Play Yourself in BG Challenge
Quartz
Member Posts: 3,853
So I'm sure something like this has been done before, but here goes.
Basically, you take yourself, think about what class you would be, what stats you would have, etc. and make yourself a character in Baldur's Gate. Then you do a run where you go until your main character dies, and that's that, no reloading. Obviously you can save and load later when you are switching tasks IRL etc., but yeah, once you die that's it.
You can then describe your ventures with or without screenshots, in first or third person, or a mixture if you're like me and can't make up your mind.
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Right, so I'm starting as a Neutral Good, male Human Bard.
My stats:
STR - 10
DEX - 14 (possibly generous, quizzes have varied some say I'm 13)
CON - 10
INT - 14
WIS - 15
CHA - 15
So obviously my AC blows. I'm *okay* at picking pockets with a 40%. Sadly the most interesting thing about me is my 15 Lore, I have a bonus for my good Int/Wis stats. Hilariously, I'm better at scribing scrolls than Garrick and Eldoth, even though I'm far from a genius.
I gave myself proficiencies in Short Swords and Bows. I fire bows in real life, I'm not too bad. I picked Short Swords because I don't see myself as being able to swing around a long sword that well.
Hardest part about this playthrough for me is going to be staying in character. I have to act like I would in the world - not cheating little things here and there - and being a pretty nice guy in general. First challenges of course were actually giving the Antidote to Fuller (seriously, who does this?) and giving Firebead his Identify scroll (again, who does this?). [It's a joke don't over-analyze it. Seriously. Don't be 'that guy.']
I'm not going to lie I was surprised when I took care of Shank with minimal difficulty. My AC is 10 after all, and I was using a dagger. THAC0 20, 1d4 damage isn't exactly amazing.
That said, my dagger broke while fighting Carbos, which was pretty hysterical. Regardless, I ended up punching him unconscious. I finished him off with Hull's long sword. Chances are, my character then went and cleaned it off, hoping to God that Hull wouldn't notice.
Once done with all these pesky quests I went and bought a short sword, short bow, and studded leather. I can't really see myself wearing chain mail.
So Gorion dies yada yada. I pick up Imoen of course, and she's great at reminding me how truly insignificant my stats are. I do enjoy exploring, but I know I should heed Gorion's words, stay to the coastway road and go to the Friendly Arm Inn. Still, Imoen mentioned a note on Gorion's body, so I figure we should wander over that way, although make it brief as possible.
A couple of kind of mean looking folks Xzar and Montaron asked me to assist them to the Nashkel Mines. It seemed like a dirty guilt switch to pull after giving me a potion of healing, so I told them to go on their way ... the Nashkel Mines aren't really my business anyway. All I want is to get to safety.
First thing Imoen does is critical hit a Gibberling. What was I saying earlier about feeling insignificant? Yeah, there's that humility again.
So we finally come across the Lion's Way trail marker ... thing. It's been a long day of walking for Imoen and I, so we're quite glad that the Friendly Arm Inn is close at hand. Some fancy robed guy gives us directions, which is nice. We also meet up with a ranger named Aoln, who lets us know that the area isn't typically that dangerous ... which is refreshing to know.
However upon our final walk to the Friendly Arm Inn, we discover that he is quite wrong. We are ambushed by several Bandits and a couple of Half Ogres. Needless to say, with my pitiful 7 AC, I was shot immediately and died in one hit. The end. Imoen seemed to be doing well at running towards the screen edges though, she probably got away by the game's rules. With my stats, she's probably about 20x more significant of a Bhaalspawn than me anyway.
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So there's my story. Have fun y'all.
Basically, you take yourself, think about what class you would be, what stats you would have, etc. and make yourself a character in Baldur's Gate. Then you do a run where you go until your main character dies, and that's that, no reloading. Obviously you can save and load later when you are switching tasks IRL etc., but yeah, once you die that's it.
You can then describe your ventures with or without screenshots, in first or third person, or a mixture if you're like me and can't make up your mind.
---------
Right, so I'm starting as a Neutral Good, male Human Bard.
My stats:
STR - 10
DEX - 14 (possibly generous, quizzes have varied some say I'm 13)
CON - 10
INT - 14
WIS - 15
CHA - 15
So obviously my AC blows. I'm *okay* at picking pockets with a 40%. Sadly the most interesting thing about me is my 15 Lore, I have a bonus for my good Int/Wis stats. Hilariously, I'm better at scribing scrolls than Garrick and Eldoth, even though I'm far from a genius.
I gave myself proficiencies in Short Swords and Bows. I fire bows in real life, I'm not too bad. I picked Short Swords because I don't see myself as being able to swing around a long sword that well.
Hardest part about this playthrough for me is going to be staying in character. I have to act like I would in the world - not cheating little things here and there - and being a pretty nice guy in general. First challenges of course were actually giving the Antidote to Fuller (seriously, who does this?) and giving Firebead his Identify scroll (again, who does this?). [It's a joke don't over-analyze it. Seriously. Don't be 'that guy.']
I'm not going to lie I was surprised when I took care of Shank with minimal difficulty. My AC is 10 after all, and I was using a dagger. THAC0 20, 1d4 damage isn't exactly amazing.
That said, my dagger broke while fighting Carbos, which was pretty hysterical. Regardless, I ended up punching him unconscious. I finished him off with Hull's long sword. Chances are, my character then went and cleaned it off, hoping to God that Hull wouldn't notice.
Once done with all these pesky quests I went and bought a short sword, short bow, and studded leather. I can't really see myself wearing chain mail.
So Gorion dies yada yada. I pick up Imoen of course, and she's great at reminding me how truly insignificant my stats are. I do enjoy exploring, but I know I should heed Gorion's words, stay to the coastway road and go to the Friendly Arm Inn. Still, Imoen mentioned a note on Gorion's body, so I figure we should wander over that way, although make it brief as possible.
A couple of kind of mean looking folks Xzar and Montaron asked me to assist them to the Nashkel Mines. It seemed like a dirty guilt switch to pull after giving me a potion of healing, so I told them to go on their way ... the Nashkel Mines aren't really my business anyway. All I want is to get to safety.
First thing Imoen does is critical hit a Gibberling. What was I saying earlier about feeling insignificant? Yeah, there's that humility again.
So we finally come across the Lion's Way trail marker ... thing. It's been a long day of walking for Imoen and I, so we're quite glad that the Friendly Arm Inn is close at hand. Some fancy robed guy gives us directions, which is nice. We also meet up with a ranger named Aoln, who lets us know that the area isn't typically that dangerous ... which is refreshing to know.
However upon our final walk to the Friendly Arm Inn, we discover that he is quite wrong. We are ambushed by several Bandits and a couple of Half Ogres. Needless to say, with my pitiful 7 AC, I was shot immediately and died in one hit. The end. Imoen seemed to be doing well at running towards the screen edges though, she probably got away by the game's rules. With my stats, she's probably about 20x more significant of a Bhaalspawn than me anyway.
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So there's my story. Have fun y'all.
Post edited by Quartz on
20
Comments
Funny you mention that waylaid ambush. The *exact* same thing happened to me tonight in the same place, at the same level. Except I yelled "What the eff? You've GOT to be kidding me." And then I just reloaded. (Two orgrillons and a half dozen bandits at level one? Gimme a break!)
Re: Metagaming. I feel dumb now. After running a half dozen evil charcters through Candlekeep, it never occurred to me to keep the quest items (because I always wanted the XP). But I think doing that would definitely make sense for someone who was chaotic neutral or neutral evil.
Speaking of which: Hull's Long Sword. It's a quest item, and I'm wondering if it had some internal flag that keeps it from breaking like other regular weapons. If so, it might be worth hanging onto until magical weapons become available.
I'm tempted to try the challenge, but I'm pretty sure any character based on me would have such a horrific DEX that he'd trip and stap himself with his weapon before getting out of Candlekeep.
I chose LMD, Friends, and Identify as my starting spells because I think these spells would be the most likely for me to have prior to being thrust out into the world beyond the safe womb of Candlekeep. As a Necromancer, I would get plenty of practice using LMD to exterminate rats and other "vermin" in Reevor's warehouse. Since I'm evil, "Friends" would be an important spell to have so I could gain the favor of as many people as possible in Candlekeep (especially if I want to gain access to those Necromantic tomes locked away in the library). "Identify" is pretty obvious: identifying magical tomes and objects are part of my duties in Candlekeep as a novice wizard.
All said, my 16 DEX will help my AC a little, but hopefully I'll find a defensive spell scroll early on; otherwise, I probably won't last long! I'm going to take the dagger proficiency in BG:EE -- (I like knives and daggers IRL, and even have a throwing knife set with a target board). I would take the dart proficiency (they're cheap, they get 3 att/round, and the magical ones are very effective), but I'm going to stay true and pretend I have no foreknowledge of what's ahead.
Imoen bests me on every ability score except for WIS (her bubbly personality betrays her naïveté). I wonder if I'll ever run across any of those magical books I read about that can make you smarter, healthier, wiser, etc. (^.~)
*bear in mind that my scores are the averages from eight different IRL stat tests (posted here).
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 9
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 17
Charisma: 9
I have military experience, so I suppose it would be appropriate to take the class of fighter since I wore armor, a helm, and wielded martial weapons. I'd give myself 2 stars in crossbow weapon proficiency since that would be the closest equivalent to an M-16. I'm not sure what the other weapon proficiencies would be; perhaps daggers. On the other hand, I'd take shortswords since running around with heavy armor and a dagger would look too silly and the weapons are similar in application. I think my alignment would be Chaotic Good.
I guess I'd just be an overall average (real average, not typical PC or NPC average) ranged warrior that isn't a dumped-stat fuckwit. My AC wouldn't be great, but being able to use heavy armor would help. Also, with warrior progression for THAC0, my dexterity wouldn't hamper me too much. Fortunately, the Gloves of Dexterity would handily solve both problems, and would actually make me viable as a heavy armored, ranged fighter (assuming I live that long...). The Crossbow of Speed would also be mandatory. My only problem is that the carry weight restrictions for average strength seem a bit low, and I'd consider pumping my strength up to 12, which is in the average range but I could carry 90 lbs, and the armor weights don't take into account weight distribution. Or would that be cheating?
This is it folks!
It all started with a big lie.
We enter the Candlekeep inn and we see Firebead Elvenhair - the man baring the greatest greeting in existence - is back in town. He sends me to fetch an Identify scroll. First, I was to haggle a Studded Leather Armor, a Helmet, a mace, a sling and some slugs. Exiting the inn, I pass everybody, except Tethtoril - they say he is the most forceful man around - prompting me to make haste towards my foster father. I run off to Firebead, hand out the scroll and run off to Gorion. Silly Imoen is waving; theres no time to waste.
Duly noted
Not so wise after all..forgot to memorize any spells...
Just following orders
That's the last thing I saw. I've allready moved on.
Now, Imoen worked her charms on the guards, and joined the party.
We follow the road with the hope of finding The Friendly Arm Inn - it's like people are competing in finding the grandest and most cordial sounding name for an establishment.
We pass a couple of shady looking fellows.
Aaand
A cookie would be nice right now
Moving on we met a silly old man. Right after he leaves, we're under attack.
Have no fear, I run like a deer
Imoen was like rat-tat-tat
I think I saw those monsters before inside a book. But never a Xvart in the company of a Gibberling.
We take a nap and move on.
Thank you!; yes, I think I will enjoy my stay
Or not..
That was close
I'll be BAK!
D'oh!
...and double drat!
Immy had some neat stuff
It takes courage to know when to run..
/flex
More cowbell?
Basta!
Now, about your stuff..
I look for the stronger one in the group and say Hi!
They all went to bed and lived happily ever after.
Something else - I have a reason for not doing any quests except Firebead's. I don't walk around talking to strangers or breaking and entering. If baddies where hiding about, tough luck.
Alice, Lawful Good Human Beast Master (Using tutu)
Str 13
Dex 13
Con 14
Int 14
Wis 14
Cha 8
Proficiency in Longbow, Crossbow.
Racial enemy Golem.
Day 1:
Delivering books, scrolls, swords, and medicine to cows? Absolutely! It's not as if I have anything more exciting going on here in Candlekeep, and i'd like some extra gold - I've had my eye on that long bow Winthrop has. Gorion seems to think we're going somewhere, after all, and Erik's been teaching me in my spare time. Maybe I should get armor too. Something lightweight, I don't fancy walking very far in anything too heavy.
Oh, and two people did try to kill me this morning, which was a little unsettling. It was probably a misunderstanding, but Sparky, my familiar, does get upset over that kind of thing. She killed them both before I had a chance to really talk it over. No time to worry about it now, we're off on our journey! I do wish Gorion would tell me what's going on, but I trust him. Everything will be fine.
Day 2:
I'm woken by Imoen, and it takes me a while to gather my head and recount the previous night's events. I immediately wish I hadn't tried. It's only the potential danger we're both in that keeps me from breaking down entirely; whatever wanted me dead is presumably still out there. Gorion said something about heading to an inn, and Imoen seems to know something about his recent correspondence (typical Imoen, but I'm not about to scold her nosiness right now). I guess we should seek out that letter if it's still there, and...well, I don't have a shovel but we should attempt some kind of burial before we carry on. There's a road nearby, and since West leads to Candlekeep I suppose we'll be following it East. There's no option of going home, but that doesn't both me as much as I might have thought: the forests are calming, in their way, and I feel strangely at ease here, considering that I have only ever seen these trees from Candlekeep's windows in the past.
No doubt my unknown enemies are out there somewhere, but we encounter nothing worse than gibberlings, strange creatures that they are, on our route to the Friendly Arm Inn. Well, unless you count Xzar and Montaron. We met them on the road and they gave me healing potions; I wasn't in a position to refuse, but once I had accepted they asked me to go with them to Nashkel. I didn't feel like I could refuse after they had helped us, but I did get the impression that there was something a bit...not quite right about the pair of them. Still, Montaron is clearly a more competent fighter than Imoen or myself, and Xzar knows some spells that may be useful. And talking of spells...we met an odd wizard not long after. Long red robes, pointy hat, the full works. He seemed to know more than he was letting on, but I think he meant well. Of my apparent enemies and my apparent allies, I am not sure of which I know less!
With its high walls and guards, the Friendly Arm Inn reminded me a little of Candlekeep as we approached. It certainly looked like a place of relatively security, but looks can be deceiving. Despite barely knowing where I was going myself, someone was clearly expecting me. A mage, but not so friendly as the last one. He attacked, and it turned out to be for the best that I had accepted Xzar's company: I was glad to have some magic on my side of the battle as well! To my surprise, however, it was Imoen who eventually brought the mage down with a well placed arrow. She looked as shocked at her success as I was, but we didn't linger over our victory.
Hurrying instead the inn, it took us no time at all to locate Gorion's friends, Jaheira and Khalid. They were waiting in a corner, watching all arrivals carefully, and when Jaheira's eyes met mine she nodded slightly in acknowledgement. The pair of them are clearly competent fighters. They carry themselves and their equipment with much more practiced ease than I do, and I immediately felt safer in their company. Furthermore, they wish to go to Nashkel as well! It seems like fate itself is steering me there. That said, while they may seem to share Xzar and Montaron's aims, the four of them don't seem very keen on each other.
Day 3:
Following all that happened yesterday, a change of pace was very welcome. Before leaving the Inn I purchased some armor for Imoen, since she seems quite determined to stay with me through all this. We then retraced our steps back down the south road, accosted by yet more gibberlings, and managed to reach Beregost before nightfall. It's a bigger town than little Candlekeep, and I look forward to spending a couple of hours getting to know the place before choosing an inn to spend the night in. Jaheira seems to think we should carry straight on to Nashkel and catch what sleep we need in the wilderness, but Imoen and I are still far too accustomed to our beds! After visiting the smithy and spending what little coin we have on better protection for the group, we settle for the Jovial Juggler - it sounds friendly enough, after all! There's a paladin there too, who warned us about half-ogres to the south. I think he was hoping we'd deal with them for him, but mostly I am hoping we can avoid them on our way to Nashkel. Khalid and Jaheira seem like strong fighters but I am more than happy to stick to gibberlings for now, and I worry about Xzar, strange though he is, since he cannot wear armor like the rest of us.
Update to come
That way, we can see how each other are doing. Anyone else thinking of doing the same?
But I really like the idea.
Beast Master- Chaotic good
Strength - 12
Dexterity - 17
Constitution - 15
Intelligence 14
Wisdom - 13
Charisma - (whatever the lowest that Rangers can have lol)
17 year old me:
15 Str
17 dex
14 con
16 int
10 wis
12 cha
Reasoning - in my late teens I was a karate expert and absolutely mad about training (45-90 minutes of training daily). I could do over 100 push ups, infinite sit ups, jump spinning kicks, and had an amazing 12% body fat, but I was skinny, frail and underweight, basically much more dexterous than strong. I was also very clever at school, top class for maths and science, and got a student of the year award in music (not too hard when I was the only person with any skill in an instrument, and later got past grade 8 on the piano).
29 year old me:
10 str
8 dex
12 con
14 int
14 wis
6 cha
Reasoning - after starting uni I completely quit karate or any kind of working out. Initially everything was fine, I got a part time job, joined the uni choir and orchestra, was sociable and loved my time there. Then I got some incurable ear disease that destroyed my hearing and balance. Then something went wrong with my joints - left knee, shoulder, ribcage, and both my wrists gradually became more and more painful. Then while overdoing my piano practice one day, I broke a wrist. The ear thing also led to mild cognitive dysfunction and lethargy, making me dumber, quite forgetful, and tired all the time.
So maybe I began my life as an aspiring bard, only to end up a wild mage, but one that fails his spells a lot more often than he should, and also falls over a lot and has minimal stamina. This would be very accurate if INT determined max spell level - starting off as a capable bard, and then becoming a 'fallen bard' that can only cast 4 levels of spells with a failure rate.
Stupid human body of mine, why couldn't I have been an elf
Interesting story; I think you're being too hard on yourself in the Charisma department though.
So I would be a Cleric with Studded Leather Armor, and I would stay back and heal people without any real danger to myself. Lol. I MIGHT try to stab things with spears, but only because I could stay out of the reach of swords and maces.