BG1 is visually the most appealing when you solo it or have a small party.
Several areas are very clunky with a large party. Firewine Ruins is almost impossible. Even walking through the woods often feels cramped. Most of the time you are only fighting a few foes...and when it is 6v1 you don't feel very heroic.
Having a party of 1-3 feels about right though. You can easily beat the game like that and you just feel more like a hero.
Most of the time you are only fighting a few foes...and when it is 6v1 you don't feel very heroic.
Do you think assassination attempts on Charname by Tarnesh, Neira and Nimbul should be enhanced? I do. Let them have the same number of allies as Charname, like Illasera.
Not sure if this is actually an unpopular opinion, but I realized I dislike having to use halberds. I don't think halberd is an adventurer's weapon. Perhaps using some super halberd against some super enemy (such as a dragon) in one particular incident makes sense, but I find the idea of weary travelers running around in the wilderness with halberds in their hands ridiculous. Imagine Aragorn or Boromir carrying a halberd in the Fellowship of the Ring. Ugh.
Halberds are awesome, though. They were probably the best overall weapon available in the late Middle Ages because they were incredibly versatile (it's a spear! it's a glaive! It's an axe!) and the reach advantage is extremely important in real-world combat. In D&D...well I think in my IWD party my human paladin should have had the halberd and my dwarf fighter should have had sword and board, and not the other way around, a 19 CON dwarf without a shield is a waste. Swords have the advantage of having way more overpowered +4/+5 superweapons towards endgame in BG2. No non-mod halberd can stand up to Angurvadal or Carsomyr.
OK, some of my own:
* Sarevok and his goon squad are much, much harder than Aec'Letec on Core Rules. Semaj's AoE spam can instantly wreck your whole party. Haste yourself, slow Aec'Letec, boost one tank's saving throws as high as possible, and do the old tank and spank.
* The Siege of Dragonspear UI should be reskinned for the other EEs and replace the old UIs outright. The more legible fonts and cleaner design with rectangular buttons are a massive improvement.
* Mizhena and Corwin should have been merged into one character with Corwin's class/stats and Mizhena's backstory. Neither seems complete--Mizhena just gives a very brief spiel with no context or progression and Corwin just...doesn't really have a personality except Hardass Military Person, which is not a character but a trope. Gameplay-wise Corwin is a killing machine, though, which is always appreciated.
* Safana is awful awful awful and any other option for an Imoen replacement would have been superior. She comes on too strong with her "sexy" act, is extremely petty and egocentric (and not in an amusing way like Edwin), and the game offers no good alternatives (Glint's a multi cleric/thief, which is the worst of both worlds). I used EEKeeper to re-class Voghiln into a thief just to get rid of her.
Not sure if this is actually an unpopular opinion, but I realized I dislike having to use halberds. I don't think halberd is an adventurer's weapon. Perhaps using some super halberd against some super enemy (such as a dragon) in one particular incident makes sense, but I find the idea of weary travelers running around in the wilderness with halberds in their hands ridiculous. Imagine Aragorn or Boromir carrying a halberd in the Fellowship of the Ring. Ugh.
I agree and raise you a full plate mail. I think fullplatemails as an adventurer garment is completely bonkers. Sure, I use them since it's 'necessary' if I want to lower my AC as much as possible, but I try to switch them for dragon scale and ankheg armor and similar as soon as I can. Magical plates could be argued being thinner/lighter, but walking around through the woods in a fullplate mail for weeks is just not doable.
I'm all for fantastical reality and hate everything ridiculously unrealistic though.
* The Siege of Dragonspear UI should be reskinned for the other EEs and replace the old UIs outright. The more legible fonts and cleaner design with rectangular buttons are a massive improvement.
I think the shapechange to slayer form should have even been involved more in discussions. Like someone makes you rage-mad with a comment and an option that you click that to give into the slayer, ending the conversation or just killing the guy and your slayers not under control for a bit like the fist time you change
Example is during Irenicus fights where you have access to it. I think they should have put more focus onto trying to control it past that beginning where you just get it.
I think the shapechange to slayer form should have even been involved more in discussions. Like someone makes you rage-mad with a comment and an option that you click that to give into the slayer, ending the conversation or just killing the guy and your slayers not under control for a bit like the fist time you change
Example is during Irenicus fights where you have access to it. I think they should have put more focus onto trying to control it past that beginning where you just get it.
I like how you ended that post. I would have made it a joke about this forum and made people sad. ... aww damnit
I totally love the fact Khalid is at first coward, soft and uneasy on all thing. I think it will be very good to have more character like him, unheroic, and if possible who stay unheroic up untill the end.
Not sure if it's an unpopular opinion. Khalid is a well debate character in the few people I know who have played BG.
As far as wizards go, I think Conjuration is an overrated school. I mean, it's supposed to be the summoning school, but the three best wizard summons are a necromancy spell (animate dead), an evocation spell (Mordenkainen's sword), and a universal spell (Planetar). The Summon Monster line is one I've never found to be anything other than lousy, and things like Summon Djinni and Summon Nishuru aren't any better (DSimpson gushes over the latter in his guide, but seriously, an anti-wizard summon that dies to Death Spell doesn't strike me as a great choice). If you play a Diviner, you'll probably miss Flame Arrow and Find Familiar. Depending on your playstyle, you may also regret losing Armor, the Power Words, and the Symbols. But that's all you're really missing.
Bottom line, I'd rather play a Diviner and lose Conjuration spells than the other way around. Identify, True Seeing, and Detect Invisibility alone outweigh the missed Conjuration spells that are worth anything, as far as I'm concerned.
I've played every major edition of D&D and I think 4e is the best of all of them.
Interesting... @illathid seems to be unwittingly suffering from the effects of a confusion spell.
*casts dispel magic.
*fails caster check
Crap!
You should have cast chaotic commands on yourself before you played 4e. It would have helped.
I guess you will just have to wait until the effect wears off.
...or you get eaten by that 4e umber hulk. It may be grim and painful, but trust me, it's a much better fate than *shudder* not absolutely loathing 4e.
I've played every major edition of D&D and I think 4e is the best of all of them.
Interesting... @illathid seems to be unwittingly suffering from the effects of a confusion spell.
*casts dispel magic.
*fails caster check
Crap!
You should have cast chaotic commands on yourself before you played 4e. It would have helped.
I guess you will just have to wait until the effect wears off.
...or you get eaten by that 4e umber hulk. It may be grim and painful, but trust me, it's a much better fate than *shudder* not absolutely loathing 4e.
Nah, all D&D is rules heavy and pretty crappy IMHO. With 4e they at least tried making it balanced. I played way too many characters in other editions where I would either carry the party by myself or otherwise be a 3rd wheel depending on what class I picked.
Seriously though, check out FATE. It can do everything you want in D&D but the rules can be easily grasped in 30 minutes.
I make Garrick a jester. In my head canon, his cheerful, ditzy persona is a calculated measure in order to allow him to troll fellow party members with impunity. Everyone just writes it off as Garrick being a goof and unaware of what he is saying. "Don't take anything seriously, he's just a goofy bard"... but is he?
Just look at how some of his selection sounds could play out...
"Music has charms to soothe the savage breast. ...oh, hi there Shar-Teel "
Xan: "Garrick?" G: "Yes.... siirrr" X: "Life is so hollow" G: "Life... is glorious!" Xan: "sigh...we're all doomed" Garrick:
My favorites are with Edwin
"I am at your service" "Foolish bard! Again you disturb me!" "Make short the miles with talk and smiles " "You are sooooo irritating!" "With joy sir" "One day.... one day..."
Garrick: "Hey Edwin" Edwin: "What is it now?" G: "I wrote a song" E: "I have no interest in your primitive melodies" G: "It is about a powerful mage" E: "..." G: "In fact it is about a red-clad wizard, feared and respected by all in Faerun" E: "...continue" G: "I had the distinct pleasure of meeting this wizard on my journeys across the Sword Coast lately. Name begins with an E" E: "Yes, yes, I could use a toady. Continue pandering my little musical monkey" G: "It goes like this. ♫♪Gather round children, this here is the tale, Of Elminster Aumar, Sage of Shadowdale"♫♫♪
G: Picks up his lute E: mutters "oh, no" G: *plays jester song* E: *toes begin to wiggle* "What-" G: *continues playing obnoxious tune* E: *feet begin tapping* "No! I will not allow th-" G: *begins whistling* E: *breaks out in dance" "I do not understand this mouse magic that makes me do your bidding!"
OK, I'm, gonna try one out here.. not sure if it's unpopular or not, but I think it is:
BG2 is at its best when you're NOT forwarding the main story. Personally, I've actually never been a huge fan of the whole Bhaal-spawn story and much prefer to just wander the sword coast as a regular adventurer. It's quite often I create chars and clean out all quests only to drop of and restart it again before moving on to Spellhold.
Edit: apparently this wasn't as controversial as I would have imagined. Kinda suprised actually since I've gotten the impression so many ppl really love the whole Bhaal spawn twist to the story.
OK, I'm, gonna try one out here.. not sure if it's unpopular or not, but I think it is:
BG2 is at its best when you're NOT forwarding the main story. Personally, I've actually never been a huge fan of the whole Bhaal-spawn story and much prefer to just wander the sword coast as a regular adventurer. It's quite often I create chars and clean out all quests only to drop of and restart it again before moving on to Spellhold.
I second that.
And also I prefer standard traveling between areas(like in BG1), and not just quest area to quest area. Finding good quests is much better then them being served.
Saemon Havarian is one of the greatest characters in a game ever.
Honestly. Now that Iam playing BG2:EE again. I suddenly got more interest in Saemon Havarian. I love this sneaky dirtbag! He is a best example of "Chaotic Neutral" character. I only wish there was more of him. If someone wrote a novel about Saemon, I would totally read it.
He is one of the best 'minor' characters in the series. Along with the "Spectator".
Comments
Several areas are very clunky with a large party. Firewine Ruins is almost impossible. Even walking through the woods often feels cramped. Most of the time you are only fighting a few foes...and when it is 6v1 you don't feel very heroic.
Having a party of 1-3 feels about right though. You can easily beat the game like that and you just feel more like a hero.
BG2 though you really do need a party of 6...
OK, some of my own:
* Sarevok and his goon squad are much, much harder than Aec'Letec on Core Rules. Semaj's AoE spam can instantly wreck your whole party. Haste yourself, slow Aec'Letec, boost one tank's saving throws as high as possible, and do the old tank and spank.
* The Siege of Dragonspear UI should be reskinned for the other EEs and replace the old UIs outright. The more legible fonts and cleaner design with rectangular buttons are a massive improvement.
* Mizhena and Corwin should have been merged into one character with Corwin's class/stats and Mizhena's backstory. Neither seems complete--Mizhena just gives a very brief spiel with no context or progression and Corwin just...doesn't really have a personality except Hardass Military Person, which is not a character but a trope. Gameplay-wise Corwin is a killing machine, though, which is always appreciated.
* Safana is awful awful awful and any other option for an Imoen replacement would have been superior. She comes on too strong with her "sexy" act, is extremely petty and egocentric (and not in an amusing way like Edwin), and the game offers no good alternatives (Glint's a multi cleric/thief, which is the worst of both worlds). I used EEKeeper to re-class Voghiln into a thief just to get rid of her.
I'm all for fantastical reality and hate everything ridiculously unrealistic though.
Example is during Irenicus fights where you have access to it. I think they should have put more focus onto trying to control it past that beginning where you just get it.
Not sure if it's an unpopular opinion. Khalid is a well debate character in the few people I know who have played BG.
Bottom line, I'd rather play a Diviner and lose Conjuration spells than the other way around. Identify, True Seeing, and Detect Invisibility alone outweigh the missed Conjuration spells that are worth anything, as far as I'm concerned.
*casts dispel magic.
*fails caster check
Crap!
You should have cast chaotic commands on yourself before you played 4e. It would have helped.
I guess you will just have to wait until the effect wears off.
...or you get eaten by that 4e umber hulk. It may be grim and painful, but trust me, it's a much better fate than *shudder* not absolutely loathing 4e.
Seriously though, check out FATE. It can do everything you want in D&D but the rules can be easily grasped in 30 minutes.
I make Garrick a jester. In my head canon, his cheerful, ditzy persona is a calculated measure in order to allow him to troll fellow party members with impunity. Everyone just writes it off as Garrick being a goof and unaware of what he is saying. "Don't take anything seriously, he's just a goofy bard"... but is he?
Just look at how some of his selection sounds could play out...
"Music has charms to soothe the savage breast. ...oh, hi there Shar-Teel
Xan: "Garrick?"
G: "Yes.... siirrr"
X: "Life is so hollow"
G: "Life... is glorious!"
Xan: "sigh...we're all doomed"
Garrick:
My favorites are with Edwin
"I am at your service"
"Foolish bard! Again you disturb me!"
"Make short the miles with talk and smiles
"You are sooooo irritating!"
"With joy sir"
"One day.... one day..."
Garrick: "Hey Edwin"
Edwin: "What is it now?"
G: "I wrote a song"
E: "I have no interest in your primitive melodies"
G: "It is about a powerful mage"
E: "..."
G: "In fact it is about a red-clad wizard, feared and respected by all in Faerun"
E: "...continue"
G: "I had the distinct pleasure of meeting this wizard on my journeys across the Sword Coast lately. Name begins with an E"
E: "Yes, yes, I could use a toady. Continue pandering my little musical monkey"
G: "It goes like this.
♫♪Gather round children, this here is the tale,
Of Elminster Aumar, Sage of Shadowdale"♫♫♪
G: Picks up his lute
E: mutters "oh, no"
G: *plays jester song*
E: *toes begin to wiggle* "What-"
G: *continues playing obnoxious tune*
E: *feet begin tapping* "No! I will not allow th-"
G: *begins whistling*
E: *breaks out in dance" "I do not understand this mouse magic that makes me do your bidding!"
That's from the bg1npc project, right?
BG2 is at its best when you're NOT forwarding the main story. Personally, I've actually never been a huge fan of the whole Bhaal-spawn story and much prefer to just wander the sword coast as a regular adventurer. It's quite often I create chars and clean out all quests only to drop of and restart it again before moving on to Spellhold.
Edit: apparently this wasn't as controversial as I would have imagined. Kinda suprised actually since I've gotten the impression so many ppl really love the whole Bhaal spawn twist to the story.
And also I prefer standard traveling between areas(like in BG1), and not just quest area to quest area.
Finding good quests is much better then them being served.
He is one of the best 'minor' characters in the series. Along with the "Spectator".