Which game next after finishing BGEE2: Throne of Bhaal?
Bewilderment
Member Posts: 26
Hello everyone! I've finally come to the end of my playthrough of Throne of Bhaal and I was wondering, what game do I go to next? I've got Icewind Dale EE and Neverwinter Nights EE downloaded and ready to play and I wasn't sure if I can continue my character from the end of BGEE2:TOB through to either of those games? Or is the only game that you can continue your BGEE2 character to is BGEE3? So, any pointers on which game is best to move to next after TOB and if I can import my character from my final save in TOB would be much appreciated! Thank you!
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Icewind Dale has very similar looks and mechanics, but you create your whole party, not just your main character. I'd also recommend looking at the rules and spells, they're similar but not identical to BG.
Neverwinter Nights is a completely different experience.
And you can't import your character into BG3 either, by the way.
If you really liked the mechanics and gameplay of the BG series, I'd recommend the Icewind Dale games first. They're what plays most like BG. The difference is making your own party and a much more linear plot with fewer sidequests. If you end up liking the first Dale game, the sequel is also worth your time, though it hasn't yet gotten an official EE.
Neverwinter Nights will be slightly similar but there are large differences. The Enhanced Edition will provide you with tons of modules (i.e. campaigns) to choose from. I'd recommend Shadows of the Undretide and then its sequel Hordes of Underdark to start. It will give you a similar player-made protagonist + companions + epic journey that you had in the BG series.
There's no game to continue your BG char, except mods I guess. You also really wouldn't want to as the game world and ruleset weren't really designed for much post ToB.
Only demi-god. ? There are still many stronger beasts, especially in Outer Planes. ♾️
That would have been cool.
I have always dreamt that BG3 “the black hound” would take charname from level 40 to level 60 (or beyond), and give charname something a bit more power the 1-3 hp at level up and a HLA…
Epic fighting could have been done cooler and more than exciting than in ToB.
Could you tell us a bit more about why you enjoyed BG2? That might help to narrow down which of these games would mesh best with your playstyle.
Icewind Dale is probably the second closest, being in the same engine and artstyle. But its a lot closer to a hack and slash than BG ever was. Lots of fights with large groups of enemies. If you played SoD, picture that with a LOT more trash mobs and no way for your character to really interact with the story that is going on around them.
Icewind Dale is extremely simplistic in role-playing terms, so it might not be to your liking at all. But then, if you do enjoy hack and slash and are not so interested in storytelling, that might be just the game for you now.
Pathfinder: Kingmaker is a great game in theory, but the writing is quite poor and overly cheesy.
My vote would go for Pillars of Eternity. It's somewhat dark, but the story is good.
Hi jsaving - thanks for all that info - it's helpful! I guess my favourite aspects of BG1 and BG2 are: the story, the scope of the main plot plus also the breadth and depth of all the NPC back stories and quest-lines, the dialogue, the huge scope for role-playing, the interface of the game itself and combat/spell-casting mechanics, the D&D/Forgotten Realms setting, the mage-on-mage battles (just amazing - as you say), and how well written the story is and the humour in the dialogue. So I guess that's a long list and it might be hard to find another game that matches up to BG1 and BG2 in quite the same way?!
Although it's not essential to me to have a D&D/Forgotten Realms setting, I would prefer that - but would be happy with any story-rich RPG with lots of side-quests/exploration that isn't D&D.
I've watched the beginning of a LP on You Tube of Planescape Torment - and I have to say, it didn't grab me - the concept wasn't that interesting to me and I agree with you; there was a lot of reading - although maybe I'm being too quick to judge based on only looking at how the game opens.
Hi Arvia, OK, thanks so much for your reply! That's very useful indeed!
It's not D&D and plays in another world, but you control the two main characters, can travel with two other companions, have a lot of roleplaying opportunities and gradually discover a rich story and the world around you. The rules are easier to pick up than BG, in my opinion.
There's not quite as much companion interaction as in BG2, and no romance for example, but you can talk to them, discover their background story and do their personal quest.
Some people don't like turn-based combat and find the humour a bit too cartoonish, but I think it only lightens up the mood in an otherwise rather serious setting. Personal taste, of course.
But since you said what you said above about what you look for in games and what isn't essential, it might be worth looking into. I liked it more than Pillars of Eternity, for example.
Although if you already own Neverwinter Nights EE, of course I can only recommend that, too. I personally liked the story of the Original Campaign (The Wailing Death) more than Shadows of Undrentide, but both can be enjoyed and then followed by importing your character into Hordes of the Underdark, and then there are many smaller modules and fan-made content, too.
It was made by Obsidian, so expect some cerebral possibilities.
Hi DinoDin, thank you! Thanks for your reply too - it's helpful! It's useful to know what's both similar and different in ID and NN to BG. I'll probably go to ID next as you suggest and just accept the fact that the plot is more linear than BG but it'll be good to make up a whole party though - I liked doing that when I used to play Eye of the Beholder back in the early 90s (I'm showing my age there!) Thanks for explaining about NN too and how you get a similar player experience to BG with the EE.
Thanks!
Yeah, I thought that would be the case, given how TOB ends (whichever end you pick) - but | just wanted to be definitely sure that there was no further progression for the BG main chara. Thanks for your reply. I guess I'm just sad BG is all over!!
OK, good to know - thanks very much!
OK, thanks for that - I'll look into Pillars of Eternity too. And thanks for the info about Icewind Dale, good to know.
Hi xzar_monty - thanks for your recommendation - I'll certainly add PoE to my wish-list. I think I'll play Icewind Dale next and then look for something more story-rich after that. So PoE and its sequel sounds like a good one to move to when I want more of a good story to engage with! Thanks! Good username, by the way!
Thank you Arvia! That's super-helpful. Definitely going to add Divinity: Original Sin to my wishlist too, based on your recommendation. I guess with humour in the writing, it's a fine line isn't it? I don't like humour that's really silly but I like it when it makes the writing more engaging/interesting/creative because otherwise dialogue becomes so stilted, dull and unrealistic. So yeah, humour is good. And Divinity: Original Sin sounds up my street if it's very story-rich with good roleplaying opportunities. Thanks for the info on campaigns to do in NN:EE as well. Much appreciated!
Thanks SBlack! Good to know. I'll look into The Dragon Age series too - it sounds great. Thank you.
OK, thanks for that AsaBM, that's useful to know. I'll add that to my wishlist. I need to play NN:EE first though!!
What to play next?!
You restart from the beginning of course. With a different class. Pick some other NPCs, other gear, solve the quests another way.
When you are done with that run...
You start all over again!
Enjoy!
Generally, as people said the first NWN2 expansion MotB is really good. The main NWN2 campaign is pretty good as well in my opinion, but I think the first act in peculiar has some filler. Personally I feel it is much better by the time you get done with Owl's Well.
IWD is good if you mostly enjoyed the combats and music.
Then for more modern stuff both PoE and the Pathfinder games are good.