Sentimentality

CaptRory

Do you ever find yourself doing things in game because of sentimentality or such?

My paladin is still wearing that Wolfsbane Amulet and carrying a sprig of Belladonna.

Quartz

My character kill_zombies.exe wore Ajantis' purple helmet the whole game, even though she could've been wearing much better helmets (Helm of Glory, Helm of Balduran, Helmet of Defense).

I like to make Mages evil because I feel that the Evil Archmagi Robe looks sexiest. Same goes for the Tier 1 and Tier 2 robes, the red colored ones always look best...

Mortianna

@Quartz I remember the first time I put the Robe of Evil Archmagi on my PC. It wouldn't matter if it had no powers whatsoever, she'd still be sporting it throughout the game--form over function and all that.

Same thing goes for the Robe of Electrical Resistance and Adventurer's Robe.

GM1984

I always take the same NPCs and kit them out the same way, think it's time to mix it up a bit. It might feel strange without kiven, ajantis and minsc.

Dino

This whole re-playthrough of the series is mostly out of sentimentality. And thats cool, thats cool. ^^

Mortianna

I always keep one skull from the skeletons at High Hedge in my inventory (likewise with Xzar if he's in my party). Maybe it's overly stereotypical, but it just seems appropriate for Necromancers to have a skull or two in their packs--especially as material components for spells.

Dino

Mortianna said:

I always keep one skull from the skeletons at High Hedge in my inventory (likewise with Xzar if he's in my party). Maybe it's overly stereotypical, but it just seems appropriate for Necromancers to have a skull or two in their packs--especially as material components for spells.

Minsc got Boo, Xzar got BOO!

All is well.

Brude

Remember Joia at the Friendly Arm Inn? She got robbed by a few hobgoblins outside and wants you to get her flamedance ring back. She offers no rewards, and if you insist she on one, she will leave. If you complete the quest, you get 300XP and +1 rep. I always hated that there wasn't an evil way to resolve this.

Until I discovered that killing her outright brings three times the experience and no loss of rep. (I usually have Montaron sneak in and backstab her, then bring the whole group into it).

After she's dead, I go retrieve the ring. It's unique. The item description very specifically says it is "Joia's Flamedance Ring."

Montaron likes to wear it for the rest of the game, in memory of his first backstab. That's sentimental, right?

Mortianna

@Brude Lol, that's awesome. I can't believe I've never tried that.

ajwz

I often make a cavlier, and equip all the fire resistant and dragon slaying loot you get from firekraags dungeon, and keep it equipped for the rest of the game even though it is less than optimal.

LadyEibhilinRhett

I cannot do a playthrough without having Xan in the party. Even if it's a party where he really doesn't fit in at all or contribute to the general party composition. He just made such an impression on me my first playthrough, and I just want him in my group forever and always. I mean. I guess that's kind of sentimental of me.
Also I get attached to characters and reload if they die. That's a thing too.

Mortianna

@LadyEibhilinRhett I'm the same way with Viconia. My party just doesn't feel complete without her.

Kaxon

@ajwz I kept my Cavalier in the red dragon scale and the dragon helm for the rest of the game because it looked awesome. I wish you could have him wear the red dragon shield too but obviously you want to use Carsomyr instead.

ARKdeEREH

I forgot to return that werewolf baby to its mother during one BG1 playthrough. I didn't realize it was still in my inventory until it was too late and I had long since left the island. I felt bad about just leaving an infant somewhere, so I roleplayed the idea that my PC had adopted it. I carried it through the rest of the game and imported it into BG2 with me and carried it to the end of SoA.

I've also used the ctrl q cheat to 'save' non joinable NPCs throughout the game that I felt morally opposed to killing or letting die. They joined my party instead and one of them became my second favorite NPC of all time. The three NPCs that I've played the most like this are Sendai, Phaere, and Priss, but there have been many, many others.

ARKdeEREH

Mortianna said:

@LadyEibhilinRhett I'm the same way with Viconia. My party just doesn't feel complete without her.

I'm the same way. Viconia is a permanent member of my party. Other NPCs may come and go, but Viconia is what the keeps game fun and interesting and it would be very boring without her. All my recent playthroughs of either game have included Viconia. I like to keep the same PC from game to game so I don't have to start over from scratch. For the past five BG2 playthroughs I've been doing the same with Viconia too ever since I learned how to re-create her in Shadowkeeper so that she also has what she had at the end of the previous playthrough.

The only time I've deviated from that is when I played a solo game in which I roleplayed that my PC, Valasa DeVir, was the time traveling granddaughter of Viconia and my PC from the other games.

O_Bruce

My characters usually are keeping two Gorion's letters.

Shin

In the BG1 NPC Project mod there are two items that always get me. One is Imoen making a necklace for you as a birthday present out of some pearls she's gathered and Gorion's harper pin; and the other is Dynaheir drawing your portrait if you end up in a romance with her. Usually I wear the necklace and keep the portrait in my inventory for the rest of the trilogy.

I also like to preserve a couple of the bounty notices you find early in BG1 and place them side by side with the 100k gold reward notice you find at the ToB oasis. Good reminder of how much I've done since leaving Candlekeep.

Mortianna

I still remember my first playthroughs of BG and BG2. I read every new book that I came across, assuming they were important for the game. Even after playing the game years later, I still keep books that I find interesting or relevant to my PC (like History of the Fateful Coin and History of the Dead Three) or to the game in general (History of the Sisters of Light and Darkness and History of the Drow, especially). I learned a lot about the Forgotten Realms history by reading those "books" (more like summaries), so I considered it time well spent that helped immerse me into the game.

ARKdeEREH

Mortianna said:

I still remember my first playthroughs of BG and BG2. I read every new book that I came across, assuming they were important for the game. Even after playing the game years later, I still keep books that I find interesting or relevant to my PC (like History of the Fateful Coin and History of the Dead Three) or to the game in general (History of the Sisters of Light and Darkness and History of the Drow, especially). I learned a lot about the Forgotten Realms history by reading those "books" (more like summaries), so I considered it time well spent that helped immerse me into the game.

I used to do the same thing with books in both BG games, but more recently I've mostly ignored them. I also read most of the books I found in Oblivion, and actually created my own private library in that game.

LadyRhian

For me it was the Ankheg armor I found in the field container. It was such wonderful armor, and on my first playthrough, weight was a precious commodity.... So I wore it all the way to the end of the game.

CaptRory

Ankheg is great. Few characters have really great stats, so some who are lacking really benefit from a lightweight armor. Like Viconia, she wore it til she got the gloves of ogre power. And there's not a lack of characters that can benefit from the strength boost so, she might not be getting them in any random playthrough.

BrightNight

ZelgadisGW said:

My characters usually are keeping two Gorion's letters.

Hahaha.....so im not the only one doing that. I like to keep them in my bag just to remind me where it all started. And how powerfull i have become since.

ajwz

I usually try to fill up with as many arrows of detonation as possible on character with missile weapon slots who will never use a missile weapon in the game. I rarely use any of them, I just think the concept is cool.

cyberhawk

I feel bad when discarding characters from my party who weren't just found somewhere randomly (like Anomen, Ajantis, or Xzar and Montaron). If I don't want Jaheira and Khalid in my party, I just won't talk to them in the first place.

This can lead to this: I start a new BG game, thinking "man, this time I'll play with a really small party, no Jaheira and Khalid, and level up fast!" Then Gorion tells me to go and look for Jaheira and Khalid because they are his friends and I'm like "darn, have to respect his last wish. Here we go again..."

Oxford_Guy

LadyRhian said:

For me it was the Ankheg armor I found in the field container. It was such wonderful armor, and on my first playthrough, weight was a precious commodity.... So I wore it all the way to the end of the game.

The Ankheg is good for Viconia and other characters who can't wear full-plate for whatever reason (low strength, Druid class restriction etc.), but you can't stack it with protection rings etc., so non-magical full plate can be better

Jaxsbudgie

I give Eddard Silvershield's fibula to Skie so she can wear it in memory of him, it makes me sad, especially when she sighs "I wanna go home..."

I also let her single-handedly kill Slythe and Krystin to avenge her father. Bloody hell Skie has had it rough.

Kaxon

@Jaxsbudgie kinda similar to that, when you get out of the Arnise hold there's a Roenall standing outside. If I'm not playing a fighter that quest line is over, so I just let Nalia backstab the dude.

colonel_burger

I carry every scroll and quest-related book/note with me the entire game. Also the very first good weapon i picked up on my first playthrough was the +2 hammer from that insane cleric Bassilus.

God I love BG, I randomly stumbled south along the sword coast rather than beelining to the FAI and Beregost, and walked straight into that camp with all of his skeleton and zombie friends (brother Lurm I believe).

Now I always go and get that hammer, first thing