The cause of my restartitis...

Vakarian

I have a problem...not sure how unique it is.

I've never been able to finish SoA.

Not because it got too difficult or anything, but I would just get to a point where I would decide that I'd rather try doing it differently. Some characters would make it further than others, but my longest run has only made it to the underdark so far.

Note that I definitely do not have similar issues with BG1. While a couple of runs have petered out in the middle, if I make it to the Friendly Arm Inn, I will typically finish the game with that character.

So, what's the deal? Do I just prefer low-level play? (sort of) Do I like the BG1 characters better? (not really) Do I find the BG1 story more compelling? (nope) I think it's because SoA pits two of my (strongly held) gaming philosophies against each other in what I fear may be an unresolvable conflict.

First, I like to have a certain degree of roleplaying with my characters. I want to have a good sense of what this character would think when presented by the various scenarios in the game. The better I formulate the concept for the character, the more I usually enjoy playing him/her. As part of this, I cannot play evil characters. Good/Neutral, Lawful/Chaotic - I can wrap my head around any of these and have fun playing the character. Playing evil characters just makes me feel like crap.

Second, I have strong completionist tendencies. I like to explore the various areas to (at least near) completion and see as much as I can of what the game has to offer. (In combination with my roleplaying, this tendency leads me to play characters like thieves, bards, or rangers more often than not.)

So, while these two traits mesh nearly perfectly in BG1 (you're on the run from who knows what, might as well get yourself lost in the woods for a while to throw off your pursuers while you gather your strength and gradually make the connections between your attackers and the problems plaguing the Sword Coast), they are at odds in SoA. This is entirely because of how one character is treated: Imoen.

The problem is that playing as a Good/Neutral aligned character, I cannot envision CHARNAME not caring deeply for their little sister (even before they find out, I always see CHARNAME thinking of her that way.) As such, CHARNAME would not sit around sidequesting in CH2/3 endlessly before going to her rescue. Might not leave immediately after collecting the necessary gold (need to gear up at least a bit before going to face Irenicus), but I can't fathom spending more than a month in game before heading to Spellhold. Which means that I can only finish around half of the major quests in CH2 before I leave, maybe a bit more if I limit my travel outside Athkatla. Compare that with BG1, where I can happily spend 6 months criss-crossing the countryside before heading to Baldur's Gate if I want, no big deal. (Hey, that note Gorion had on him did say that it was more difficult to hit a moving target...)

And after CHARNAME and Imoen have their souls taken, I can't imagine the party doing anything but chasing down Irenicus and Bohdi. If it was just CHARNAME, I could see doing a few sidequests as he/she learns to deal with the situation. But with Imoen portrayed as rapidly getting weaker, CHARNAME would see no choice but to track those bastards down as quickly as possible.

Which, of course, brings me into conflict with my completionist tendencies. While I completely recognize that Imoen is being used a plot device to provide a sense of urgency that is (mechanically) non-existent in the game, I can't help but roleplay my character's reaction to the situation. And since this provides a completely unsatisfactory feeling (as I realize how much I've missed out on by skipping all of those other quests, with their captivating little sub-plots, lovely XP, and kick-ass gear), my motivation to continue the game wanes, despite my anger towards Irenicus. And if I try to just forget about Imoen and complete more of the CH2 quests before going to Spellhold, my motivation to continue wanes as well, since I can only put off advancing the plot for so long before losing all sense for my character. But despite how Imoen is used (or misused as the case may be), I can't bring myself (or my CHARNAMEs) to dislike her.

So, is there any hope for me? Any of you roleplayers out there have any tips I can use, any ways of framing the situation that might help me keep my motivation in the face of this seemingly unsolvable conundrum?

Or should I just wait for IWD:EE to be released...

CaloNord

Well, I have a couple of tips, I restart A LOT. I have finished the games dozens of times over the years but I'm veryyyy very picky about how and what character I will do it with.

For me, it starts with a great portrait. I need to find something that interests me and will usually give me an idea about what class it should be. So naturally I'm drawn to pictures that look like Bards/Mages/Sorcerers/Rogues. Because those are my favorite type of characters I feel most comfortable with.

I've done a play through with a Cleric of Tyr, because I found a wonderful portrait and loved the concept of the kit. Also done about 5 hours of a Cleric/Ranger. But traditionally, Bards and Mages are my thing.

After that, I need to have a back story. Each of my characters has a complete story behind them. I roleplay my characters fairly seriously so understanding WHERE they came from and the things they have experienced helps me decide how they would respond to the situations the game will put them in. Each of my characters is designed to be a little different, I don't really like doing the same thing exactly the same each time. Having a decent back story helps me A LOT with sticking with a character.

The final thing I need is having the party I want and feeling like it gels like it should. I generally don't deviate much in party composition because I usually always play Chaotic good, or neutral characters. The game doesn't really give you any reason or way to play evil except as a rampaging homicidal maniac. Which is not really my thing at all. Ultimately, I just can't play evil characters. I'm not an evil person and I get no delight from being mean or evil. Not even to pixel people.

But yea, even after all of that it's not guaranteed I'll keep the character. Sometimes it just doesn't work for me. It isn't fun, or something is off. That is just how I role play.

Probably not AT ALL helpful, but hopefully it was an insight into how someone else with exactly the same issue works. :P

Shin

For the main dilemma of being in character and attempting to rescue Imoen as fast as possible (as it was once called, the save sister objective) vs the completionist perspective of doing all the content before advancing/completing the story; I have one simple tip that works for me, and that is to mentally roleplay that finding Imoen's location and bringing about a rescue attempt takes exactly as much time as you need it to take.

This can be assisted by mods like Sword Coast Stratagems that allows you to alter the amount of gold asked by the two factions to help you out. If you need to gather 100k gold for Gaelan Bayle instead of 20k, you are literally forced to do much more side questing and exploration before you can take him up on his offer. But even if you'd rather not limit your wealth in such a way, you can still come up with semi-likely scenarios in your head. Maybe the investigation of the ongoing guild war (that has to be settled before any side can commit to helping you out) brings you deep beneath Athkatla's temple area or sends you off to the Windspear hills, and so on.
Also, given all the changes Irenicus manages to bring about at the location to which you're eventually headed, it isn't really a stretch of the imagination that he's had a couple of months to work with before you arrive.

JLee

I often run out of steam on various playthroughs. Often the reason is due to two factors: a charname that isn't quite right or the party mix isn't working the way I want it to. Like @CaloNord‌ I begin with the portrait. A good portrait is a great start to a character. I don't always have a fully fleshed out background in mind, but I do have an impression of charname's general worldview. This helps drive the character forward and connects you to him/her.

Try playing a morally ambiguous character and force yourself to make different decisions. Maybe you feel overwhelmed and want to immerse yourself in smaller, more controllable conflicts than the enormity of your overall situation.

Maybe you feel Imoen is safer where she is until you feel powerful enough to confront Irenicus.

After Spellhold, perhaps you want to tie up loose ends before the final confrontation.

Maybe your ordeal in Spellhold forces you to take some time to recover strength before the final confrontation, lick your wounds so to speak.

I find @Shin‌ has a great resolution that I never thought of before. That really makes sense!

Gallowglass

I see your difficulty, @Vakarian‌, and I've often felt the same conflict between urgency and completionism. I think it's entirely intentional by the original writers that you should feel this (although obviously not intentional that you should therefore give up on the game!)

My usual role-playing solution, FWIW, is that my protagonist has witnessed that Irenicus is very powerful, and therefore s/he thinks "When I go after Imoen, I'll probably have to face either Irenicus, or someone even stronger who has managed to keep Irenicus captive. If I confront someone so strong too soon, I'll just fail and die, which won't help Imoen at all. Therefore I must get more experience and better equipment before I stand any chance of success". This actually follows from a banter between Minsc and Jaheira, immediately after Irenicus and Imoen have been taken by the Cowled Wizards: Minsc wants to give chase immediately, but Jaheira advises caution and preparation; my protagonist agrees that Jaheira's plan is wiser.

I generally find that by the time I've earned enough money to finish equipping myself in a way which looks as if it might be adequate for the dangerous task ahead, I've done more than half of the side-quests (occasionally almost all of them) and gained quite a lot of experience in the process. So then my protagonist thinks "I'm as ready as I'm going to be. Time to get on with it!"

Vakarian

Thanks for the suggestions. I don't think it's a problem with the characters/party mix I've been using. I've had a few CHARNAMES that I've really enjoyed that just ran out of steam when I really started to feel the urgency/completionist conflict. (When you can come up with the 15-20k in gold with only a couple of days of questing in Athkatla, it just stretched the bounds of my imagination a bit too far to spend sooo much extra time doing sidequests before going to rescue Imoen.)

I think a combination of the ideas from @Shin and @Gallowglass could help. I think I need to keep in mind that CHARNAME has just been horribly traumatized by not only his torture at the hands of Irenicus, but by just how powerless he was to do anything about it. And by adding a greatly increased fee for the shadow thieves help, (thanks @Shin for the tip that this is possible with SCS! I'll have to look at installing it for my next run) this provides both indirect (need to get MUCH stronger) and direct (need lots more gold) motivation to complete more quests in CH2 before moving on.

That just might do the trick...

DJKajuru

Whenever I create a character that looks "legit" , I mean, one that I would write about , that has flaws and a cool personality , and less emphasis on power , it gives me the boost to go all the way with him.