Staying power

Moomintroll

Q: Do you guys often play through the whole game with one character, do you start what you finish?
See below for my waffle, or just kindly drop me an answer.


I've inadvertently given this thread the title of a Cosmopolitan magazine article, anyway.

As I ponderously roll up a new character, with a die this time, just for the variety; never before have I had so many spare points left over after character creation

I have ALWAYS intended to play one character through all of the Baldur's gate games, I have a compulsion to have one class in a cross-game continuity, sometimes I won't play a druid because I know when I flip over to Elder Scrolls, I won't have the same option, pretty dumb of me I think.

I've still never played through the BG saga with one character so I wonder, how often do other people do this? as it is currently, when the Baldur's mood takes me I'll start the game about ten times with various classes and get about half way through at best before moving on to another game again.

Dragonspear

I think chances are you'll want some character who's power has a definite increase every time (Bard, Mage, Cleric.Druid) you level up compared to something like a Fighter, Thief, Ranger or Paladin where levelling up is less noticeable other than more hitpoints.

Personally I think bard might be the best choice since it's a bit of everything. I like the blade myself if I play one but that's because I like the flashy dual wielding style.

Moomintroll

@Dragonspear I think it's the loot that get's me, every mage robe I think "that'd look great on a wizard, why aren't I playing that?" every suit of armour "Even a cleric would be fun in that!"

Funnily enough my most complete recent playthrough was with a kensai, still not completely dropped that one, but not having armour and bracers to drool over for my character makes me a little sad. Also I'm specialised in spears, which I actually quite like as the ones I've used have become old friends now, unlike those ten a penny longswords!

Dragonspear

@Moomintroll For me its Greatswords, Warhammers and Longswords that grow most on me. You might enjoy one of the multiclass options available but you might also like Thieves or Bards since they get Use Any Item as a high level ability.

FYI: Kensai with a spear actually sounds cool. Mine are usually dual wielding elves with longswords (Stereotypical), but I've considered doing them with a greatsword before.

Moomintroll

@Dragonspear I used to play elven kensai characters with greatswords because longswords just looked too small afterwards! I'll have to see if I can hang in for long enough on my next bard to get that tasty HLA.

Bjjorick

i always play a mage or fighter/mage as i can take my char from game to game and i've always been considered quite intelligent. this is a way for me to play a version of myself while also always playing the same char. i may be odd, but it's how i enjoy the game

alannahsmith

I have played through the saga once (paladin). I've only beaten Baldur's Gate once. Shadows of Amn I have beaten twice. And Throne of Bhaal I have beaten twice. I have only beaten a handful of games my entire life. It's sad I know. But I'm hoping the enhanced editions will change that.

Shin

I agree in full. Though I have actually played through the full story several times with one character, the attempts where I've gotten an idea for a new class/character somewhere in the middle and restarted are much more numerous.

Remarkably often it seems to happen somewhere between Brynnlaw and Ust Natha, with me deciding to start from scratch in BG1 again, often reinstalling that playthrough as a separate install with a slightly different mod selection. According to experience, I most often switch from melee based character to caster, or from caster to monk.

I've also considered, in accordance with what @Dragonspear said, that it's related to how some classes peak out in their development around that time, while others are just starting to really hit their stride.

Lemernis

Haven't played the game in 4 years. But I played BGT and typically finished the saga from standing just outside the door of the Candlekeep Inn to the Throne of Bhaal. Including many other mods' adventures along the way. Used to take me about 4 months. I'd do it once or twice a year. From time to time I played BG/ToSC or SoA/ToB by themselves as well.

Over the years there were some games that I aborted because it turned I didn't care for the class.

I think the race/classes I have enjoyed most overall were

half-orc cleric-thief
half-elven cleric-mage
human generalist mage
half-elven fighter-thief
human paladin

Moomintroll

That's cool, for the record I suppose I've had most completion playing kensai and druid as a party; and assassin and sorcerer, solo.

@Shin I think I quite often quit at a similar point, I find gaining access to spell hold a bit boring, maybe due to the change in pace from scouring a vampire lair and embarking on a marvellous voyage, to running back and forth in a small coastal village.

One of the games I had most completion with was with a no-NPC party (all made by me, whatever that is called) despite the fact that I always complain about that in IWD, i think I enjoyed how OP it was.

edit - I've realised I'm primarily talking about SoA, I just don't have many strong memories of BG. But I'd love to hear other people's experiences with the first game going in to the second as I quite often feel "wrong" starting a game in SoA, when I could be going right from the start.

Lemernis

Moomintroll said:

One of the games I had most completion with was with a no-NPC party (all made by me, whatever that is called) despite the fact that I always complain about that in IWD, i think I enjoyed how OP it was.

Ah, creating a party in MP mode:

Two of my most favorites games I played this way (both just for BG1):

an Arthurian Knights party*:

Arthur - paladin - large sword, bow
Lancelot - paladin - axe, large sword
Bors - paladin - spiked, spear
Gawain - paladin - blunt, missile (crossbow)
Percival - cleric-thief (half-elf Shadowkeepered to human)
Merlin - generalist mage

and an all mage party:

conjurer
enchanter
invoker
illusionist
transmuter
necomancer

which required a heckuva lot of healing potions and trips to the temple for healing!



* With Dark Side of the Sword Coast mod installed there's a quest very befitting for a party of knights.

Shin

@Moomintroll I agree on the BG->BG2 part, I pretty much exclusively play through BG first when starting a new character.. doesn't feel right otherwise as you say, and I find I get a much better sense of immersion and connection to the character that way, so the whole thing gets more enjoyable.. and you get an epic feel of the long journey that lies ahead of you.. but it's also rather time consuming of course.

So yeah, it's overall generally a very enjoyable experience imo, just a bit of a change of pace when you transition.. in BG1 you work so hard for your experience, roaming the countryside and killing so many minor enemies, whereas in BG2 you can get the same amount of exp in an hour or two.. but that's the way of the game.