Learning the ropes....
FurianXO
Member Posts: 6
Hey all... I have been trying to get into a few of these games... I own most of them (BGEE, BG2EE, Icewind Dale EE, Neverwinter series, The Divinity games, Pillars, Pathfinder, etc...) I tend to rush through them, usually fail miserably, or eventually just put them down since I really have no clue how to build my characters. Since most of these appear to follow the D&D ruleset, or somewhat, is there any place I can start to learn this so that I can get the most out of these games? I was considering getting one of the D&D starter sets, but figured I'd ask here first.
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If you say that you always rushed through the games, failed and then dropped them, maybe it's not only the character build but also difficulties with the combat system?
I can't say much about Pillars of Eternity, had to google character builds there, too, and haven't finished that game yet.
Divinity:Original Sin is a great game but uses different rules, too.
As for the Baldur's Gate series, I don't think you need a D&D starter set to learn the rules. Many players don't have a tabletop D&D background (though many do), it's probably helpful but not required, and the rules aren't identical, they're adjusted in computer games.
I'd suggest you start with the manuals , especially the Adventurer's Guide. And don't get confused by the thread title, they're not just for Siege of Dragonspear but the whole BG series.
I think the most important thing is to know what the stats like strength, intelligence, constitution etc affect, then you should decide which class you want to play. Other classes can be more fun and variety to play, but if you don't have much time or don't know the basics yet, it's usually best to start with a melee fighter type, which requires less micromanagement.
That said, if you want to finish the game, it's best to pick a class that you like and gravitate towards, or you will get bored. You'll find enough companions for a balanced party.
Once you have decided what you want to be, start rolling patiently until you get a high enough roll to put 18 into the most important stats for the class or kit you have chosen, without extreme dumping of other stats. You can also use the forum search (all the way down on the left menu) or just any internet search for builds, or you pick your class and kit and ask here which stats are most important, which weapon proficiencies etc are most useful... people will help you, but it's really a good idea to grasp the basic ideas from the manual first.
The traditional D&D party consists of a fighter, cleric, wizard and rogue to cover the most important roles.
To be able to survive, you should have at least one of each in your party, so whichever class you pick for your main, your companions should complement the other roles.
Of course the game can be played solo, or with a custom party of 6 bards, but if you're having difficulties finishing it, balance is probably best.
From there onwards, it's hard to say how to build your characters as we don't know what makes you fail later in the game. For players unfamiliar with the rules, things usually start to get hairy when there's more magic in battles or when enemies are much stronger or outnumber you. There, it's actually more about which equipment you use, how you attack and which spells you have. So it's more about strategy than build, and also especially BG can have you walk into areas with fights way above your current level, so much depends more on what you do when, not so much how your main character is built.
So, since your question is rather broad, I hope I didn't miss the topic of it completely. If so, I apologize.
Conclusion of the long text: I'd suggest starting with the Adventurer's Guide for the BG series, accompanied by a forum search and questions when you have chosen your main character, and then it would be useful to ask and explain where exactly you start to have difficulties, because there are various reasons why you can get stuck: Party level too low for the fight, need different tactics, spell choice, enemies' crowd control spells disable your party and you don't know how to counter that or their resistances...
Good luck!
At low levels, AD&D (the system modeled by the Baldur's Gate series and Icewind Dale) is very lethal. It's easy for characters to die in just one or two hits. The game lets you resurrect them, but until mid-level play and spells like Raise Dead, you can only do this at a temple.
So, how can you keep your characters alive better at low levels? Ranged attacks. Particularly bows. Building a party to have multiple bow users is a good idea in the games that start at level 1.
In the Baldur's Gate series, your protagonist (the character you build, or the first if you made more than one) dying is a Game Over. Building either a warrior (high hit points) or someone that stays behind the lines is recommended for newer players.
Some enemies (such as basilisks in BG1 or beholders in BG2) are incredibly lethal if you're not prepared for them. Don't give up hope. The game gives you ways to turn that around on them and make the fight unfair in the other direction.
Ranged attacks help a lot in both cases indeed. Still, based on this, one of the protagonists that would have the easiest time early on might be a Dwarf Berserker with maxed strength, constitution and dexterity. That'll mean optimal HP, AC, the ability to wear the heaviest of armors and the best resistance to bad status effects thanks to greatly improved saving throws and the Enrage skill. He'll be a frontliner though, Berserkers aren't made for ranged.
Seek to teach your mage the Sleep spell as early as possible, because for enemies too, sensitivity to bad status effects is very high. If you have a Priest, rely on the Command spell. Both cause the sleep status effect which lets you hit a target regardless of your accuracy (THAC0), without them being able to hit back.
You'll want to find as early as you can a Plate Mail as an important stopgap. What you really want is Ankheg Plate Mail, or even better the Full Plate Mail sold by Taerom Fuirim. Buying things that boost AC is more urgent than buying weaponry. Your effective HP is 20 times higher than it looks when enemies can only land a blow on a critical hit — a natural 20 on an attack roll. Read the Armor Class article I linked to to understand the subtlety of AC vs certain damage types, as armors provide uneven protection and there are belts to cover them up.
To buy earlier, consider increasing your reputation and recruiting Garrick at level 2+ only for the purpose of buying. If you teach him the Friends spell, he'll be able to boost his charisma to 20+. Together with a reputation of 18 this will cut the price of the Full Plate to 55% of what you'd pay with average charisma and reputation — 4920 gold instead of 9000. Garrick must be in the party leader slot (the topmost) for his charisma to lower prices. You can dismiss him from the party after shopping, then go kill off some dude in an isolated house to calm down evil party members, they don't quite like reputation 18, don't stay too long with this much.