Charisma Over 18
OurQuestIsVain
Member Posts: 201
Is there anywhere in the Baldur's Gate series where having a charisma score over 18 helps (other than store prices)? I usually get the charisma tome and boost my high charisma chars from 18 to 19 but I'm wondering if there is any point.
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Reaction is based on your charisma and reputation. Charisma of 13 and above gives bonus, while CHA scores of 9 and lower give penalty. Similarly, good reputation gives a bonus and low reputation penaltises your interactions with people of BG.
For example, you can be obnoxious and have very low CHA, but if your reputation is golden, some npcs may have positive reactions to you. Similarly, in the event that your reputation is not that great, or even low, but you are a smooth talker with plenty of charm, you can manage to get positive reactions. Positive reactions equal more quests, better rewards in quests, etc. So you can be a right evil bastard, with low reputation, but if you are stunningly handsome enough (CHA 19+) the bonus to reaction is so great that it can cancel the effect of your low reputation. You'll have the charismatic bad-boy image and people will still like you. Heh, kinda real-world like. ^^
Examples, with good enough CHA score you can make fun of Melicamp's situation while talking to Thalantyr, and he will have a good laugh. Without a good CHA or reputation, if you make that joke, Thalantyr will rebuff and scold you. Also, Tamoko's confrontation in the end-game may not result in blood-shed, if you've been good, done the right things, BUT also you need to be handsome and confident. (high CHA) She may be so deeply impressed by your talk and charm that she may leave without battle. Otherwise, if you sound less than confident, even if you say the right things, she will mock you and still attack.
the ones that pop in mind at this moment :
- Fuller in Candlekeep will give you his Dagger+1
- The Noble man in Candlekeep will put his jewelry into the locked container upstairs if you have charisma 18 (so you can go and plunder it)
- They guy fleeing from a Mountain Bear in area north of Gnoll Fortress will give you some +cold resist boots
- SIlke offers 400gold instead of 300 if your charisma is high
...I'm sure there are more. It would be actually quite interesting to create a list. Just because last time I played with my main Assassin, charisma around 15-16, the guy north of GF did not want to give me his boots. So I gave him my dagger. Sharp point first.
If you don't meta-game a lot and don't know all the good stuff, you might miss some trinkets.
Wow look at the size of that wart on Charnames nose we better find a tome of leadership soon!
When we become older, we undestand only money matters in this world, not your personality...
I don't like it that way and it's absolutely wrong. ... but what I see in the world today is only a focus on who got the most money. To me, it's a sad state of affairs.
Na, seriously, it would be nice if charisma had more effects in game; it's not neccessarily making a character prettier anyway. To me, it's generally "charming" and one doesn't need to have a pretty face to have a silver tongue.
I find this especially true in an evil party, where Charname has to balance various largely self-interested people and bind them into a coherent fighting force. Good Charnames can potentially get away with less by relying on the inherent goodness of their companions.
I think in the end it was felt to be too cumbersome as a game mechanic. But it does sort of emphasize the point that looks are only one part of the Charisma equation.
Of course you can play Watcher's Keep in SoA. I'm just thinking generally that you're basically at the point of ToB by the time you can get it.
Or to put it the other way 'round, if you have 18 Cha, your reputation needs to be 9+ in BG1 and 18+ in BG2 for all the best responses. If you have 19 Cha, your reputation needs to be 6+ in BG1 and 9+ in BG2. Scrolls and wands require 9+ Int and aren't limited to wizards, and in BG2 there's the mind flayer's -5 Int drain attack that kills you when you reach 0.
As awesome as it is, the same cannot be said for Baldur's Gate II. Even Icewind Dale did a better job at it than BGII, to be honest. Furthermore, IWD interestingly has a lot of different dialogs based on Intelligence and Wisdom. I think there are a few Wisdom-based dialog options in BGII, and there is like, ONE Intelligence-based dialog in BG:EE (ambush where you encounter Dorn).
Any others?
I know the outcome of the Wish spell in BG2 is based on your Wisdom. If you try to cast it with low-average Wisdom, your wishes will fail spectacularly.
But for charisma, I remember reading somewhere that high charisma also helps prevents NPCs morale failures so they don't go panic or berserk.
no riddles up to Gamaz. What cages?
Is that BGEE or BGEE2?