The No-Reload Challenge

ianblessing

There was a challenge started years ago on another forum called the "no reload challenge", which like the name implies, means playing through the game without ever loading a previously saved game (not including when you start the game up). This means no restarting because you accidentally hit a trap, threw some bad rolls in a fight, or a party member got "chunked". When party members are obliterated beyond resurrection they're gone - time to find a replacement. If the main character dies, time to start over from the beginning.

This is only recommended for people who have played through the game multiple times and are looking for a challenge. If you're up for it, it can provide a great sense of accomplishment, excitement, and breathe new life into this game we love so much. It means playing slowly, carefully, and being okay with losing companions you may have grown attached to.

If you're interested in the challenge, post here with your character name/race/class/etc, and leave updates whenever you'd like ... let us know how you're doing, who's been lost in your party, who's filling their spot, how they died, how you got out of that tight jam (or didn't), etc.

As for myself I'm waiting for the game to finish downloading, but I'm getting started as soon as it's ready

ElysianEchoes

I'm glad I didn't take this challenge, as I died before ever leaving candlekeep. For some reason, I thought "Wand of the Heavens" would buff me . . .

Kalindor

I actually prefer to play with these rules, minus the starting over from the beginning bit if the protagonist dies. It makes it a bit more interesting when you remove the option to reload after an HP roll / spell memorization failure / NPC chunking.

EnterHaerDalis

I'm into this if I can could ever get my game to stop freezing my computer

What difficulty do you normally do it on?

AlexDeLarge

I'll most likely start the challenge once i go on winter vacation (after 14 dec). Hopefully some good mods will be released by then (SCS, max HP at level up - being the primary ones that i want).

siliconpsychosis

I've always played no reload and never since the release of the first game have I managed to complete the game. Infact I only ever reached the city of Baldur's Gate once! The concept of winning BG1 and finally playing BG2 is is more fantastical than the idea of a physical heaven inhabited by winged angels.

siliconpsychosis

But my lifetime ambition continues, and my current Mage/Cleric is sleeping at the Friendly Arm Inn and dreaming that one, just ONE DAY, he might fulfill hes destiny

shawne

I tend to prefer partial reloads - I don't throw away my progress in the game if my main character is killed, but if party members die, they're gone. No resurrections, no reloading. It led to some interesting developments the first time I played, and I enjoyed it so much I'm going to repeat it.

Deucetipher

I'm doing a modified no-reload right now, the exception being that I tick down the difficulty when levelling to grab max hp.

Some amusing highlights: Imoen's been ganked twice, once by Tarnesh and once by a bandit ambush. The ambush just put nine dudes around me shooting arrows. Neera and imoen went down in about two seconds, but neither was chunked. I was wearing girdle of piercing+plate, so I was ok. Lost some eq because I wasn't able to carry it out.

Since this dude is going to dual to druid down the road, I put scimitars+dual. First fight, against the rats, I broke both of them, which sucked. I had to leave, grab another weapon and come back to kill the rats. I fled from Reevor's Rats. That's just depressing.

I just freed branwen and added her as a placeholder for yeslick. Once I figure out how to grab dorn, that'll be my party until I dual imoen, at which point ill grab a second thief to cover.

siliconpsychosis

Oh, another thing I NEVER do is reroll the dice during character creation. First roll always counts, however pants the dice might be.

Derr

siliconpsychosis said:

Oh, another thing I NEVER do is reroll the dice during character creation. First roll always counts, however pants the dice might be.

That's pretty fun to do, but I find it to be absolute pants if playing a multi-class character.

"I'M A DWARF FIGHTER CLERIC. I NEED NEAR MAX WIS, AND DEX. I ALSO NEED 18/93 STR AND 19 CON."

Then I start over a new game and play a bard. I find them much easier to deal with on first roll.

Deucetipher

siliconpsychosis said:

Oh, another thing I NEVER do is reroll the dice during character creation. First roll always counts, however pants the dice might be.

I can never make myself go through with it. I feel CHARNAME just has to be superman. Props though. That's way harder, unless you just get a godly roll out the gate

ianblessing

Just got started, rolled a Sorcerer named Tom Richter. Playing on normal difficulty, but I like the idea of adjusting it when you level for max hp. Just for the main character, though. Either way, super excited to be playing BG again

Wanderon

ianblessing said:

Just got started, rolled a Sorcerer named Tom Richter. Playing on normal difficulty, but I like the idea of adjusting it when you level for max hp. Just for the main character, though. Either way, super excited to be playing BG again

Playing on normal will give you max hit points and automatic spell learning (no failure) already - no need to adjust.

Someone else asked what difficulty - the original No Reload Challenge required core or higher (IIRC) I played numerous characters in the original both BG1 & 2- never got close to finishing either but playing it adds a whole new adrenaline rush to every battle knowing one result could be game over.

(Hint: let your companions die on the front lines while you hang back and live to fight another day ;-) )

ianblessing

Oh sorry, I meant core rules is what I'm playing. I forget that "normal" is the one left of center on the difficulty slider. Also I'm restarting already haha, died in seconds to a group of bandits on the way to the Friendly Arm Inn. Rolling a bard this time!

Mungri

I was thinking about trying this ... Until I used snares to kill Firebead with a 5% set traps chance lol.

Deucetipher

Here to report failure. If you don't want to be spoiled, look away.


============================================

Neera's quest: Lvl 3 (maybe 4, can't remember). At the point at which I speak to the innkeep-mage (Adoby?), I went to speak with him with CHARNAME alone. Imagine my surprise when two wizards, two berserkers, and on ogre teleported in. I immediately berserk and fall back toward the main room, only to find that the door has locked itself behind me...with my party on the other side. CHARNAME swallows, turns around, chugs a potion of invulnerability and starts to tangle with the meleers.

Now, I have dropped back far enough that boss-mage hasn't followed fortunately. While fighting, I go through a couple of health pots, heroism, hill giant, and Oil of Speed. I dice the dudes while minor mage goes through his spells, eventually just running out of them, mostly just CC and debuffs, which my mighty 'zerker just laughs off. [Curiously, he just stands there after exhausting his spells; no missile weapons or movement or fisticuffs].

I heal up and try to take on the boss man himself, who has been patiently waiting in the fog of war (I know, I was cheesy... but I was trying to keep the no reload going) Berserk is gone. He hits me with a really powerful flame arrow that nearly KOs me (potion it away) and a cone of cold mitigated by my boots. I get past his defenses, hit him a couple of times and he re stoneskins. I keep thwacking. He starts castinganew spell, which succeeds: Summon Monster. Something reaches out of the orange summoning light and thwacks me. Paralyzed. He summoned, of all the potential creatures, a flippin' Ghast. CHARNAME dies.

I continued anyway, but I've failed the challenge .

Sweet, spoiler tag added.