How do you plan to play BG:EE?
BCaesar
Member Posts: 546
Much like the title says, how do you plan to play Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition? What rules do you live by and what characters will you want in your party?
I have two run-throughs thought out. I'll get to the second one later, but here's the first one.
FIRST GAME:
I plan to start with a Elven Chaotic Good Sorcerer and play through like I would do things in real life. I'll help people I feel deserve help as much as I can, always tell the truth, never take anything belonging to other people (unless they attacked me first and I killed them), and generally try to respect everyone around me and make the world a better place.
The second part of that is I don't believe in the idea of evil races. To be good or evil a being must have the intelligence to make a choice (we don't consider animals evil for hunting for example) and if a species has enough intelligence to make the choice to be evil, then each member of that species is choosing and it's impossible to judge every member of that species as "evil" or "good" on sight.
Combined with that I don't like the prejudice of many supposedly good characters. Rangers each have a species that they have an irrational hatred for. Many supposedly good characters seem to be incredibly intolerant and hostile towards all members of any races they've decided are evil, especially Paladins like Keldorn in BG2. So I feel it's necessary to protect those races from the supposed good characters if necessary (like saving Viconia from the Flaming Fist guard, or from Keldorn, or anyone else.) I assume Dorn will suffer from the same persecution and I'll protect him as well.
While my reputation tends to usually be quite high, I don't consider it important, so if I have to kill a few (dozen) unreasonable guards that are unfairly persecuting me or others that's regrettable but necessary. I can always go to a temple if my reputation gets too low and I'll try not to let it get so low that people leave (but if they do these things happen).
Other Party Members: I plan to add each new party member as I find them, removing whichever party member has been in my party the longest. This means I may sometimes be without a thief or healer but I just consider that a challenge. I'll do the quests of each member as I get them and when a party member leaves I'll leave them fully equipped with normal weapons and armor (but keep the magical special stuff to give to other party members).
The three new characters I'll keep forever once I get them since I'll want to see what they're all about and then I'll just rotate through my other two slots. If my reputation happens to be too high for an evil character I'll delay them until the inevitable fight with a Flaming Fist guard or a racist paladin drops my reputation back to where I can have evil parties.
What's your plans?
I have two run-throughs thought out. I'll get to the second one later, but here's the first one.
FIRST GAME:
I plan to start with a Elven Chaotic Good Sorcerer and play through like I would do things in real life. I'll help people I feel deserve help as much as I can, always tell the truth, never take anything belonging to other people (unless they attacked me first and I killed them), and generally try to respect everyone around me and make the world a better place.
The second part of that is I don't believe in the idea of evil races. To be good or evil a being must have the intelligence to make a choice (we don't consider animals evil for hunting for example) and if a species has enough intelligence to make the choice to be evil, then each member of that species is choosing and it's impossible to judge every member of that species as "evil" or "good" on sight.
Combined with that I don't like the prejudice of many supposedly good characters. Rangers each have a species that they have an irrational hatred for. Many supposedly good characters seem to be incredibly intolerant and hostile towards all members of any races they've decided are evil, especially Paladins like Keldorn in BG2. So I feel it's necessary to protect those races from the supposed good characters if necessary (like saving Viconia from the Flaming Fist guard, or from Keldorn, or anyone else.) I assume Dorn will suffer from the same persecution and I'll protect him as well.
While my reputation tends to usually be quite high, I don't consider it important, so if I have to kill a few (dozen) unreasonable guards that are unfairly persecuting me or others that's regrettable but necessary. I can always go to a temple if my reputation gets too low and I'll try not to let it get so low that people leave (but if they do these things happen).
Other Party Members: I plan to add each new party member as I find them, removing whichever party member has been in my party the longest. This means I may sometimes be without a thief or healer but I just consider that a challenge. I'll do the quests of each member as I get them and when a party member leaves I'll leave them fully equipped with normal weapons and armor (but keep the magical special stuff to give to other party members).
The three new characters I'll keep forever once I get them since I'll want to see what they're all about and then I'll just rotate through my other two slots. If my reputation happens to be too high for an evil character I'll delay them until the inevitable fight with a Flaming Fist guard or a racist paladin drops my reputation back to where I can have evil parties.
What's your plans?
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Comments
Personally, I've done too many playthroughs of goody-two-shoes characters already. My first playthrough of BG:EE will be a lawful evil gnomish thief/illusionist. There is SO much to steal and break into in BG1, it just invites for sneaky mini-games each time you reach a new town. No one will be safe from me pickpocketing them or breaking into their houses, looting all that looks valueable. I do need something to balance out the bad rep I'd be getting from bad alignment and lack of will to help anyone, etc., right?
If you look at a Theological Free Will argument, if you consider humans to have complete free will to choose good, evil, or other then races created by evil gods might have only partial free will and be forced to always take the evil path with outliers like Drizzt to invoke a well known example, being the equivalent to a human who is fundamentally damaged and forced to choose evil, only his damage puts him more neutrally aligned to choose his own path.
Or they could be as neutral as humanity but the society, the environment they are put in, fiercely hammers down any opposition so that any members who aren't evil are disposed of, or broken, or forced to obey to the point where they are functionally evil even if their heart isn't in it. That goes back to nature vs. nurture though. We've seen horrible tragedies that occured when a terrible regime lasted for only decades. How much worse would a system of people that live for hundreds of years be that has been around for many generations?
The entire alignment system is hypocritical; built from the perspective of humans, labeling humanity as 'good' and anything that opposes humans as 'evil'. If a human is walking through the woods and sees an orc the human can attack first and kill the orc and it's ok. If the orc attacks the human it's the orc being evil even if the orc only did so because humans have a habit of wandering into orcish towns and slaughtering them for experience and shiny gold (which is somehow considered a 'good' action). I could, as a human Paladin, embark on a giant unprovoked campaign of genocide, kill every kobald (or orc, or drow, or whatever) in the world, and still come out with Lawful Good alignment. I'd sleep like a baby secure in the rightness of my actions. That's true evil right there.
Back to my first playthrough of Baldur's Gate I'd have my Elven Chaotic Good Sorcerer max out Strength, Dexterity, and Charisma, have Constitution at 16 and then split any remaining points between Wisdom and Intelligence as a Sorcerer doesn't really need either of those. A lot of people don't bother with Charisma but I like the conversation and quest benefits even if they don't affect anything in the main storyline.
The fool paladins and they're "religious order". Yes I know them all too well BCaesar as I have ran into more than one in my travels. The minute they see a drow walking in they're surface lands they pull they're swords out and scream "Death to the drow". Of course, the last fool Bjorick I think is how you spelled it crossed my path once and ended up with his/her head on a pike while I used the rest of his/her body as my undead minion. Quite funny actually as he/she had quite the wit to match as well.
The way I play, specifically for this character, is as a savvy, intelligent, but utterly self-interested character. She wants power, and she'll cross almost any line to get it. At the same time, she can justify helping other people and pretending to be heroic if it furthers her own goals.
It's more challenging overall, but the fact that the best (and often most charismatic) NPC's in the game are evil, makes it really intriguing.
I'll bring along Xzar and Montaron, Shar-Teel, Tiax, and why not even Viconia?
I am seriously considering making most if not all my BG:EE games "no reload" campaigns of some form as well which should add considerably to the adrenaline level at each battle and also make those decisions about who to steal from a bit more complicated knowing I have to live with the results with no free "do overs"...
Imoen, Khalid and jaheira will be me "through-all-game-party-members".
I will pick up Minsc and Dynahier but dump them after the Naschel Mines and pick up Neera and Rasaad.
With a Friend. Co-op all the way through baby.
Haven't decided wether I'll make a bard, fighter/mage or a ranger. Of course a pure fighter is an option too. Clerics would be tempting, if they didn't have those horrible weapon restrictions.
Alignment? Neutral Good.
...Now, if elves could be paladins in 2nd edition rules, I'd probably go with one of those. I'm sorry, I thought that in Baldur's Gate every arcane caster used Intelligence (Even SORCERERS and Bards?)
another playthrough as an evil character (never done before, because being constantly harassed by town guards got old quick): the half-orc assassin i used in BG2 and then lastly a plain fighter with staffs, spears and darts...just to be different. plus to export into BG2 and use all those staffs of air/earth/fire etc...fun fun!
- My trusty old sorceror, played through the whole saga both solo and in group.
- A Cavalier, going to tank for a change.
- My orc fighter / cleric (for lack of a shaman or a barbarian / cleric). I know a dwarf would be better, but this is an old character of mine.
- Maybe a fighter / thief since I've never really played thieves, they feel much like a support class to me and I don't really enjoy backstabbing or stealthing around. Could change this for an stalker to give it a different flavor.
- If I make it this far, I might try an avenger or make a party without NPCs to try 4 or 5 different characters at once.
As for the who attacks who first, in my games at least there are stories attached to the actions of the characters. If they're attacking the orcs, it's because the orcs have been attacking others (which is perfectly in keeping with their worship of Gruumsh). And no, as a paladin, you could not enter into a giant unprovoked campaign of genocide. Any DM that allows that is a lousy DM, period. Paladins fall from grace, and in the original rules there was no atonement. Any paladin randomly slaughtering anything in my campaigns, whether I was the DM or a player, lost their status on the spot and did not get it back, ever. Your understanding of the alignment system is poor. It was never, and will never be, perfect. But it is also not hypocritical. It just needs to be strictly enforced by the DM.
And to answer your question: I've beaten it as a good guy, and I'm sick of graduate school so I'm going evil for the stress relief. Xar, Montabon, Viconia, and any other rat bastard I can recruit lol.
Evil party, obviously, so will be picking up Xzar (dumping for Edwin later after sending Xzar on a suicide mission - hey I'm evil!) and Montaron (focus on stealth/backstabbing - though will replace with Viconia if not running a cleric), Kagain (tank!), Safana (find traps/open locks) and, of course, the new blackguard NPC...
If going for a good party, I might try out CHARNAME as a Ranger/Cleric, though that's a bit power-gamey
Currently "in-training" playing BGT-Wediu with a chaotic neutral halfling assassin and a fairly "canon" good party, am having fun, but think the evil NPCs would be more even fun, as long as I don't let my reputation drop through the floor...
As for classes, the only one I've played through BG or BG2 was the Bard (blade in BG2). I'd like to do a mage as main character, invoker, diviner maybe. Play it as a true apprentice to Gorion.
I don't believe in good and evil or right and wrong so let me explain my character. Where to start?
CHARNAME is justice. When he left Candlekeep he was innocent. Gorion’s death made him swear to help change the world, to make it a better and more peaceful one. He would help the needy and he would show the bandit that he could his ways and become a better man making an honest living. But it was inevitable that he would change through the course of his journey. Eventually he would see that helping the world change was not enough.
CHARNAME is justice. He wholeheartedly believes that he has a god given right to pass judgement on others. He would help the needy and he would kill the bandit; the bandit is without hope for redemption. But as a thief he is not physically powerful and nor is he adept in the arcane arts. So he must rely on his wits, planning and manipulation of his peers and companions in order to create his ideal world. He cannot fight his own battles; others must do it for him. Because of this he will join forces with questionable characters such as Edwin, his magic proving very useful in furthering his goals. But it was inevitable that he would change through the course of his journey. Eventually he would see that the task of making a pure world was too large.
CHARNAME is justice but his time on this world will inevitably be too short. He cannot help the needy, they must fend for themselves nor can he waste his time on the bandit; he must focus his efforts towards greater evils. He has come to accept that questionable characters such as Edwin, as long as they serve his goals, are the very definition of good. But it was inevitable that he would change through the course of his journey. Eventually he would become obsessed.
CHARNAME is justice. He is the world’s saviour. Should a paladin stand in his way towards reshaping the world then they are surely servants of demonic forces. They are evil, and his must rid the world of them. Those who do not believe in his goals, well… they are surely evil are they not?
There are many other complexities to this character. His limitless love for Gorion sends him on a blind quest for vengeance against his killer. His obsessive protectiveness over Imoen turns him dangerous and unpredictable killer who will stop at nothing to ensure her safety.
He has a great deal of admiration for Ajantis. In him he sees somebody whose goals are closely linked to his own. It pains him to know that he is the one who unknowingly kills him (in BG2). He values Nalia’s innocence, that she has not yet seen the true evils of the world. The list goes on…
Despite his calculative nature he is a slave to his emotions. He is quick to anger, to be taunted. He sees Gorion's death every time he closes his eyes and his own weakness and inability to prevent it. He regrets having brought Imoen with him after Sarevok's death, allowing her to be captured and tortured by Irenicus.
So in my boringly predictable fashion i'll play what i always play:
ME: Paladin(part tank/part healer with wands and rods or scrolls + paladin heal spells) I play this well for
some reason. Should have seen me and a friend playing 2 pally's in WoW in the short time i played it before being utterly bored....we were a nasty team surviving encounters that so-called "perfect parties" would die doing.
Jaheira(small healing in combo with pally is enough to not require a pure cleric), Khalid, Minsc, Dynaheir and of course Imoen dualled.
Sometimes i'll drop Khalid for the archer...kivan?
Still undecided how i'll mix in the 2 new ones yet(Rassad and Neera) though my initial plan is to go with Pally(me), Jaheira, Imoen, Minsc, Neera(replacing dynaheir as magic user) and Rassad replacing khalid. I'd have to use that old trick of leaving a partner inside a building before tossing him/her out so you don't lose the partner.
In BG2 i'll use me again as paladin(i prefer undead hunter myself to cavalier even though i lose my lay hands if memory serves), Jaheira, Minsc, Yocheesemo until i get Imoen back, Aerie though her whining gets on my last nerve after a while and either Mazzy(cause i like her and she packs a mean punch surprisingly enough with the right equipment) or.....dang it's been too long since i last played BG2 lol can't remember who i used to use as my possible mazzy replacer. Definitely with BG2 more so than BG1 i have no idea how i'll incorporate Rassad and neera into the mix.
People may notice i have a penchant for melee over magic as i suck with magic. I never play magic users in any game i play if i can avoid it whether it be a single player or mmo. Also I've been picked apart on other forums for my not using a pure healer like the one in BG1 who's name escapes me as i type or Anomen in BG2...because i have 3 actual healers in me(pally), Jaheira and Aerie. I in fact have as much if not more overall healing with that combo than any single cleric unless all you do with the cleric is memorize nothing but heals....which is waste of a cleric.
That's all i can think of at the moment as i struggled during this whole thing with my train of thought constantly derailing.
CG Human Sorcerer
Rasaad
Imoen
Neera
Branwen
Kivan
2nd Playthrough:
NE Half-Elven Fighter/Mage
Dorn
Montaron
Xzar
Viconia
Edwin
3rd Playthrough:
CN Gnomish Cleric
Dorn
Rasaad
Neera
Quayle
Safana