I'm new and have questions
unhidemymenus
Member Posts: 39
1. Two guys xzar and montaron entered my party and want to go somewhere way south. Is there a time limit on quests like this? Sometimes they complain since I haven't went there yet.
1a. The xzar guy has 4 health usually. Sometimes this changes in battle to being higher. Is he doing this himself with some spell or ability? Can I control when he does it?
2. Everywhere I go I just die. I went to beregost and they killed me outside the inn. I finally managed to kill them, then I went in the inn and another guy killed me. I try to go south to nashkel and these 3 bandit guys kill me. I went to friendly arm inn and a mage killed me. I can't seem to go anywhere successfully. Is this a sign I am going the wrong way through the game? Am i supposed to do something else to get better before doing these things? Also why are they mad I like just started the game and they mad
3. When someone dies in my party their portrait goes black. I assume I can revive them somehow. What is the early game way to do this? Is there a potion or something? If I leave the screen where they died can I come back and revive them later or will they fully die just chilling there for too long
4. Everyone walks so slow and dies so fast. Is there a way to fast travel to places you've already been? Is there a way to not die?
1a. The xzar guy has 4 health usually. Sometimes this changes in battle to being higher. Is he doing this himself with some spell or ability? Can I control when he does it?
2. Everywhere I go I just die. I went to beregost and they killed me outside the inn. I finally managed to kill them, then I went in the inn and another guy killed me. I try to go south to nashkel and these 3 bandit guys kill me. I went to friendly arm inn and a mage killed me. I can't seem to go anywhere successfully. Is this a sign I am going the wrong way through the game? Am i supposed to do something else to get better before doing these things? Also why are they mad I like just started the game and they mad
3. When someone dies in my party their portrait goes black. I assume I can revive them somehow. What is the early game way to do this? Is there a potion or something? If I leave the screen where they died can I come back and revive them later or will they fully die just chilling there for too long
4. Everyone walks so slow and dies so fast. Is there a way to fast travel to places you've already been? Is there a way to not die?
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Comments
5. I met up with a bard guy, he can sing. What does that do
6. does armor class work like golf? Why is the 800 gold armor class 3 and the leather one 7. Lower the better?
1. With some NPCs you meet who can join your party, yes, there is a quest timer, and they will get very irritable if you don't meet the time limit, and Montaron and Xzar are one of those. They will give you several prompts if you're dawdling, once you get the second verbal warning (I think) it's high time to do as they wish.
1a. Xzar is a necromancer, and as such has a spell he can use called Larloch's Minor Drain, which drains the health of enemies and temporarily bestows it upon himself. This will probably account for the fluctuating health levels you're noticing. But yes, his normal hit point base is 4 at the beginning, he is a very squishy mage.
A couple of hints. Take Imoen with you (the girl who approaches you first thing after the death of Gorion). She is very handy with a bow and is invaluable to a new player starting out. Also, take Xzar and Montaron. The more people you surround yourself at this stage, the better. And although they wish to go to Nashkel, I would advise heading north to the Friendly Arm Inn as Gorion advised and as you did once. Yes there is a VERY nasty mage there but he can be beaten, it may take a few attempts, but the first time you stand over the corpse of Tarnesh after beating him to a pulp is possibly the biggest sense of achievement you'll feel, and the beginnings of your true rise as a force to be reckoned with!
Out of interest, what class/race are you playing? Some are easier to play straight off than others, so you may wish to experiment a little. Weapon proficiencies can also play a big part, and, if you're new to 2nd edition D&D rules, there's the whole AC issue (lower is better for this game) and the joys of THAC0.
4. Heh, be grateful you never played the original BG if you think the walking speed is slow, this Enhanced version uses the updated speed which we are all thankful for. In terms of dying, you may want to have a look at the difficulty level and turn it down a notch , this will make battles easier - you can change the difficulty at any time so for particularly tough fights if you want to just get through them, this can be a useful tool. Otherwise, try different strategies - use everything you have - spells, different weapons, potions, wands. Wands can be a highly effective way to disrupt enemy spellcasters! You may be surprised at just what works, and it can be a lot of fun finding out.
In terms of fast travel, well once you've opened up a map area you can travel there again quite easily just by going to the edge of the map you're currently on. This will skip all the areas in between. Be warned, though, if it's a long way, you are liable to be accosted by one or more random encounters which can range from "nice, some easy XP!" to "Holy crap what the hell is THAT!"
6. Yep, got it in one, the lower the better for Armour Class in Baldur's Gate, this game uses 2nd edition rules.
Keep us updated with your progress and any other questions, there are a ton of knowledgeable, helpful and friendly folk here willing to help out and hear about your experiences.
Sleep spell is very powerful, it will knock out hordes of bandits, kobolds, gibberlings, xvarts, gnolls and even ogres. Use it.
Ranged weapons and especially the bows are very powerful in bg1. Learn kiting. One tanky npc (lowest ac, highest hp) becomes the kite's body while a big bad monster chases him around, hence becoming the kite's tail. Always run around in circles with your tank and never let the big bad monster touch him/her. While all of your other party members should attack with ranged weapons:bows, crossbows, slings, darts, throwing daggers, whatever handy and they are proficient with. This way you can kill an ogre berserker easily (it can take a while)
Do not melee ghouls or ghasts, like, ever! They will paralyse you and tear the paralysed npc apart. Always use kiting and ranged weapons or damage spells against them. They are immune to sleep as well.
Skeletons are very resilient against ranged attacks and slashing/cutting attacks. They receive little damage from them. Use crushing weapons like staves, clubs, maces, flails, etc. for best effect.
Some rare monsters (such as the dreadful Vampiric Wolf, beware if you meet one in your travels!) are flat out immune to normal weapons. You need to find magical weapons and ammunition (those with +1 or +2 to their names) to hurt them. Magical ammo is very useful against them since you can have a character kite the monster while your other members pelt the monster (vampiric wolf, or a golem) with magical arrows+1 or sling bullets +1 or darts+1.
Xar is chaotic evil. My guy is lawful good. Xar complains when i do good things. Will he snap and leave my party or something eventually?
If i kick people from my party can i go find them somehwere to ask if they can join again?
Are items with +thac0 good or -thac0 good?
-Read the manual. It will save you a ton of headaches.
-Quick Save often. It's free. And hard save on different slots.
-Use pause all the time in battles. Don't play it like Diablo and just charge in and hope to win.
-Evil NPCs leave at 18 Reputation. Neutrals just complain.
-If you're having trouble, just lower the difficulty, there's no shame in that. Unless you want to do it the hardcore way.
-Items with +THAC0 are good. Items with +saves are also good (Paladins). (If I'm not mistaken).
-Is your character a Paladin? I highly suggest making a Paladin (any kit but Cavalier is my favorite for BG1) for your first character if you want to play Lawful Good.
Great HP, better saves, immunities, some abilities, spells in BG2 and they get a super weapon in BG2 too.
Go with shield and sword (longsword, bastard sword or hammers later on and two-handed weapons in BG2).
-You might want to read some guides on GameFAQs. Not the walkthrough parts, but the classes and abilities or NPCs. If you get stuck, then read the walkthroughs.
If you are a paladin be extra careful not to do evil deeds or kill innocents. If your reputation becomes too low or if you kill an innocent commoner even accidentally (say, via a badly aimed fireball) you may become a fallen paladin and lose all of your paladin bonuses and special abilities PERMANENTLY. (There is a quest to regain fallen status in bg2 IIRC but it is much later on and works only once and requires a very difficult battle)
Just remember, read the manual if at all possible. Understand that there is a learning curve and that there a BUNCH of rules to the game. Use Auto-pause as much as you can stand at least until you better understand what works and how. Explore and have fun and don't over-worry about dying. And above all, save a LOT.
One thing I would add about the NPCs, don't worry about keeping everyone happy. If you're playing LG, and a CE joins your party, well you two are not destined to follow the same path for long!
And especially if you're playing a paladin, you don't want to get sucked into doing evil things. It WILL ruin your character.
There are plenty of characters of every alignment, you will be able to put together a party that gets along, eventually.
But otherwise, try to do their quests when you can. There's always experience and treasure to be had...
Another tip, you can have six party members at a time (five plus your main dude). As a new player, you really want to have a full party. Later on, once you figure out how things work, you can find combination and see how smaller parties work, but initially go with the six.
And those six should contain at least 2 and optimally 3 Fighter types, one cleric, one Thief and most probably one wizard. That is the 'Standard' configuration anyhow. It is not necessary to do that combination but it will make things easier early on. And if you follow the main flow, that quota should be pretty easy to fill almost immediately.
Another tip, do some healthy exploring as you go. Fully explore every map you enter. There are a lot of places in the area to explore. When in Beregost, explore the maps adjacent to it. Then head south. When in Nashkal, explore around there (and pick up any quests you encounter). Don't RUSH to complete the main story line. There is plenty of time for that.
And as far as it goes, the lower portion of the board has more or less 'beginner' style challenges. The higher up the main map you go, the more you encounter more difficult stuff. This isn't 100% true or accurate, but it is a general guideline. And if things get impossibly tough, go somewhere else instead, but don't stop exploring. There are one or two notable exceptions though, so just pay attention to the monsters you encounter.
And there are a few special monsters that require specific defenses or strategies. Just because something kills you dead with a look, doesn't mean that it is impossible to kill em back.
Basically the number that is displayed is the number on a scale of 1-20 that you need to roll on a 20 sided die, in order to hit someone with an armor class of zero. If you have a THAC0 of 15 and you are attacking someone with an AC (armor class) of zero, a roll of 15, 16, 17...20 will hit your opponent. If their armor class is greater (AC:2) than zero, that number adjusts downward (to 13 in this case). If it is less than zero (AC:-3) it adjusts upward by that number (in this case 18).
As you get magic weapons, the plus value of the weapon adjusts the roll downward, so if you have a THAC0 of 15 and you equip a long sword +1, your THAC0 becomes 14. Great strength will likewise "Increase" (read reduce the number) your THAC0. And high Dexterity will likewise effect ranged weapons like bows.
And as you gain levels, that number will increase (again read "go down") such that a 5th level character will have a 'Better' THAC0 (read lower) than a 2nd level character.
As I said, far too complicated for what it does, but that is what we got.
LOL?
If so, that should be a good solid party. If not, who did you pick up?
In a mod somewhere... and if not, why not? *looks at modding community*.
@unhidemymenus - looks like you have a good team. What did you do with Khalid's Wife? Those two make for a good team, and it looks like you don't have a healer in your group (cleric or druid depending on your choice). While it can be done that way, you may find it a bit easier if you have someone who can throw around healing spells.
So where are you now? Clearly you have resolved the troubles in Nashkal. Where too next?
And as far as @unhidemymenus party, I'm pretty sure he said his Charname was now a cleric, so he's the walking medkit. Unless I made that bit up, which is more than possible.
My main lady is a fighter cleric so we're good i think
I cleared up dem mines just recently
@unhidemymenus - good for you. Now take some time and clear out the rest of the lower maps. Just if you come across a big old tower that is guarded by suits of armor with no one in side, leave.... Very quietly.. And VERY quickly..... Other than that, there is loads to explore.
And LOL. Jaheira had an "accident"? I've been watching this British comedy called BlackAdder. There is this one quote in the episode just recently.
"He died when he accidentally brutally stabbed himself in the stomach while shaving"