I've got both (vicky and dualed xzar). I only just discovered how ridiculously awesome the level 1 cleric spell "command" is in bg1. With 2 cleric/3 mage classes in my party the opposition is constantly stunned and slept, which makes excellent dorn/Monty/CHARNAME bait.
Yes, Command is great, though enemies above 6 HD will get a save
I've got both (vicky and dualed xzar). I only just discovered how ridiculously awesome the level 1 cleric spell "command" is in bg1. With 2 cleric/3 mage classes in my party the opposition is constantly stunned and slept, which makes excellent dorn/Monty/CHARNAME bait.
I played casters almost exclusively for many years and was always analyzing spells for the following attributes: no save, quick casting time, partial effect even w/ save, and non-elemental damage. Command has been a staple spell across multiple games. It also useful for killing pesky NPCs that try to walk off screen and disappear. Also, necromantic damage will often affect enemies which are immune to most other types of damage. I'm not sure if this was originally intended or a bug. Shandalar is an example.
It's still a pain playing an evil party. I killed the flaming fist mercenary on my way to Nashkell, guess what lost 5 reputation and thought who cares I'm evil and nobody screws with me, and 4 reputation should be fine. Arrived in Nashkell and the guards there took me for a training dummy, pumping arrows into my team like a machine gun.
It's still a pain playing an evil party. I killed the flaming fist mercenary on my way to Nashkell, guess what lost 5 reputation and thought who cares I'm evil and nobody screws with me, and 4 reputation should be fine. Arrived in Nashkell and the guards there took me for a training dummy, pumping arrows into my team like a machine gun.
Gotta keep your reputation at 5 or greater. Well, at least if you don't want any trouble.
It's still a pain playing an evil party. I killed the flaming fist mercenary on my way to Nashkell, guess what lost 5 reputation and thought who cares I'm evil and nobody screws with me, and 4 reputation should be fine. Arrived in Nashkell and the guards there took me for a training dummy, pumping arrows into my team like a machine gun.
Gotta keep your reputation at 5 or greater. Well, at least if you don't want any trouble.
According to the "melee and magic" manual (page 20), its reputation 5 where the there's a chance the Flaming Fist will start hassling you, and this gets more likley the lower you go. I try to keep reputation around 6 or 7
18 Dex, if I remember right. Give that amazon a bow or crossbow and she'll make it sing!
17 dex, actually, but she's also got 18/58 strength which makes her a pretty crazy archer or frontliner. And the strongest evil character before Dorn came along in the EE.
She's also has 2 points in two-weapon style! With two longswords she's a beast (you get a +2 longsword right away)...
Having an evil party? Sure. Evil gets all the best characters, mechanically - Kagain is the best tank, Shar-Teel the best DPS, Viconia the best cleric, and Edwin the best mage, only thief breaks the mold by having Imoen be the best, who is a good guy - and many of these characters are also the most entertaining ones in the game, at least my opinion. I've often ended up having this kind of a group.
Actually being evil? Not really, because Baldur's Gate falls to the same trap as practically every other game with moral choice system does: you can only ever be either a holy saint or a dog-kicking monster, with no middleground. Many times, evil choices just plain don't make sense: they're just being evil for the sake of being evil, the sort of a mustache-twirling villain that doesn't have any reason to do what he does aside from looking bad.
So, in spite of often having some evil jerks in my group, I've never actually played evil. I don't think it's possible.
Wow, i'm really impressed and grateful for all of you contributing to this disscussion. Never thought there would be so many evil party players out there and so much advice.
Yer i agree, the cannon story seems to of a good aligned/neutral main char and the logical choices all seem to considered good. Bit strange aswell, in that sometimes taking the reward or asking for money etc is considered the evil path. Quite alot of ppl would follow this route in everyday life.
I might take the evil npc's then and try and run a neutralish/minor evil playthrough. As daft as it may sound I might make my sorcerer neutral (good playthrough) and a ranger/cleric for my evil playthrough.
Possibly, although that does seem pretty stupid..... Might just use a sorc for both....
Do you ever miss Minsc and some of the other fun good aligned npc's though? This may annoy me more in BG2.
My party for neutral playthrough (Still in the works, whilst i finish off Witcher 2 EE)
Main char - Elf, Sorcerer CN. Start as the ultimate bum. Bar monk or Kensai but by late BG2 or TOB = POWER Dorn - Destroys things and tank. Also like orcs/half orcs and hes' a new npc Shar-Teel DPS and maniac. Never used before Neesha- Check out this new char and as a backup mage. May switch to Edwin later if he doesn't piss me off :P Viconia- Healer, Drow, Awesome-Easy choice Imoen - Because I'm under the impression that she doesn't leave. If she does will dual Shar and pick up Korgain or just use Monty.
The only way the PC is a better mage in BG1 is that Edwin is and prone to follow the PC's every instruction without hesitation. No matter how dumb. Even if it means charging all the Knolls in the stronghold by himself with his quarterstaff.....:P
I am playing a chaotic neutral main char. I like to mix and match good and evil characters to see what drama unfolds
Currently I am wondering what will happen if I recruit Minsc and Edwin to search for Dyna... will they attack each other right away, or will we go all the way out there and save her, then drama unfolds? Should be interesting.
In roleplaying my chaotic nature, my charname loves to watch!
It's still a pain playing an evil party. I killed the flaming fist mercenary on my way to Nashkell, guess what lost 5 reputation and thought who cares I'm evil and nobody screws with me, and 4 reputation should be fine. Arrived in Nashkell and the guards there took me for a training dummy, pumping arrows into my team like a machine gun.
Gotta keep your reputation at 5 or greater. Well, at least if you don't want any trouble.
According to the "melee and magic" manual (page 20), its reputation 5 where the there's a chance the Flaming Fist will start hassling you, and this gets more likley the lower you go. I try to keep reputation around 6 or 7
It said that in the manual in the original Baldur's Gate as well (under the charts at the back) but I don't think it was ever implemented. I've been running around with 5 and I haven't had an issue yet (I'm in chapter 5).
I've got both (vicky and dualed xzar). I only just discovered how ridiculously awesome the level 1 cleric spell "command" is in bg1. With 2 cleric/3 mage classes in my party the opposition is constantly stunned and slept, which makes excellent dorn/Monty/CHARNAME bait.
Yes, Command is great, though enemies above 6 HD will get a save
Actually, enemies with >= 6 HD will get a Save vs Spells. So, it's indeed very powerful in BG1 even if it only lasts 1 round. Sleep apply the same effect, has an AoE, lasts 30s, but allows a Save vs. Death though @ -3 and contrary to its description only affects <= 4 HD monsters.
On another note, I'm very disapointed with the (un)availability of the Steal option in stores. I would have enjoyed staying @ Reputation 1 and not bother. But since I want to buy some stuff, I will have to raise it. I think I will just do it once and buy everything I want. I'll then be able to get back to killing those pompous self-righteous Flaming Fists.
In my current sort of neutral campaign (that just happens to have mostly evil NPCs cropping up), even neutrally defending myself against the various "good" NPCs who attack you out of the blue if you're not a fawning pathetic sack of potatoes tends to leave me in the shady side of the reputation meter. I'm actually having to work pretty hard to earn those Light Side abilities.
So yeah, being "evil" is actually pretty easy, especially if you choose the less nice responses every now and then and demand payment for your services.
I've got both (vicky and dualed xzar). I only just discovered how ridiculously awesome the level 1 cleric spell "command" is in bg1. With 2 cleric/3 mage classes in my party the opposition is constantly stunned and slept, which makes excellent dorn/Monty/CHARNAME bait.
Yes, Command is great, though enemies above 6 HD will get a save
Actually, enemies with >= 6 HD will get a Save vs Spells. So, it's indeed very powerful in BG1 even if it only lasts 1 round. Sleep apply the same effect, has an AoE, lasts 30s, but allows a Save vs. Death though @ -3 and contrary to its description only affects <= 4 HD monsters.
On another note, I'm very disapointed with the (un)availability of the Steal option in stores. I would have enjoyed staying @ Reputation 1 and not bother. But since I want to buy some stuff, I will have to raise it. I think I will just do it once and buy everything I want. I'll then be able to get back to killing those pompous self-righteous Flaming Fists.</p>
I also wish you could sell stolen items Not being able to steal from some of the best merchants in the game, along with not being able to sell items stolen from merchants to anyone, is really disappointing.
I thought the shadow thieves guild in baldur's gate had a fence that you could sell stolen goods to.
If you are referring to Black Lily, the merchant in the shadow thieves in Baldur's Gate who is on the far right side of the main guild room, then no. She still will not buy stolen goods
Hey I made a feature request a few days ago on it. I've done my bit. People seem to have ignored commenting on it though, I'm assuming it is because of people not generally stealing in game because of the consequences involved (and because pickpocket is not a skill most people immediately go for I imagine unless they have a bard since trap removal, pick lock, and stealth probably are maxed out asap). That or its not a very contentious request.
In my opinion, evil parties are much more fun to play than good parties, but its much harder to play as an evil party in BG1 unless you've already beaten the game with your character and are on a subsequent playthrough. This is because the Flaming Fist will constantly attack you when you're in cities and sometimes between levels. The Flaming Fist are fairly overpowered, but if you're in a second or third playthrough with the same PC, you'll be powerful enough that you can stand a chance against them. Also, the NPCs are scaled so that if they join your party when you're already at the level cap, they will be close to it as well.
The game will not be easy if you're fighting the Flaming Fist in a second or third playthrough, but you will have a chance. For me, fighting the Flaming Fist is one of the more fun/interesting things to do in Baldur's Gate. There are also options in quests where you can take the evil option. Also, Shandalar in Ulgoth's Beard, is a very difficult mage to defeat, and you lose reputation for killing him, even though he doesn't seem like a very nice person and doesn't exactly endear himself to your party. Fighting Shandalar was one of the most difficult battles for me in BG1, but is again, something that I wouldn't suggest doing with a first playthrough party. You get 26,000 XP for killing him though, so it is definitely worth it!
In my opinion, evil parties are much more fun to play than good parties, but its much harder to play as an evil party in BG1 unless you've already beaten the game with your character and are on a subsequent playthrough. This is because the Flaming Fist will constantly attack you when you're in cities and sometimes between levels. The Flaming Fist are fairly overpowered, but if you're in a second or third playthrough with the same PC, you'll be powerful enough that you can stand a chance against them. Also, the NPCs are scaled so that if they join your party when you're already at the level cap, they will be close to it as well.
The game will not be easy if you're fighting the Flaming Fist in a second or third playthrough, but you will have a chance. For me, fighting the Flaming Fist is one of the more fun/interesting things to do in Baldur's Gate. There are also options in quests where you can take the evil option. Also, Shandalar in Ulgoth's Beard, is a very difficult mage to defeat, and you lose reputation for killing him, even though he doesn't seem like a very nice person and doesn't exactly endear himself to your party. Fighting Shandalar was one of the most difficult battles for me in BG1, but is again, something that I wouldn't suggest doing with a first playthrough party. You get 26,000 XP for killing him though, so it is definitely worth it!
I find that the inclusion of glitterdust greatly reduces the strength of the flaming fist adversaries you face. When your opponents are blind, they are easy pickings.
I thought the shadow thieves guild in baldur's gate had a fence that you could sell stolen goods to.
If you are referring to Black Lily, the merchant in the shadow thieves in Baldur's Gate who is on the far right side of the main guild room, then no. She still will not buy stolen goods
I think the thief who bought stolen goods was the one in the slums. She'd only appear at night, near Jan's house.
I thought the shadow thieves guild in baldur's gate had a fence that you could sell stolen goods to.
If you are referring to Black Lily, the merchant in the shadow thieves in Baldur's Gate who is on the far right side of the main guild room, then no. She still will not buy stolen goods
I think the thief who bought stolen goods was the one in the slums. She'd only appear at night, near Jan's house.
That is Baldur's Gate 2, and I think she actually does not buy them though there is another person in the slums who will (I could be mistaken but I'm pretty sure she doesn't). There is a merchant or two in the actual thieves guild in BG2 who does.
I find that the inclusion of glitterdust greatly reduces the strength of the flaming fist adversaries you face. When your opponents are blind, they are easy pickings.
Oh yes, and guess which alignment Familiar can cast Glitterdust? Neutral Evil - mwahhahaha! :-)
I find that the inclusion of glitterdust greatly reduces the strength of the flaming fist adversaries you face. When your opponents are blind, they are easy pickings.
Oh yes, and guess which alignment Familiar can cast Glitterdust? Neutral Evil - mwahhahaha! :-)
Yep, I'm playing a neutral evil jester and the familiar having that is great.
I find that the inclusion of glitterdust greatly reduces the strength of the flaming fist adversaries you face. When your opponents are blind, they are easy pickings.
Oh yes, and guess which alignment Familiar can cast Glitterdust? Neutral Evil - mwahhahaha! :-)
Yep, I'm playing a neutral evil jester and the familiar having that is great.
Even the "Glass Dust" innate ability is pretty good, I actually limited myself to not using either Glass Dust nor Glitterdust with my familiar until my fighter/mage could cast level 2 spells, as it's a bit unbalanced at the start.
Comments
Actually being evil? Not really, because Baldur's Gate falls to the same trap as practically every other game with moral choice system does: you can only ever be either a holy saint or a dog-kicking monster, with no middleground. Many times, evil choices just plain don't make sense: they're just being evil for the sake of being evil, the sort of a mustache-twirling villain that doesn't have any reason to do what he does aside from looking bad.
So, in spite of often having some evil jerks in my group, I've never actually played evil. I don't think it's possible.
Yer i agree, the cannon story seems to of a good aligned/neutral main char and the logical choices all seem to considered good. Bit strange aswell, in that sometimes taking the reward or asking for money etc is considered the evil path. Quite alot of ppl would follow this route in everyday life.
I might take the evil npc's then and try and run a neutralish/minor evil playthrough. As daft as it may sound I might make my sorcerer neutral (good playthrough) and a ranger/cleric for my evil playthrough.
Possibly, although that does seem pretty stupid..... Might just use a sorc for both....
Do you ever miss Minsc and some of the other fun good aligned npc's though? This may annoy me more in BG2.
My party for neutral playthrough (Still in the works, whilst i finish off Witcher 2 EE)
Main char - Elf, Sorcerer CN. Start as the ultimate bum. Bar monk or Kensai but by late BG2 or TOB = POWER
Dorn - Destroys things and tank. Also like orcs/half orcs and hes' a new npc
Shar-Teel DPS and maniac. Never used before
Neesha- Check out this new char and as a backup mage. May switch to Edwin later if he doesn't piss me off :P
Viconia- Healer, Drow, Awesome-Easy choice
Imoen - Because I'm under the impression that she doesn't leave. If she does will dual Shar and pick up Korgain or just use Monty.
Sound good?
Currently I am wondering what will happen if I recruit Minsc and Edwin to search for Dyna... will they attack each other right away, or will we go all the way out there and save her, then drama unfolds? Should be interesting.
In roleplaying my chaotic nature, my charname loves to watch!
So, it's indeed very powerful in BG1 even if it only lasts 1 round.
Sleep apply the same effect, has an AoE, lasts 30s, but allows a Save vs. Death though @ -3 and contrary to its description only affects <= 4 HD monsters.
On another note, I'm very disapointed with the (un)availability of the Steal option in stores. I would have enjoyed staying @ Reputation 1 and not bother. But since I want to buy some stuff, I will have to raise it. I think I will just do it once and buy everything I want. I'll then be able to get back to killing those pompous self-righteous Flaming Fists.
So yeah, being "evil" is actually pretty easy, especially if you choose the less nice responses every now and then and demand payment for your services.
I thought the shadow thieves guild in baldur's gate had a fence that you could sell stolen goods to.
Hey I made a feature request a few days ago on it. I've done my bit. People seem to have ignored commenting on it though, I'm assuming it is because of people not generally stealing in game because of the consequences involved (and because pickpocket is not a skill most people immediately go for I imagine unless they have a bard since trap removal, pick lock, and stealth probably are maxed out asap). That or its not a very contentious request.
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/8565/post-ship-feature-place-to-sell-stolen-items#latest
The game will not be easy if you're fighting the Flaming Fist in a second or third playthrough, but you will have a chance. For me, fighting the Flaming Fist is one of the more fun/interesting things to do in Baldur's Gate. There are also options in quests where you can take the evil option. Also, Shandalar in Ulgoth's Beard, is a very difficult mage to defeat, and you lose reputation for killing him, even though he doesn't seem like a very nice person and doesn't exactly endear himself to your party. Fighting Shandalar was one of the most difficult battles for me in BG1, but is again, something that I wouldn't suggest doing with a first playthrough party. You get 26,000 XP for killing him though, so it is definitely worth it!