Emphatically embracing the role-playing side of BG and especially BG2 is where I find the game's greatest value is revealed. I've never found that it was the character itself, but more "how I played it" that brought out the most memorable moments. For instance, mages are extraordinarily fun for the fact that my character might have a magic addled predisposition to exhibit appalling hubris. I would adjust the character stat values to 25 and play the entire game naked because supreme god-child leader of the universe Thanatos von Baal needed not stoop so low as to allow pathetic mortal vestments to touch him. On the flip side, playing Dingus the agoraphobic, full plate wearing, battle-axe wielding super-thief yielded equally hilarious and rewarding results.
I always play as a half elf thief (Swashbuckler) every time i get ready to play i say im going to play as different class or race or sex but then i always play as basically the same character. I just cant help my self.
I played as a thief the first time i played BG1 and it just kinda stuck. I think originally i only played as a thief to open locks and disable traps now i play the rogue type character in all the games i play.
Rogues are fun, if you use them like they are supposed to be used. You can get through the game easier as a rogue than a fighter with carefully time stealth, ranged weapons, and a sword or dagger for backstabbing. The main reason i used to get frustrated from them, was that i figured after a backstab, id finish them off with melee.
Thats not what rogues do. At least not true class rogues. The way to play them well is a mixture of ranged weapons and melee with the rest of their innate abilities.
I play all classes at a given moment of my gaming "career". Simply because I love to role play. Say, I get the feeling that I want to role play an evil archmage with a past as a hopeful mercenary? Well, in that case, I'll start as a strong and smart fighter, which will be dualed into a mage later on, in hopes for world domination.
It's one of the reasons Baldur's Gate is such a powerful game - the ability of replayability. Even doing good actions can be considered as evil in some ways. I mean, helping people, gets you a reward, the reward gets you stronger. It's an evil gain after all.
Besides that, through classes, races, genders and alignments, I could easily make an adventure in my own mind. A unique adventure in which I take the roles of characters I will never be able to live in real life.
I like playing a rightious Druid armed with nothing more than a simple wooden staff, out to smite trolls, hobgoblins, and brigands who would dare defile natures beauty!
Other times I prefer to play a diminutive halfling thief, who's kleptomania forces him to hide in shadows and avoid the road by taking the back country.
Fighter/mage is my first and favourite just because I am rereading David eddings belgariad and mallorean series at that time . Belgarion doing rather good as mage and warrior king . So yeah I am with 2 handed sword , a composite bow for runnaway monster and some buff ( blue ) magic . Yes a couple of fireball spell which always fun
I don't like dull classes like Warriors at all. But I do enjoy hybrids like Warrior/Cleric or Warrior/Thief. Mostly, I'm playing Mages or Clerics, since I really like this power you get later on. One does not simply beat a high lvl Mage!
I always play as a half elf thief (Swashbuckler) every time i get ready to play i say im going to play as different class or race or sex but then i always play as basically the same character. I just cant help my self.
I played as a thief the first time i played BG1 and it just kinda stuck. I think originally i only played as a thief to open locks and disable traps now i play the rogue type character in all the games i play.
Man, I am the exact opposite. I have been trying to get through BG II and cant really decide on who or what to play. I think i have restarted 10 times.
I always play as a half elf thief (Swashbuckler) every time i get ready to play i say im going to play as different class or race or sex but then i always play as basically the same character. I just cant help my self.
I played as a thief the first time i played BG1 and it just kinda stuck. I think originally i only played as a thief to open locks and disable traps now i play the rogue type character in all the games i play.
Man, I am the exact opposite. I have been trying to get through BG II and cant really decide on who or what to play. I think i have restarted 10 times.
Thats where i used to be with bg2. I must have restarted so many times. If I'm not an assassin, I'm a bounty hunter, not a bounty hunter, I'm a fighter/thief. It never ends...
Exactly, I bounce between Cleric, Mage (invoker or conjurer), or Archer. And some mix of duel/multi class. Its really a sickness with me, I cant tell you how many time I've fought through that starting dungeon
I usually like thieves and rangers. I like dexterous characters regardless, but I like the ranger mostly as a team leader who knows his way around a forest (I often think of 'Strider' from LotR). I like the idea of thieves who can infiltrate and assassinate, so I do them some times.
i played evil fighter then in bg 2 i remade a palladin as sone as i did find that uber sword some red dragon was kind enuf to let go of after i made dust of him
always haited to play paladin
i always wanted to play a pure mage but never got around to do it guess what scares me is dont know enuf abouth d and d to think i can fix a mage
but i guess it sure would make this game last allot longer so wen ee comes out i am almoust sure i will atlest give mage a try unless it makes me go save load evry 2 sec
Whenever there was a role-playing game, I've always played a Mage. No different with Baldur's Gate. I just love spells like Disintegrate and other spells to get rid of some nasty enemies.
Recently I found a liking in playing Cleric. When I play multiplayer I will probably play Cleric, since supporting is also a nice thing to do. (also, I love implosion).
I try to pick a different class every playthrough. (I'm talking both original games and tutu later on). My first PC was a thief, the second a bard, the N-th a monk the N-th+1 a paladin, the N-th +2 a cleric... and so on. XD The last PC I played, and which remains my favorite, was half-elven warrior barbarian, specialized in staffs (staves?). With strenght over 18 and berserker rage, he could deal with almost anything! But I think the most fun I had throughout entire game was that one time I played BG1 with a 'mage party' - Myself as a bard, plus Imoen for disabling traps and because I like her, and four mages: Xzar, Xan, Edwin and Dynaheir. Man, that was FUN! Challenging as hell, (at least for me, not a gaming genius, I ) but the only time I got well and truly stuck was on the werewolf island. The greater werewolf in the wrecked ship kept regenerating and tearing my party to shreds. I finally got rid of him by casting two 'lower resistance to magic' spells, and using a polymorphing wand. Then it was only a matter of Imoen stomping on that squirrel. Ah, good times...
Mostly I play spellcasting classes, but they can be all sorts of combo's. My most favourite are Blade and Fighter mage, but I've had fun with Cleric-mages, with a Berserker dualed to cleric and a Cleric-Ranger as well. Only twice did I play for an extended time with a non-spellcaster: the first was with a half-orc barbarian woman leading a party with all races covered, the other was a very sexy-looking Stalker.
Funny thing is, my fighter-mages and blade characters were all men, as I identify most with them. Even in secondary school, when first playing PnP AD&D back in the eighties, my first character was a fighter-mage. I just love 'Spellblade' characters: wielding a sword and slinging magic as well.
I play a lot of pen and paper d&d so I've always been really drawn to the RP aspect of the game and getting into the 'thought process' behind a character. Because of that I'd either go with the total klepto rogue that took everything that wasn't nailed down or the Arcane Trickster (Rogue/Illusionist) and just giggle to myself as I toyed with the lives of those around me .
I play a lot of pen and paper d&d so I've always been really drawn to the RP aspect of the game and getting into the 'thought process' behind a character. Because of that I'd either go with the total klepto rogue that took everything that wasn't nailed down or the Arcane Trickster (Rogue/Illusionist) and just giggle to myself as I toyed with the lives of those around me .
See, this is why we need a 'like' button. I don't agree with that, but I think it's funny.
Don't think anyone's said Cavalier (Paladin kit) yet. They've got all the advanges of a paladin with a load of nifty immunities, but they can't use ranged weapons apart from throwing axes & daggers.
They're not as specialised as an Inquisitor or Undead Hunter but have great versatility. Playing through BG1 they're immune to lots of the annoyances you run into. Immune to Fear, Poison and Charm. 20% resistance to fire and acid. +3 to hit demons and dragons. So, they're not perfect against any single foe but aren't weak anywhere. When you get into BG2 they get all the paladin stuff-buffing stuff as well as the class-specific items.
When I want to go a bit morally dubious I roll a fighter/thief character or a sorcerer and go nuts.
Either a paladin (Standard, Cavalier, or Undead Hunter) or a mage (conjurer, evoker, or sorcerer). Though I think I'll run my first EE character as half-elven ranger/cleric.
Cleric or paladin. I like playing an honorable man of faith and moral integrity who can handle himself in a fight if needed, plus having divine powers of healing and protection.
Is it too early (or sacrilegious to older forums) to start talking about weapon choices yet? I was toying with the idea of using staffs as a backup weapon for a 2-handed sword or halberd using char. They're the only blunt 2-hander available and there are 2 +2 staffs and one +3 available in BG1+ToTSC which is more than any other type of weapon. Their 1D6+X damage isn't great, but you can get the +3 one as soon as you can afford it.
I know staffs are a mage's best friend, but if your pure-classed mage is hitting a monster with a stick then you're doing it wrong. Jaheira can get some mileage out of them though, especially the staff mace which is useable one handed and allows a shield to be equipped IIRC.
I find staffs as implemented in BG to be worse than useless. Mages should be avoiding direct combat at all times, so they need to be holding slings or darts. And there are no staffs with protections, whereas swords with protections (like Freedom or Immune to Confusion) abound. Which is too bad, because the traditional weapon for mages and sometimes clerics and druids is the staff. What they need is to put some level-appropriate spell-casting bonuses of some kind into staffs. Extra spell-slots, or penalties to enemy saves, for example.
Comments
For instance, mages are extraordinarily fun for the fact that my character might have a magic addled predisposition to exhibit appalling hubris. I would adjust the character stat values to 25 and play the entire game naked because supreme god-child leader of the universe Thanatos von Baal needed not stoop so low as to allow pathetic mortal vestments to touch him.
On the flip side, playing Dingus the agoraphobic, full plate wearing, battle-axe wielding super-thief yielded equally hilarious and rewarding results.
I played as a thief the first time i played BG1 and it just kinda stuck. I think originally i only played as a thief to open locks and disable traps now i play the rogue type character in all the games i play.
Thats not what rogues do. At least not true class rogues. The way to play them well is a mixture of ranged weapons and melee with the rest of their innate abilities.
It's one of the reasons Baldur's Gate is such a powerful game - the ability of replayability. Even doing good actions can be considered as evil in some ways. I mean, helping people, gets you a reward, the reward gets you stronger. It's an evil gain after all.
Besides that, through classes, races, genders and alignments, I could easily make an adventure in my own mind. A unique adventure in which I take the roles of characters I will never be able to live in real life.
Exactly, I bounce between Cleric, Mage (invoker or conjurer), or Archer. And some mix of duel/multi class. Its really a sickness with me, I cant tell you how many time I've fought through that starting dungeon
always haited to play paladin
i always wanted to play a pure mage but never got around to do it
guess what scares me is dont know enuf abouth d and d to think i can fix a mage
but i guess it sure would make this game last allot longer so wen ee comes out i am almoust sure i will atlest give mage a try unless it makes me go save load evry 2 sec
love spells like Disintegrate and other spells to get rid of some nasty enemies.
Recently I found a liking in playing Cleric. When I play multiplayer I will probably play Cleric, since
supporting is also a nice thing to do. (also, I love implosion).
But I think the most fun I had throughout entire game was that one time I played BG1 with a 'mage party' - Myself as a bard, plus Imoen for disabling traps and because I like her, and four mages: Xzar, Xan, Edwin and Dynaheir. Man, that was FUN! Challenging as hell, (at least for me, not a gaming genius, I
Because i like d&d magic system. Effective and ipressive.
Funny thing is, my fighter-mages and blade characters were all men, as I identify most with them. Even in secondary school, when first playing PnP AD&D back in the eighties, my first character was a fighter-mage. I just love 'Spellblade' characters: wielding a sword and slinging magic as well.
They're not as specialised as an Inquisitor or Undead Hunter but have great versatility. Playing through BG1 they're immune to lots of the annoyances you run into. Immune to Fear, Poison and Charm. 20% resistance to fire and acid. +3 to hit demons and dragons. So, they're not perfect against any single foe but aren't weak anywhere. When you get into BG2 they get all the paladin stuff-buffing stuff as well as the class-specific items.
When I want to go a bit morally dubious I roll a fighter/thief character or a sorcerer and go nuts.
I know staffs are a mage's best friend, but if your pure-classed mage is hitting a monster with a stick then you're doing it wrong. Jaheira can get some mileage out of them though, especially the staff mace which is useable one handed and allows a shield to be equipped IIRC.