New to Bauldur's Gate - Asking for Recommendations
bordo
Member Posts: 16
Hi,
I bought 10 of these games in a recent GOG.com sale and realized that I had played Baldur's Gate 2 on the Xbox (actually it was Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance) and one or two of the titles on the PC (although without completion). I do recall one on the PC with an intro that involved the opening of some "gate/portal" at the beginning intro. In my teens I do recall fumbling around with TSR/SSI games like Bard's Tale, Pool of Radiance and Azure Bonds something...
Anyway, I'm here now and have Baldur's Gate installed on THIS PC and my wifes. It was the vanilla BG1 installation and I've accomplished some things, but have questions about others before I really get into playing the game "for real".
What I've done so far (pretty much in the order stated):
-Installed the vanilla game as available from GOG.com on this PC and my wife's
-Had dabbled around the first area and basic character creation
-Dabbled in "better" character creation for my wife and I planning for us both to play together
-Had established that playing the game multiplayer on my LAN was possible (as I tested it)
-Had watched a YouTube video of the Candlekeep area being done (they were playing BG:AE) as well as adventuring up to the Friendly arms (I stopped it so as to not spoil too much)
-Printed out the 2 Baldur's Gate maps (1 was the Sword Coast map) at 100% and cut/glued it together
-Decided to read the entire BG manual front-to-back
Where I've come from:
-I play RPGs quite often having had experience with pen-and-paper (AD&D:2E) since my teenage years in the early 80s (my wife knew of this but had never played)
-I enjoy games with lore, legend and history like Oblivion/Skyrim and I especially like upgrading character's stats and equipment (my wife has watched me play these games and she thoroughly enjoys watching me play them)
-I grew up a bit of a computer geek with VIC-20s, C-64s, AppleIIE/gs & MacIntoshes. I took a break with other pursuits while the IBMs came on the scene but came back in the mid 90s (mostly with Sierra City Building Games, SIm City, etc.)
My questions:
-Having seen gameplay of BG:AE and having a basis to compare it to my dabbling in BG (original) (I like to dabble in a game before getting serious (hunkering down to read the manual, etc.) with it), I noticed that you could hit "TAB" to reveal all objects that you could interact with, but in the original you can't, but then I hear about mods...What is a good mod thread where I can get some recommendations as to the basics and what mods make the game most enjoyable?
-I plan on playing BG more than once as my first play-through is going to be with a lawful good warrior with long sword and bow (double point specializations). I also may have a friend in another state playing with us. I see that the original only has 6 party spots and I gather that if I were to play the game alone, those spots would be filled with the canon characters that are with you to the end. My worry is that perhaps I will miss out on "canon and lore" by jumping into the game with two other human players, but not knowing HOW MANY canon characters there are (I am aware of 3 joining you party by the time you leave Friendly Arms) AND what overall deletion of world canon or story this will bypass. Is it recommended that I run through the game single player first?
-Having read the manual in .pdf format and as the history and lore are concerned, I was thinking how much easier all that info would be to swallow if there was a video or powerpoint type presentation that broke it down visually. I'm not so worried about myself as I got the general jist, but in presenting the game to my wife so that she has a good grasp in regards to the world we are in. I have searched for an easier to digest version of the Baldur's Gate world introduction, but have failed to find one leading me to want to create one if not to solidify and make the world more real to the human players in my party...Any suggestions?
-I want to get the most enjoyment possible out of playing these 10 games that I recently bought, not to get my money's worth because the cost was quite cheap, rather to get the most out of these deep and rich adventures. I did notice that when I dabbled in the game prior watching a YouTube video of the very beginning of BG:AE, I seemed to have caught all the quests although I didn't search every container outside of buildings as I missed them not having the "TAB" key to reveal them.
Thanks in advance for any friendly help, advice, suggestions, etc.
-BORDO
(Antony Bordoli)
I bought 10 of these games in a recent GOG.com sale and realized that I had played Baldur's Gate 2 on the Xbox (actually it was Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance) and one or two of the titles on the PC (although without completion). I do recall one on the PC with an intro that involved the opening of some "gate/portal" at the beginning intro. In my teens I do recall fumbling around with TSR/SSI games like Bard's Tale, Pool of Radiance and Azure Bonds something...
Anyway, I'm here now and have Baldur's Gate installed on THIS PC and my wifes. It was the vanilla BG1 installation and I've accomplished some things, but have questions about others before I really get into playing the game "for real".
What I've done so far (pretty much in the order stated):
-Installed the vanilla game as available from GOG.com on this PC and my wife's
-Had dabbled around the first area and basic character creation
-Dabbled in "better" character creation for my wife and I planning for us both to play together
-Had established that playing the game multiplayer on my LAN was possible (as I tested it)
-Had watched a YouTube video of the Candlekeep area being done (they were playing BG:AE) as well as adventuring up to the Friendly arms (I stopped it so as to not spoil too much)
-Printed out the 2 Baldur's Gate maps (1 was the Sword Coast map) at 100% and cut/glued it together
-Decided to read the entire BG manual front-to-back
Where I've come from:
-I play RPGs quite often having had experience with pen-and-paper (AD&D:2E) since my teenage years in the early 80s (my wife knew of this but had never played)
-I enjoy games with lore, legend and history like Oblivion/Skyrim and I especially like upgrading character's stats and equipment (my wife has watched me play these games and she thoroughly enjoys watching me play them)
-I grew up a bit of a computer geek with VIC-20s, C-64s, AppleIIE/gs & MacIntoshes. I took a break with other pursuits while the IBMs came on the scene but came back in the mid 90s (mostly with Sierra City Building Games, SIm City, etc.)
My questions:
-Having seen gameplay of BG:AE and having a basis to compare it to my dabbling in BG (original) (I like to dabble in a game before getting serious (hunkering down to read the manual, etc.) with it), I noticed that you could hit "TAB" to reveal all objects that you could interact with, but in the original you can't, but then I hear about mods...What is a good mod thread where I can get some recommendations as to the basics and what mods make the game most enjoyable?
-I plan on playing BG more than once as my first play-through is going to be with a lawful good warrior with long sword and bow (double point specializations). I also may have a friend in another state playing with us. I see that the original only has 6 party spots and I gather that if I were to play the game alone, those spots would be filled with the canon characters that are with you to the end. My worry is that perhaps I will miss out on "canon and lore" by jumping into the game with two other human players, but not knowing HOW MANY canon characters there are (I am aware of 3 joining you party by the time you leave Friendly Arms) AND what overall deletion of world canon or story this will bypass. Is it recommended that I run through the game single player first?
-Having read the manual in .pdf format and as the history and lore are concerned, I was thinking how much easier all that info would be to swallow if there was a video or powerpoint type presentation that broke it down visually. I'm not so worried about myself as I got the general jist, but in presenting the game to my wife so that she has a good grasp in regards to the world we are in. I have searched for an easier to digest version of the Baldur's Gate world introduction, but have failed to find one leading me to want to create one if not to solidify and make the world more real to the human players in my party...Any suggestions?
-I want to get the most enjoyment possible out of playing these 10 games that I recently bought, not to get my money's worth because the cost was quite cheap, rather to get the most out of these deep and rich adventures. I did notice that when I dabbled in the game prior watching a YouTube video of the very beginning of BG:AE, I seemed to have caught all the quests although I didn't search every container outside of buildings as I missed them not having the "TAB" key to reveal them.
Thanks in advance for any friendly help, advice, suggestions, etc.
-BORDO
(Antony Bordoli)
Post edited by bordo on
2
Comments
-I figured after a few character creations that you weren't stuck with a certain TOTAL amount of points allocated between the 6 stats, rather you could reroll for a better total
-So as a measure of what I had (like a rubric), I'd give it a number of points leftover after say all 6 stats were at "10"
-So I noticed that I was mainly getting surpluses in the teens and the occasional one in the 20s (lots of 22's were coming up)
-Once I got something in the 20s I'd STORE it and remember what was my best total surplus
-When I rolled my wife's warrior character I had gotten a 26 surplus but rerolled forgetting to store it. I managed to recover her a 27 surplus and thought not to look a gift-horse in the mouth
-I went over to my PC and rolled myself a 30 surplus in rather short time and stopped there
So as far as point allocation went for our warriors:
-Strength: 18
-Dexterity: 18
-Constitution: 18
-Wisdom: (whatever was left split rather equally)0
-Intelligence: (whatever was left split rather equally)
-Charisma: 18
Is this what most people do with say a vanilla warrior?
Original Table of Contents Section from the Manual
Manual 2 – Volo’s Guide to Baldur’s Gate
Part I: Background.................................................................37
....Overview of the Realms.....................................................37
.......The Sword Coast............................................................37
.......Candlekeep.....................................................................40
.......Baldur’s Gate ..................................................................42
.......Beregost .........................................................................47
.......The Friendly Arm Inn......................................................49
Power Groups....................................................................51
Major Characters ................................................................56
Monsters ............................................................................61
Time ..................................................................................67
Overview of the Realms
Where are we?:
....picture showing
....Solar systems within the D&D-verse (or Phlogiston) are encapsulate within crystal spheres
....Crystal Spheres are typically connect by rivers (or flows)
...."The Inner Prime" consisting of 12 independent crystal spheres (4 inner and 8 outer)
....The solar system we are in, Realmspace, contains eight worlds (or orbs) orbiting a central sun
....the above is only one in a myriad of alternate dimension
....this star system is called "Realmspace" on the "Prime Material Plane" (which we would call the "known universe" though there are other planes and dimensions beyond it (presumably including Earth and other worlds)
....unlike Earth's solar system, most of the planets in "Realmspace" are inhabited
Which world/orb are we on?
....picture showing the 3rd World called Abeir-Toril (Ah-BEER Tor-RILL) which is an Earth-sized planet with continents
....Abeir-Toril is translated to mean "cradle of life", but Toril is used in everyday speech
....this planet, Toril, has many continents, most of which are know as the "Forgotten Realms"
Which continent are we on?
....picture showing the continent Faerun (Fay-ROON) which is a large continent in the northern hemisphere
What type of realm is Faerun?
....Picture showing it is a land of magic and adventure
....home of elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings and human.
Where are we on this continent?
....picture showing Faerun in the west, Kara-Tur in the east and Zakhara in the south
....specifically the region between the Sea of Swords and the Inner Sea and the area around the city known as Baldur's Gate
....primary area of adventure being along the Sword Coast and a bit inland
What is the geography of The Sword Coast?
....picture showing the "Map of the Sword Coast" on page 39 (or the more detailed one given with the game)
....highlighting the area bound between...
........Waterdeep, a huge city far north of Baldur's Gate
........bustling Amn to the south
........the Sea of Swords to the West
........the Woods of Sharp teeth to the East
........the interior area thought of as the "Empty Lands"
What are the Empty Lands?
....picture showing a map of that area
....a vast stretch of wilderness folk venture into only to get from one place to another
....moors littered with the ruins of failed dreams - abandoned villages, empty towers and dungeons - as well as the occasional town, city or keep
....Major areas with sights and lodgings are Baulder's Gate, Beregost, Nashkell, the Friendly Arm Inn, and Candlekeep
What information is available about the Empty Lands?
....picture depicting the following
....Leagues upon leagues of lawless waste, home to pirates and outlaws who pray on those who must go north or south while depending on the Sea of Swords as their guide, keeping it in sight so as not to lose their way
....Legends abound of grisly fates that befell unfortunate travelers at the hands of the orcs, trolls, hobgoblin (and worse!) said to infest the area in veritable armies
....In recent times the caravans have begun to see a new menace - raiding parties of humanoids who plunder mainly the miners in the Cloud Peak mountains north of Amn
....Thanks to both human and bestial predators, the trip has always been dangerous - hence the name Sword Coast
....Down through the ages, many folk have dreamed of founding a kingdom in this verdant valley hidden in the moors
....Those not travelling with a caravan in the Sword Coast are warned to hire escorts of armed, trustworthy adventurers
What information is available about the Sword Coast?
....picture depicting the following
....Home to one of the two largest and most powerful cities in the region, Baldur's Gate (the other, far inland, is Iraebor)
....From its gate south to Amn, the Coast on either side of the Coast Way road is pleasant, verdant farmland
....North of the river Chionthar as far as the Way Inn, the land is more sparsely inhabited and more dangerous, but it serves as a hunting range for those who must kill wild game to eat and as homestead for lonely pioneer farmer
....Travellers are warned that lawlessness is swifty dealt with by ready, veteran patrols in the lands held by the nobles around Bauldur's Gate
....Throughout the rest of the coast, the traveler's best protection is a ready blade and friendly magic close at hand
What hominids & creatures lurk around the Sword Coast?
....picture depicting the following
....orcs, trolls, hobgoblins, brigands, dopplegangers, and kobolds are an ever-present danger
....Many brigands stay in roving encampments, living off stolen livestock
....From such bases they raid travelers, warehouses, and weak settlements at will, particularly at night or in bad weather
....Game is plentiful for travelers throughout this region
What's to know about Candlekeep, our starting location?
....picture depicting the following
....T
What's to know about The Friendly Arm Inn?
....picture depicting the following
....T
What's to know about Nashkel?
....picture depicting the following
....T
What's to know about Beregost?
....picture depicting the following
....T
What's to know about Gullykin?
....picture depicting the following
....T
What's to know about Baldur's Gate?
....picture depicting the following
....T
What are the Factions (Power Groups) on the Sword Coast?
....picture depicting the following
....T
Who are the major characters of the Sword Coast?
....picture depicting the following
....T
Tell me more about some of the monsters on the Sword Coast?
....picture depicting the following
....T
How does time work in The Realms?
....picture depicting the following
....T
You appear to be approaching the game in the right way, in terms of learning as much as you can before you begin, and avoiding spoilers, which would be a shame for such an epic game. I shall try to answer your questions as best as I can...
1) BG 1 Vanilla is quite different to BG: EE. I got into the game last June and tried Vanilla first before switching to EE, and I honestly can't imagine going back to Vanilla anymore. There's a few reasons that come to mind immediately:
- Lack of Tab key as you noticed. If you make your first playthrough playing blind (which I strongly recommend), then you will miss some things that you might have found otherwise.
- Inferior graphics and lack of the zoom option.
- Cannot pause in inventory mode. (So monsters will attack and kill you whilst you are trying to find stuff).
- No containers (scroll case, potion case), which makes inventory management really tedious.
You can fix some of those issues with mods, but I'm not experienced with mods and I'm not the person to advice you on it if you go down that path.
For a first time player, I strongly recommend you to just buy BG:EE, which is not that expensive and is pretty much designed for new players like you in mind, without having to worry about the mods.
Not-spoiler:
I'm just a forum mod, I don't work for Beamdog, so I am just passing on my genuine experience from my relatively recent induction into this game and community.
BG 2 Vanilla is a lot more 'playable' compared to BG 1 Vanilla, and I have completed a full saga playthrough with BG 2 Vanilla as downloaded from GoG. So if you don't want to buy BG 2:EE, you can just import your BG: EE endgame save file into BG 2 Vanilla, and it is perfectly compatible. (In fact that's exactly what I did for my first playthrough, which I recorded as an LP, but I won't link cos it contains spoilers).
2)
I would recommend that you make a first playthrough in singleplayer mode. This game is (in my opinion) not very well designed for multiplayer, and it would be better if you learn everything by yourself first. I have been playing MP with a group of reasonably experienced players, and we perform much worse as a team controlling one character each than we would individually controlling a full party in single player. (It is much harder to coordinate actions.
Furthermore, there are 5 canon characters in BG 1.
Find out who they are if you want...
Imoen, Jaheira, Khalid, Minsc and Dynaheir
... though it is not essential that you use them in BG 1, as the beginning of BG 2 is not affected by your actions in BG 1, though the events will be more significant if you used the canon party.
In BG 1 the characters are mostly fairly silent and don't have much interactions, but in BG 2 all the NPCs have lots of interactions and most have associated quests, and the 'character' of BG 2 characters is part of the enduring appeal of these games, so it would be a shame if you missed out on them in a first playthrough by having multiple PC custom characters.
3) For your character stats, your warriors are very much powergaming optimal, which is fine. Though personally I prefer more 'realistic' characters with real strengths and weaknesses like the NPC companions that you can recruit. The game is not so difficult that you need optimised characters to win.
For example my party for the Black Pits: (Don't worry about spoilers, this is extra content for BG:EE that is separate to the main game)
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/30229/the-tales-of-sima-jin-black-pits-blind-let-s-play
Edit:
4) Oh yeah, I made a beginner's guide. Just encase you find it useful, I shall link it here.
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/29852/baldur-s-gate-video-tutorials
Question: Other than Steam, what is the recommended place to buy BG:AE?
Beamdog users also get patches a bit faster when they are released and can participate in beta-testing. BG2:EE was cheaper via Beamdog for me when I bought it, partly due to currency exchange issues, but I don't know if that's true of BG:EE.
http://www.beamdog.com/products/baldurs-gate-enhanced-edition
Edit:
Oh I forgot to mention in my initial wall of text... If you intend to play multiplayer with BG, then I think Enhanced Edition makes it a lot easier. I can't compare from personal experience, as I've only played MP with BG:EE, but I've seen some people who have modded their Vanilla games to their heart's content saying that they bought EE for MP purposes.
EDIT: I tweeted @beamdoginc for a coupon explaining that I just bought a regular version of Baulder's Gate that is going to go unused. Cross my fingers. BTW, it's not that I don't have the money to throw around, it's more the principle that I'm double-buying basically the same product. Naturally, in lieu of a rather quick response, I'll shell out the dough anyway.
The original games were released by Bioware over 15 years ago and GoG has just repackaged them in a digital download.
The Enhanced Edition project is a completely new development by new developers.
Nonetheless, I say the Enhanced Editions are worth their price without a discount as well.
My only concern here are statements (mostly in the comments) to the effect that EE is buggy. I know that was 8 months ago. Have said alleged bugs been addressed since?
BTW, when I came to this forum I did not realize that it was (or seems) more catered to the EE crowd. Like I said in my IP, I'm just looking for the best game experience possible since my time, like everyone else', is valuable and has to be split between "gaming" and "other projects". I do realize, that EE has brought new mass appeal to what I'm most certain is an awesome game.
I am, for example, working (beta-testing, creating professional LP/Guide content) with the developer and community of a Dwarf Fortress type game called Gnomoria. As the game goes through weekly if not monthly patch updates, the games wanes within the spectrum of being playable-vs-unplayable (either due to added crippling lag or game-breaking bugs). I'm over here in the Baulder's Gate "world" mostly because I'm halted on that project until the game becomes more stable to play so as to create professional LP/Guide content).
However, BG:EE was more or less bug free even before v1.2 (I think there was an earlier patch before I bought the game last July that resolved most of the on-release problems anyway, but I'm not sure about that).
Multiplayer connectivity is still bit of a problem on Beamdog servers if you have 3+ players, but it is manageable and stable enough. I am near the end of my first BG:EE MP game with 5 players right now.
So it seems that to have access to as many quest lines, you'd need to have a character with an 18 in Charisma. Is there a way to get that higher (like choosing a Paladin) or is 18 enough (because other members in my party might grumble about the Paladin being there...lol)?
So with access to as much "stuff" it is evidently either a Dwarf or Halfling with all the thief points put into lock-picking... Are there any other options or are one of these two types of characters the only way to achieve instant access to everything at the game's beginning?
Thanks in advance for suggestions...
Secondly... if you want to experience as much 'stuff' as possible, just be aware that most of the romances in the game are for Humans, Half-Elves and Elves. This is not an issue for the first game (where only the Enhanced Edition characters have romances of sorts), but there are several BG 2 romances that have associated quests and content.
Thirdly... 18 Charisma is plenty enough, and it can be improved ingame, both temporarily (Friends spell) and permanently (Ability tomes). There are very few situations where charisma makes a difference. The most notable being shopping... but as I said, gold is not an issue by the midgame.
If you really want an extra boost, you can always edit in more gold/items with EE Keeper. For example if I wanted to start as a samurai type warrior with katana, it's rather annoying that I cannot afford to buy a katana without theft, which an honourable warrior would not commit, so I would probably just cheat in a katana to begin with. It's not wholly unreasonable given your starting circumstances.
You can find them here. Spells are found in the second link.
http://www.beamdog.com/files/bg2ee/bg2eemanual1.pdf
http://www.beamdog.com/files/bg2ee/bg2eemanual2.pdf
Just keep in mind that a few of the NPC's mentioned are enhanced edition specific (Hexxat, Neera, Dorn, and Rasaad). Otherwise beyond user interface differences stuff that is in there applies to BG2 as well (in the case of the original bg2 this is more true once you've applied the fixpatch).
As for sales for BGEE Gamersgate or Steam are probably your best bet. Beamdog has been known to have sales but not to at the same frequency (and I can think of one time when they have had sales in reaction to the sales on other websites). So provided you are fine with Steam (or Gamersgate which requires Steam) its probably going to be your best bet for finding a deal. That said if you buy from Beamdog you can gain access to the beta builds (typically this means you are playing a more polished game).
BG2EE is still pretty buggy at the moment. Unless you plan on playing one of its new kits (shadowdancer, dragon disciple, sun soul monk, dark moon monk, dwarven defender, or blackguard) I wouldn't recommend you buy it. You can transfer your character file from BGEE to BG2 and (provided it isn't one of these kits) it should be fine. You can install a fixpack ( http://www.gibberlings3.net/bg2fixpack/ ) for the original BG2 and that will make it less buggy than BG2EE is.