I don't find Jan Jansen entertaining at all. And playing spellcasters isn't fun for me.
i need to play with jan more and see more of his banters with other party members before i officially disown him.
He has some great banters with other characters, but after a while, you will have an irresistible urge to stone him with turnips. If you can get past the turnip BS, though, he is a great illusionist. I've had him in parties that went all the way to the end and he pulled his weight the whole time.
- BG is better than BG2 (it has a true feel of exploration and adventure in an open world, BG2 is just a series of destinations pointed out by NPCs in the first half, and utterly railroaded in the second, plus your PC becomes so powerful it alternates between ridiculous and boring). Most things that are undisputable plusses for BG2 are technical/budgetary in nature - engine improvements, higher-res artwork etc - and some of those were backported by the EE
- BG had better companions than BG2 (yes, BG2 has much more interaction, but when you take alignment conflicts into account you have barely any choice in party composition)
- companion quests are a net negative; all quests and locations should in principle be accessible to any party (with some reactiveness to account for player choices obviously). Different companions may lead you to certain quests you might otherwise miss or enter differently, and should offer different ways of approaching various quests, but not be the only way to start a quest.
- late SOA and all of ToB - the "epic" parts - are a drag (fighting demons and dragons at every turn cheapens the experience, Ashideena or Varscona in BG feel more special than a +6 weapon in a sea of +4/5 weapons)
- most HLAs should not exist or should be nerfed
- SOD is a great game in its own right (minus the final boss and the forced ending - it has great art direction, a very focussed and natural campaign, items that are flavourful rather than OP, interesting NPC interactions, and even though it's very linear it does have the spirit of wilderness exploration BG had and BG 2 lost. IMO it also has the "best" ADnD level range of the saga)
- IWD(EE) is the best IE game in terms of gameplay
- ToB is the low point of the Bhaalspawn saga (except for Watcher's Keep, which is amazing, but exists outside the main plot)
- Adalon absolutely deserves to be killed (she uses you, completely against your will - she's merely the lesser evil here)
- multiclass fighters should absolutely be able to attain grandmastery (after all, thieves/mages/clerics in multi-classes can achieve all abilities their single-class counterparts can, just slower - assuming no XP cap)
- BG2 should have more random encounters/ambushes
- all IE games should have some amount of "radiant quests" (semi-randomly generated, infinite pool of quests a la Skyrim)
- NPCs not in the current active party should still gain XP (at a lower rate, see Pillars of Eternity) - what are they doing, twiddling their thumbs until I come to pick them up again?
I could come up with quite a few more, but this post has to end sometime ?
And unpopular opinions above notwithstanding, I love all these games to death (yes, even ToB in the grand scheme of things is a net positive ?)
- all IE games should have some amount of "radiant quests" (semi-randomly generated, infinite pool of quests a la Skyrim)
- NPCs not in the current active party should still gain XP (at a lower rate, see Pillars of Eternity) - what are they doing, twiddling their thumbs until I come to pick them up again?
Sure, let me just get my time machine and tell 1996 Black Isle Studios to implement these things. I'm sure they won't mind.
- all IE games should have some amount of "radiant quests" (semi-randomly generated, infinite pool of quests a la Skyrim)
- NPCs not in the current active party should still gain XP (at a lower rate, see Pillars of Eternity) - what are they doing, twiddling their thumbs until I come to pick them up again?
Sure, let me just get my time machine and tell 1996 Black Isle Studios to implement these things. I'm sure they won't mind.
Bioware created Baldur's Gate and the IE, not Black Isle. Would be embarrassing to show up to the wrong place in your time machine.
I will concur that it would be nice to have more quests, even low XP ones, to make the city feel less static towards the end. The fact that you can literally run out of things to do feels a bit absurd.
On the other hand, too many and you end up with the crew i have at the moment. They are about to board the ship to Brynnlaw having just gotten their first round of HLAs. Except Aerie - but she got a late start.
Well, Athkatla is a city so full of adventurers that you can find yourself murdering 3 or 4 full parties of them in just your first weekend in town. It's no wonder the local economy is teetering on the verge of experiencing a quest shortage.
Don't know if this is unpopular, but I don't know where else to put this: You could solve some death-related plotholes just by adding one new lore element and changing one detail about the plot:
1. Bhaalspawn can be raised after death. However, Bhaal's taint makes any murder committed by a Bhaalspawn permanent. This way, we'd have a lore-friendly explanation for why Gorion could not be raised after his death. If Charname killed Sarevok, that would also explain why Sarevok didn't just get raised by his followers. This also extends to Irenicus' death and that of the Five. Finally, (SoD spoiler)
it would explain why Skie couldn't be raised at the end of SoD: rather than a mysterious dagger arbitrarily trapping her soul, it was Charname's own innate Bhaalspawn heritage that made it irreversible, and therefore enough to condemn Charname's character.
There are still gameplay reasons why Charname can't be raised (too many dialogs depend on their presence for a party to go without them), but this would explain why Imoen can be raised.
2. Irenicus successfully stole Charname's soul in the starting dungeon, and gained the same Bhaalspawn power from (1). He tested this by killing Dynaheir and Khalid, which is why they cannot be raised.
it would explain why Skie couldn't be raised at the end of SoD: rather than a mysterious dagger arbitrarily trapping her soul, it was Charname's own innate Bhaalspawn heritage that made it irreversible, and therefore enough to condemn Charname's character.
Er, it was Irenicus
killing Skie with the dagger
, not the PC. Irenicus made the PC believe they did it (at least in case the player attacked the "monster", which one does not need to do to trigger the afterevents.)
I don't find Jan Jansen entertaining at all. And playing spellcasters isn't fun for me.
This reminds of that time uncle Grumpy had a pot of bad turnip stew. We should have known something was wrong as soon we saw him smile. He never did smile once in all 286 years of his life prior, that's why we called him "Grumpy." Not that his real name wasn't "Grumpy" mind, we just called him Grumpy Uncle Grumpy. He hated it, but then again, he hated everything. Anyway, long story short, always remember to check your stew before eating it. Bad turnips are as bad as good turnips are good.
Okay @ThacoBell , that was awesome. I can't believe I overlooked that response. Still, I stick to my opinion of Jan Jansen. Nothing against gnomes in general, I quite like Glint Gardnersonson, but Jan was plain annoying even the first and only time (I only played a neutral character once because my ex said I'd miss something if I've never used Jan, Viconia, chaotic neutral Anomen, Edwin and Sarevok. Can't say that I agree).
Another possibly unpopular opinion: The thief ability "use any item" shouldn't exist.
Jan Jansen wielding Carsomir?!
Another possibly unpopular opinion: The thief ability "use any item" shouldn't exist.
Jan Jansen wielding Carsomir?!
Actually Jan can't wield Carsomyr because he isn't strong enough. Use Any Item really should be renamed Use Any Item (so long as you can pick it up).
All your stats have to be high enough (not just strength) and you can't generally use items specially made for an NPC - so the EE has already somewhat nerfed the ability compared to vanilla ...
Minsc, Edwin and Jan Jansen never stop being funny.
I'm going to have to disagree with you on Jan. A lot of people actually find him annoying. Have to agree with Minsc and Edwin, they are great fun. Haer'Dalis is an entertaining character too.
Honestly, its worth taking Jan in ToB at least once just to see him call Sarevok "Binky" to his face. Heck, him and Minsc have some hilarious tag teams against the poor guy. His epilogue is also amazing.
Neera, Dorn and Rasaad slot seamlessly into the game.
When I wrote this I was actually being sarcastic (following what I took to be a lead from @borntodie). But now people are agreeing with me and I don't know if they are being sarcastic too. Serves me right. Hoist on my own petard.
Neera, Dorn and Rasaad slot seamlessly into the game.
When I wrote this I was actually being sarcastic (following what I took to be a lead from @borntodie). But now people are agreeing with me and I don't know if they are being sarcastic too. Serves me right. Hoist on my own petard.
Neera, Dorn and Rasaad slot seamlessly into the game.
When I wrote this I was actually being sarcastic (following what I took to be a lead from @borntodie). But now people are agreeing with me and I don't know if they are being sarcastic too. Serves me right. Hoist on my own petard.
I would say that in terms of design and writing, they absolutely do. I've seen a lot of new players asking which npcs were added by the EEs, which is a good endorsement of them. But once you learn how npcs "quests" work in EE, they start to stand out. The large quests with new areas is makes them stand out. Except Dorn.
*EDIT* In BG1 at least. Dorn gets the shiny new area in 2.
Minsc, Edwin and Jan Jansen never stop being funny.
I'm going to have to disagree with you on Jan. A lot of people actually find him annoying.
I can't reply. I'm allergic!
..
Well, all right. I'm not THAT allergic.
Glad to hear my opinion is unpopular. Lots of people hate Minsc and Edwin too, I hope.
Your opinion isn't even unpopular or close to being unpopular. Minsc is literally the poster boy of Baldur's Gate, everyone loves him. He's the face of Baldur's Gate (love Minsc). Edwin, sure people hate him but he's also one of the most liked party members and he's also the best mage in the game.
Comments
i need to play with jan more and see more of his banters with other party members before i officially disown him.
He has some great banters with other characters, but after a while, you will have an irresistible urge to stone him with turnips. If you can get past the turnip BS, though, he is a great illusionist. I've had him in parties that went all the way to the end and he pulled his weight the whole time.
I recommend running him with Minsc and Sarevok both in party. You will start to feel bad for Sarevok, or laugh at him. THat too.
- BG is better than BG2 (it has a true feel of exploration and adventure in an open world, BG2 is just a series of destinations pointed out by NPCs in the first half, and utterly railroaded in the second, plus your PC becomes so powerful it alternates between ridiculous and boring). Most things that are undisputable plusses for BG2 are technical/budgetary in nature - engine improvements, higher-res artwork etc - and some of those were backported by the EE
- BG had better companions than BG2 (yes, BG2 has much more interaction, but when you take alignment conflicts into account you have barely any choice in party composition)
- companion quests are a net negative; all quests and locations should in principle be accessible to any party (with some reactiveness to account for player choices obviously). Different companions may lead you to certain quests you might otherwise miss or enter differently, and should offer different ways of approaching various quests, but not be the only way to start a quest.
- late SOA and all of ToB - the "epic" parts - are a drag (fighting demons and dragons at every turn cheapens the experience, Ashideena or Varscona in BG feel more special than a +6 weapon in a sea of +4/5 weapons)
- most HLAs should not exist or should be nerfed
- SOD is a great game in its own right (minus the final boss and the forced ending - it has great art direction, a very focussed and natural campaign, items that are flavourful rather than OP, interesting NPC interactions, and even though it's very linear it does have the spirit of wilderness exploration BG had and BG 2 lost. IMO it also has the "best" ADnD level range of the saga)
- IWD(EE) is the best IE game in terms of gameplay
- ToB is the low point of the Bhaalspawn saga (except for Watcher's Keep, which is amazing, but exists outside the main plot)
- Adalon absolutely deserves to be killed (she uses you, completely against your will - she's merely the lesser evil here)
- multiclass fighters should absolutely be able to attain grandmastery (after all, thieves/mages/clerics in multi-classes can achieve all abilities their single-class counterparts can, just slower - assuming no XP cap)
- BG2 should have more random encounters/ambushes
- all IE games should have some amount of "radiant quests" (semi-randomly generated, infinite pool of quests a la Skyrim)
- NPCs not in the current active party should still gain XP (at a lower rate, see Pillars of Eternity) - what are they doing, twiddling their thumbs until I come to pick them up again?
I could come up with quite a few more, but this post has to end sometime ?
And unpopular opinions above notwithstanding, I love all these games to death (yes, even ToB in the grand scheme of things is a net positive ?)
Bioware created Baldur's Gate and the IE, not Black Isle. Would be embarrassing to show up to the wrong place in your time machine.
On the other hand, too many and you end up with the crew i have at the moment. They are about to board the ship to Brynnlaw having just gotten their first round of HLAs. Except Aerie - but she got a late start.
1. Bhaalspawn can be raised after death. However, Bhaal's taint makes any murder committed by a Bhaalspawn permanent. This way, we'd have a lore-friendly explanation for why Gorion could not be raised after his death. If Charname killed Sarevok, that would also explain why Sarevok didn't just get raised by his followers. This also extends to Irenicus' death and that of the Five. Finally, (SoD spoiler)
2. Irenicus successfully stole Charname's soul in the starting dungeon, and gained the same Bhaalspawn power from (1). He tested this by killing Dynaheir and Khalid, which is why they cannot be raised.
You feel more special with a 18/00 on a 75 total roll than with a 18/30 on a 91 total roll.
Okay @ThacoBell , that was awesome. I can't believe I overlooked that response. Still, I stick to my opinion of Jan Jansen. Nothing against gnomes in general, I quite like Glint Gardnersonson, but Jan was plain annoying even the first and only time (I only played a neutral character once because my ex said I'd miss something if I've never used Jan, Viconia, chaotic neutral Anomen, Edwin and Sarevok. Can't say that I agree).
Another possibly unpopular opinion: The thief ability "use any item" shouldn't exist.
Jan Jansen wielding Carsomir?!
Actually Jan can't wield Carsomyr because he isn't strong enough. Use Any Item really should be renamed Use Any Item (so long as you can pick it up).
All your stats have to be high enough (not just strength) and you can't generally use items specially made for an NPC - so the EE has already somewhat nerfed the ability compared to vanilla ...
Wouldn't spells/potions enable him to pick it up? Strength of one for example?
I hadn't thought of that. I now want to do a BG2 run just so I can have Jan the Holy Avenger in my party.
I'm going to have to disagree with you on Jan. A lot of people actually find him annoying. Have to agree with Minsc and Edwin, they are great fun. Haer'Dalis is an entertaining character too.
..
Well, all right. I'm not THAT allergic.
Glad to hear my opinion is unpopular. Lots of people hate Minsc and Edwin too, I hope.
When I wrote this I was actually being sarcastic (following what I took to be a lead from @borntodie). But now people are agreeing with me and I don't know if they are being sarcastic too. Serves me right. Hoist on my own petard.
I would say that in terms of design and writing, they absolutely do. I've seen a lot of new players asking which npcs were added by the EEs, which is a good endorsement of them. But once you learn how npcs "quests" work in EE, they start to stand out. The large quests with new areas is makes them stand out. Except Dorn.
*EDIT* In BG1 at least. Dorn gets the shiny new area in 2.
Your opinion isn't even unpopular or close to being unpopular. Minsc is literally the poster boy of Baldur's Gate, everyone loves him. He's the face of Baldur's Gate (love Minsc). Edwin, sure people hate him but he's also one of the most liked party members and he's also the best mage in the game.
Especially Neera. She really fits seamlessly into the whole European Middle-Ages D&D trope...