Anyone completed the entire BG saga solo without cheese?

johntyl

I'm thinking of creating a solo character from Bg1 till TOB/insane/SCS mod.
Possibly using a fighter/mage.
So I'm wondering if anyone has ever completed the entire BG saga solo without cheese?
If you did, which character did you run with and which difficulty and mod did you use?

semiticgoddess

Yup. @Alesia_BH has done multiple solo no-reload insane SCS+Ascension trilogy runs without using any "cheese." One of them was a Fighter/Mage, but her signature run was probably her Bounty Hunter, which unfortunately had a reload at the Throne of Bhaal. Alesia's work is documented on the 500-page and counting no-reload thread at the Bioware forums. Alesia doesn't stop by here very often, but she's frequently active at the Bioware forum and is always very supportive and helpful. If you have any questions about the run, I'd recommend starting an account there and talking to her. She's one of the best players and nicest people in the BG community.

@bengoshi also has an in-progress solo Totemic Druid run, currently in ToB, chosen because the Totemic Druid is one of the classes that people deemed least capable of soloing the game. It's not finished yet, but I anticipate success--bengoshi has been doing very well so far, despite using a class that most people would judge as one of the weakest in the game.

@Blackraven, another no-reloader, also has a lot of experience with big challenges. Neither of us has completed a solo no-reload trilogy run, I don't think, but Blackraven has also seen a lot, and he's played a very wide variety of character types. It wouldn't surprise me if he's done a solo trilogy run without using any cheese. He's very knowledgeable about thieves in particular.

Saros Shadowfollower has probably done it, too. He somehow managed to do a no-reload run of Improved Anvil, of all things, and soloed the mod as well. I think he actually got banned from the Black Wyrm's Lair for that very accomplishment.

@Bynary_Fission has a solo Fighter/Mage trilogy run of his own, documented at (https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/41264/playing-it-hardcore-the-adventures-of-selangor-no-reload-scs-solo-insane#latest). He's even got links to videos of him making his way through the saga. One of my favorite parts was when he spontaneously died in the Umar Hills for absolutely no reason. The reaction was priceless. That run used SCS, on Insane, and is also now completed.

This is a very vibrant community and there's always lots of crazy stuff going on. If you plan on doing a solo trilogy run, please take some screenshots and post on your progress. It's always fun to see another person making their way through the game.

johntyl

Wow thanks @semiticgod! I'm guessing solo insane SCS+Ascension is already more than challenging enough, but to do a No-reload on top of that?! That's just unfathomable. But I guess alot of that has to do with prior knowledge of all the major battles ahead?

semiticgoddess

Prior knowledge is a big part of it, but the most interesting stuff about no-reload runs is finding ways to reduce the chance of death down to zero, which can be tricky. You can't rely on your characters to make their saves every battle, and a failed save can easily mean death in BG2. It encourages the careful use of potions, scrolls, and other limited resources. The game is much more complex this way, and much more exciting. My favorite experiences in BG2 have all come from no-reload runs. But it can be very unforgiving, so most people would find minimal-reload more fun than no-reload.

Anduin

Oh yes... My first ever run through was completed without any cheese.
...

Because I did not know about cheese.

But then I smelt the cheddar... And like a fool I ate the whole Camembert with extra mozzarella sprinkles on a Stilton plate...

It was the space bar cheat at the beginning of BG2 that did me in. Glad they stopped that one (But I made a very simple mod to put it back... I'm a fool).
...

Also I still like to kill Drizzt off using just myself and Imoen armed with quarterstaffs at level 1. But apart from that, I am mostly cheese free!
...

You really don't need cheese to complete this game.

johntyl

Anduin said:

It was the space bar cheat at the beginning of BG2 that did me in. Glad they stopped that one (But I made a very simple mod to put it back... I'm a fool).
...

.

What's the space bar cheat?

OlvynChuru

I remember in the original non-enhanced Baldur's Gate 1 you could interrupt enemies' spells by pausing (sometimes you would have to pause multiple times), and I don't think it affected your spells. I'm not sure if this is what Anduin is referring to.

BillyYank

@Anduin is referring to a short window of time at the beginning of BG2 that allowed you to keep the equipment of an imported character. At a black screen as the game started, you could hit space to pause the game, bring up the inventory screen and drop your BG1 stuff on the ground. When you unpaused, the script that deleted all your equipment would run, but wouldn't effect all the things you dropped. Once the game actually started, all your stuff was lying on the ground and you could just pick it up and equip it.

semiticgoddess

It was the only way you could get Arrows of Detonation in BG2. Luckily, @Demivrgvs added a very tiny amount of them in Item Revisions. Oddly enough, the pause trick couldn't let you gain access to the Dimension Door scroll, because the DD scroll became a Stoneskin scroll on importing a character to BG2. The only way to get Dimension Door in BG2 was to import a character who already had scribed it--the scroll file changed, while the spell file remained the same. But you can get DD if you install @Demivrgvs' Spell Revisions mod, which re-introduces DD as a level 1 spell, or my Phase Spider kit, which can cast the spell at will.

johntyl

semiticgod said:

if you install @Demivrgvs' Spell Revisions mod, which re-introduces DD as a level 1 spell..

DD as a level 1 spell?? Cool!!

sparrow13x

Depends how you define cheese really. I've solo'd a Blackguard, Ranger/Cleric and Berserker/Thief all the way to the end without abusing the game as far as I know. The Blackguard was especially easy since he could lock down an entire room of baddies with a shortbow and poison weapon.

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johntyl

sparrow13x said:

Depends how you define cheese really.

There, cheese.

johntyl

@subtledoctor In my current game, I find myself using my fighter/thief solo most of the time in my party of six and I wonder if that's my kind of thing.

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Dragonspear

johntyl said:

sparrow13x said:

Depends how you define cheese really.

There, cheese.

That's not cheese, that's my kinda BBQ.

Ok, maybe grilled cheese

sparrow13x

johntyl said:

sparrow13x said:

Depends how you define cheese really.

There, cheese.

Okay I've definitely done this in the past, the past meaning yesterday, when I had Edwin toss 3 cloudkills into Mae'Var's room. But I don't play arcane types when I solo so sadly this is not available to me.