Help me play this game for the last time!

mrdeluxe

I’ve had it. I can’t continue on like this. I can’t work, I can’t relax, I can’t do anything other than think about this damned game! I could be doing whatever and a sudden idea for an interesting build strikes me and I become obsessed with it. I’m useless for the rest of the day until I get in front of my computer and create that character: I waste hours on fleshing the character out: motivations, portrait, atributes, proficiencies, what party members to add… and so on. And then I start playing the game and, at best, I finish the Nashkel Mines until I get bored and/or I get a new idea for a new character. Lately I don’t even get to Feldepost's Inn before that happens.

Sometimes I get so frustrated with this endless cycle of restarting that I delete the game in anger! …Until a few weeks pass and the urge to play again reappears.

So the only solution is one last play-through, where I do all that I can, experience Baldur’s Gate to the marrow! And then move one. Mission accomplish. I can rest, at last.

As such, and in order to prevent the cycle from starting, I transfer the burden of choice to you, fellow players. YOU shall decide on the character with which I will play this game for the last time! And not only what class to choose (and gender), but how shall this character approach the game. Talk me into it!

Some classes with which I have finished BG1 and/or BG2 (I’ve never finished ToB):

- Blade
- Cleric/Ranger
- Archer (only BG1)
- Kensai (only BG2)
- Monk (only BG2)

I’ve played with many more but never finished either game with them. I tend to prefer single classes/kits to dual or multiclasses, but I’m open to all ideas!

Help me with this task! My sanity is in your hands!

Gallenger

I typically let the dice decide for me because I've played the game too much - I was rockin' bg1 on heat.net .

So I've worked out a system.

Male or female? d4 - odd = male, even = female

For the rest numbers count from bottom to top or top to bottom as the mood strikes me - but consistency is key.

Race? d8 (excluding the number 8 - reroll)
Class? Roll a dice that fits nicely (due to available class/multiclass variance).
Alignment? d10 (excluding 10, reroll)

Stats: whatever the very first roll is, you don't get to pick what sort of strangeness you're born with and neither does this character. If it's ABSOLUTELY unimaginably bad, maybe flip 1 score - but I would discourage that course.

Skills: pick what you like since some weapons are pretty sparse, and if you end up with a rogue component it's pretty miserable to force yourself into playing some variation of rogue you don't want to.

Then pick a name and you're done

It should serve to make the game more difficult in some respects since you can't carefully plan anything in advance (like who gets the guantlets of dex) and your character may have some noticeable flaws that have to be worked around throughout the series. I quite enjoy it myself.

If you happen to get a human it also can make dual classing feel more organic. Happen to be a fighter with 12 str and 13 dex but 17 Wisdom? Well something can be done about that! lol

OrlonKronsteen

I suffer from chronic restartitis as well and am also contemplating retirement.

@Gallenger has an interesting idea - if you can handle the randomness. Otherwise, have you tried a paladin? All of the kits give you melee might and have extra abilities and immunities that give them a flavour which might keep things interesting for a longer run. Other single class kits that I find interesting are stalker and assassin. You haven't listed any kind of mage on your list so maybe that?

ameliaboggins

`And then I start playing the game and, at best, I finish the Nashkel Mines until I get bored and/or I get a new idea for a new character. `

your clearly mentally defective, go and see a shrink

mrdeluxe

Gallenger said:

I typically let the dice decide for me because I've played the game too much - I was rockin' bg1 on heat.net .

So I've worked out a system.

Male or female? d4 - odd = male, even = female

For the rest numbers count from bottom to top or top to bottom as the mood strikes me - but consistency is key.

Race? d8 (excluding the number 8 - reroll)
Class? Roll a dice that fits nicely (due to available class/multiclass variance).
Alignment? d10 (excluding 10, reroll)

Stats: whatever the very first roll is, you don't get to pick what sort of strangeness you're born with and neither does this character. If it's ABSOLUTELY unimaginably bad, maybe flip 1 score - but I would discourage that course.

Skills: pick what you like since some weapons are pretty sparse, and if you end up with a rogue component it's pretty miserable to force yourself into playing some variation of rogue you don't want to.

Then pick a name and you're done

It should serve to make the game more difficult in some respects since you can't carefully plan anything in advance (like who gets the guantlets of dex) and your character may have some noticeable flaws that have to be worked around throughout the series. I quite enjoy it myself.

If you happen to get a human it also can make dual classing feel more organic. Happen to be a fighter with 12 str and 13 dex but 17 Wisdom? Well something can be done about that! lol

I really like this idea! I think I'm going to do just that but with a little tweak: Since we are both a product of nature and nurture, and that is what defines our paths, I will first roll for Stats and Alignment before rolling for Class. This will define my character physically and mentally and that will condition what that character can achieve to be. Maybe the PC would love to be a paladin or a bard, but will never be able to be one because (s)he wasn't blessed by the gods with enough charisma?

As such, I think I'll first have to plan my character on paper, rolling for gender, race, stats and alignment (the nature and the nurture) and then roll for class, from the choices available according to the race, stats and alignment I got previously!

OrlonKronsteen said:

@Gallenger has an interesting idea - if you can handle the randomness. Otherwise, have you tried a paladin? All of the kits give you melee might and have extra abilities and immunities that give them a flavour which might keep things interesting for a longer run. Other single class kits that I find interesting are stalker and assassin. You haven't listed any kind of mage on your list so maybe that?

I've plained a lot with a Cavalier in BG1 but the game becomes too much hack 'n slash. My experiences with Stalker and Assassin were more interesting, especially assassin… I really enjoy classes with hard limitations but that do one or two things really well. I've tried Mage but never really stick with one…

JuliusBorisov

There's no such thing as the last playthrough of Baldur's Gate as long as you keep living...

Anyway, if you want to make it to the end, you can start documenting your run on this forum and/or try no-reload approach (and again tell us about your tale here). When you write about your playthrough, you start feeling more connection with your characters. When you play without reloads, you start wanting to beat the game no matter the circumstances.

Mr2150

*Shameless plug time*

@mrdeluxe / @Gallenger - if you like randomised characters, you might want to try my random character generator UI mod.

You can find it here, or as part of @AncientCowboy 's EEUITweaks Mod.

mrdeluxe

here). When you write about your playthrough, you start feeling more connection with your characters. When you play without reloads, you start wanting to beat the game no matter the circumstances.

That's a great idea! I think I will do just that!

Mr2150 said:

*Shameless plug time*

@mrdeluxe / @Gallenger - if you like randomised characters, you might want to try my random character generator UI mod.

You can find it here, or as part of @AncientCowboy 's EEUITweaks Mod.

That looks really cool, I think I'll give it a shot (although it's actually fun to see your random character gradually come to "life" in front of you. I would really like a mod that would just add a "RANDOM" button to each step of the character creation process…

I just randomly created a Female Chaotic Neutral Half-Elf Figther/Mage/Thief with:

Strength: 11
Dexterity: 12
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 15
Charisma: 14

I think I'll call her "Average Jane"!

OrlonKronsteen

mrdeluxe said:

I think I'll call her "Average Jane"!

There was a Lord of Murder, but is there also a god of mediocrity in the Realms? Maybe there was a switch-up at birth.

Mr2150

mrdeluxe said:

I would really like a mod that would just add a "RANDOM" button to each step of the character creation process…

It's probably easy to modify my mod to do that... let me have a look at it and I'll PM you.

Mr2150

Sent you the details @mrdeluxe !

Gallenger

Well, at least if you find a scroll of wish you won't have to worry too much about the djinn screwing you over with a Wisdom of 15 Also will check out the mod lol my last 3-4 characters have been randomly generated according to the system i have outlined above and for some reason I just keep replaying the series like a hamster on a wheel every few months lol.

Otherguy

Once you go FMT, you never go back.

Very impressed by your courage to play with that roll! I want my charnames to be a lot more heroic myself, probably due to lack of skill on my part.

Raduziel

Gallenger said:

I typically let the dice decide for me because I've played the game too much - I was rockin' bg1 on heat.net .

So I've worked out a system.

Male or female? d4 - odd = male, even = female

For the rest numbers count from bottom to top or top to bottom as the mood strikes me - but consistency is key.

Race? d8 (excluding the number 8 - reroll)
Class? Roll a dice that fits nicely (due to available class/multiclass variance).
Alignment? d10 (excluding 10, reroll)

Stats: whatever the very first roll is, you don't get to pick what sort of strangeness you're born with and neither does this character. If it's ABSOLUTELY unimaginably bad, maybe flip 1 score - but I would discourage that course.

Skills: pick what you like since some weapons are pretty sparse, and if you end up with a rogue component it's pretty miserable to force yourself into playing some variation of rogue you don't want to.

Then pick a name and you're done

It should serve to make the game more difficult in some respects since you can't carefully plan anything in advance (like who gets the guantlets of dex) and your character may have some noticeable flaws that have to be worked around throughout the series. I quite enjoy it myself.

If you happen to get a human it also can make dual classing feel more organic. Happen to be a fighter with 12 str and 13 dex but 17 Wisdom? Well something can be done about that! lol

So this happened... (I've adjusted her stats, but no reroll)



I won't be playing it, but it was fun to do.

I'll do this in my next IWDEE run.

Aethernaut

Just finished my seventh and likely last ever run-through of the entire saga (this time with SoD included).

I'd only click on my attachment if you want a spoiler-ish screenshot.

UnderstandMouseMagic

Try a Swashbuckler.

Reasons,
You can do so much yourself, locks, traps, stealth ect. and fights/ranged.
Great AC.
UAI at high levels.

If you invest so much effort into charname creation, having the charname as the main go to person for so much, should keep you engaged.
Nothing worse IMO, than having a great created charname (that you relate strongly to) who has to sit around twidderling their thumbs while another NPC runs around doing the stuff you want to do.

And it does come across from the OP that you do relate to the charname a lot if you take so much time creating them.
And get their levels up quickly in BG by going solo for a time and doing some experience milking. That way you don't get so bogged down in the early play.