a specific point in the Ducal Palace area of BG (top left of screen). The gate is closed but there's a friendly Flaming Fist Mercenary there who say's he hasn't seen anyone for a long time.
It's possible to blackmail Lady Areana at the Three Old Kegs inn after killing Cydremac for her - but after a couple of payments (or after getting back from Candlekeep, I'm not sure) there'll be a dumb guy called Tor Lobo there hired to kill you.
It only just came to me, but the weird ghoul in Durlag's Tower - Grael - got to be that way by being struck by AecLetec's Death Gaze. The same thing can happen to you when you face the demon.
If you meet Karoug on Balduran's Island before talking to Kaishas, you can ask to join up with him instead, and he considers it. However, his condition is that you kill all of Kaishas' people first, which Charname rejects on the principle that it's unfeasible to kill an entire island.
Anyway, thanks for this tidbit - I was always disappointed that Nalia didn't have more to say about seeing her father lying dead. In fact, in my experience, she doesn't even say anything about it being her father - you just surmise it on your own from looking at him.
At any rate, I'm glad I was able to help!
At least two of the inmates you meet in Spellhold Asylum are old acquaintances from Baldur's Gate: Tiax (He rules!) is a joinable NPC you can meet outside the Flaming Fist's headquarters and Dradeel (who can still hear the wolves' howling) is the mage you help on Balduran's Island.
Another of the inmates, Aphril, can see through planes. If you speak to her, she may tell you that she sees a scarred man speaking to a tower of skulls (a reference to Planescape: Torment: The Nameless One speaking to the Pillar of Skulls in Baator), or she sees a constantly changing city ruled by the Lady of Pain (the city of Sigil, another reference to Planescape: Torment).
You may have encountered a guy called The Surgeon who will heal the party, somewhere on the western areas of the realm. He has made it his mission to go around healing people because he had a chance to kill his brother, didn't, and the latter went on to become a mass murdering psychopath. His brother's name...Daveorn, whom you will kill at the bottom of the Cloakwood Mines.
Silence's inn in Baldur's Gate charges you to stay the night if you've got a good reaction, and won't let you stay at all if you have a really bad one. In chapter 5 only. By chapter 7, she isn't charging anyone.
Most people may recognise Carbos and Shank in the Athkatla Bridge District fighting over a lady named Bubbles. She will leave the survivor of their fight in disgust. Apologies if this has been posted before in this thread, it might have been.
Speaking of doing the Bridge District Murders, I used to think that reporting all the evidence to the Lieutenant just gets him killed, thus preventing him giving you his reward afterwards. It does get him killed, but you can find his body in the chimney stack and take it to Inspector Brega in the Council of Six building in the Government District, and he gives you exactly the same reward for your efforts.
Leliana has a hairstyle similar to Imoen and almost in color too.
She is a Rogue also. And her specialization is Bard, which gives her some magical abilities, I think.
http://www.dotd.com/mm/MM00107.htm
Every time I link to that stupid manual, 1d4 hours of my life are devoured from reading it...
"My pantaloons are full of weasels. Inform the queen so that she might shoo them away. Here wego 'round the mulberry bush. Go monkey Go!"
Is the translation of the memo Wanev gives you in Spellhold.
In my current BG1 playthrough, she actually has one of the higher kill-counts in my party, as well as the highest HP total.