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Baldur's Gate PnP

WigglesWiggles Member Posts: 571
So I got an idea to DM a 3.5e D&D campaign based upon BG1 and maybe BG2. I got four (possibly five) players for the game with my fiancée, Melonie, and her cousin, Julie, (whom is the possible player) being new to everything RPG like. Also of those four (possibly five), the other two players, Alec & Cole are my friends and we have played BG/EE/D&D for years. The last player, Kurt, just plays a lot of D&D but hasn’t played BG. My purpose of this discussion is for me to ask those of you with a lot more DM experience and/or BG experience to help me implement this correctly and make this a very good D&D campaign. If you are able to contribute, or just want to shoot some ideas, I'd be very grateful for it. Thank you.

Ok, so I'm dead set that my fiancée, Melonie, should be "Charname" since she's new to BG and D&D. All of the encounters, dialogues, items, story, aw man... just about everything, will be a new experience for her. However, I don’t want it to appear that she’s the star of the show and having the other people just sit there twiddling their thumbs. Is there a way I could implement all the events that happen to Charname and somehow make the other players seem ‘important’? Also with the possibility of my fiancée’s cousin, Julie, playing she could be the group’s ‘Imoen’ and find out about her abilities later on.

The elephant in the room would definitely be that I have two of my friends, Alec & Cole that have played BG quite a bit. I want them to participate in the game and yet also see the decisions Charname would make in her situations. How does she handle Silke? Will she say she’s Greywolf to get some free cash? Of course her alignment and how she plays her character will affect that, it’s a change of pace from just playing BG.

An idea just ran across my head. I could make Alec and Cole be like the ‘Khalid and Jaheria’ of the group. Being the ones that kind of subtlety push Charname in the right direction to Nashkal or ‘let’s not go to the farm north beyond FAI’. They obviously don’t have to be a stuttering fighter and an OMNIPRESENT AUTHORITY FIGURE!!!

The other big issue is what to do with Kurt, he's an experienced D&D veteran but lacks in BG knowledge. I don’t have a single idea yet, but hopefully someone here does.

This is about all I got so far. I’ve only been thinking about this for a day or two so more ideas could pop into my head. If you got a way to help me implement this grand game into a D&D campaign I would be grateful. Hell, I’ll even take some off-the-wall information like what level Tarnesh is or how much hp Gorion has. Even that could be useful. Thank you very much for your time. If people are interested (and if this idea takes off) I could post their story on here.
DJKajuruShapiroKeatsDarkMageFredjo

Comments

  • DrugarDrugar Member Posts: 1,566
    I am actually running a 3.5 BG game with friends right now. I'll give you the details tomorrow when I'm not on my phone.

    It's a long read.
    Wiggles
  • WigglesWiggles Member Posts: 571
    You. Are. A. Saint.
    Drugar
  • DrugarDrugar Member Posts: 1,566
    Keep me posted on your players and such. Chances are, I can steal some ideas off your game too ;-)
  • WigglesWiggles Member Posts: 571
    Well I got awhile yet before I post results. My friend is running a campaign and I don't want to interrupt his. I got Microsoft Word 2007, and how do you get the letter background you mentioned earlier?
  • DrugarDrugar Member Posts: 1,566
    Go to insert, image and insert an image of a parchment that you found online (google parchment). Format it to be behind the text, then write the letter, tabbing the text to its proper place.

    I'm pretty sure there's an easier way (insert as background?) But this is how I do it.
  • WigglesWiggles Member Posts: 571
    Oooo, I thought you meant that there was already in option to do that just through Word. Thank you very much.
  • sarevok57sarevok57 Member Posts: 5,975
    edited August 2013
    I remember when I played a session of bg2 with 3.5 rules, cause my friends were bored witlessly and none of them played bg2 before, and I was like, well I have both of the versus book game guides here, and I played this game basically 10 years straight, and know it like the back of my hand, so lets go for it, so they were going through and such and everything was going pretty well, then.......... there was the room with the 2 lesser clay golems, and my one play jere is like I have an awesome idea OG SMASH, and another one of my players said shouldn't we at least buff up a bit first, and jere was like naaaaaaaaaaaaaaah OG SMASH, so jere got both golems hostile, and even being merciful the golems smushed the whole party to pudding and game over, short lived but it was pretty funny
  • DrugarDrugar Member Posts: 1,566
    Another example of why Knowledge: Arcana is pretty useful at times :-p
  • WigglesWiggles Member Posts: 571
    New question. Is there anywhere I can go to find the history, landmarks, people, events, and what not of the city of Baldur's Gate during 2nd edition or 3rd edition. Basically anything before the Spellplague... Thanks. xD
  • DrugarDrugar Member Posts: 1,566
    Try and find the PDF to Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast.
    It details not only Baldur's Gate but also Beregost, Nashkel, Candlekeep and basicly every place in the game.
  • WigglesWiggles Member Posts: 571
    I have the book, but I had a derp moment and forgot I had the 3rd edition FR book. Thanks though.
  • WigglesWiggles Member Posts: 571
    edited October 2013
    @Drugar

    Well I don't have a definite date yet for the first session, but it'll most likely be in November. The party has been created with the exception of one person who is very ill at the moment. I decided that giving them each a special power like you did would be for the best. I also decided that if the 'Charname' does in fact die then they will go into a coma like sense and will be a new class with stats, but will have the same memories and alignment.

    Melonie (Wife) - Helga Bruiseknuckle the female Half-Orc Barbarian CG (possibly be 'Charname' since never played BG and kinda new to D&D)

    Alec - (Unnamed Character) male Aasimar Monk LN (Debating on to make 'Charname'; has played both D&D and BG1 immensely)

    Cole - Ethnar Valarion the male Half-Elf Scout CG (Don't think I'll make a 'Charname' out of him, D&D veteran but played little of BG1)

    Kurt - Torin the male Dragonborn Cleric of Anhur CN (Liked the 4th edition race so I trimmed him down to not be so powerful. Never played BG1, but is a big D&D Veteran. I don't see a Dragonborn being a 'Charname', but it's possible.)

    Julie - Assuming she gets feeling better she will be the 5th person, the party really needs a thief or mage so I'm thinking a bard is in order if she wants. The youngest of the party, she could be a good 'Imoen', but that's if she has a long enough attention span.

    So far I have almost all of the sidequests and encounters that can take place at Candlekeep, Friendly Arm Inn, Beregost, High Hedge, Nashkel, Gnoll Stronghold, Nashkel Mines and everything inbetween. Assuming the party bee lines it there and doesn't take much time wandering around I got about 24hrs of straight play time done.

    Xzar and Montaron will meet the party and then reunite after the Nashkel Mines. Khalid and Jahiera are retiring from adventuring due to Jahiera suffering a bum leg from an ogre (with a belt fetish) outside of the Inn. Garrick will hire the party for Silke, but will turn and flee when she attempts to flee as well. They will meet both of them again in Baldur's Gate.

    Kagain will hire the party to retrieve some stolen goods that were ironically stolen from him from a bandit raid on a caravan. Minsc will hire the party to rescue his damsel in distress from the gnolls. While the party is waiting for Minsc to return from buying gear, they will be approached by Edwin to make sure Dynaheir is properly executed. The party must decide on who to side with.

    That's about all I got so far, I'll update when I get more. Still ironing out what kind of abilities each character and 'Charname' will get. Let me know if you have any input. Thanks.
  • ZanathKariashiZanathKariashi Member Posts: 2,869
    edited October 2013
    Just because you intend it to be BG doesn't mean it has to follow the story word for word. You just need to get the Bhaalspawn into the group. I'd personally set them up as an NPC, and lets say group does their own thing and doesn't even encounter the Bhaalspawn until certain milestones. Such as, they can choose to investigate the rumors at the nashkel mines. Runs into the Bhaalspawn as they're attempting to confront Mulahey, and joins the party as an NPC. Or Decide to hunt for bandits and eventually end up at the bandit camp in time to meet up with the bhaalspawn. As long as the Bhaalspawn can join the party by BG2 you're fine, simply adventuring in that world.

    Or hell, you could go the entire first game without ever becoming involved with the Bhaalspawn until the very end, just exploring the various side-quests while the Bhaalspawn's group follows the main plot quests. Hear about the commotion at Sarevok's appointment to Duke and end up helping their party at Sarevok's last stand, which, now that there are two parties can be turned into a truly epic affair.

    Your group becomes friends with the Bhaalspawn and their canon acquaintances, and also enjoys the hospitality of BG for helping bring down a usurper, until a couple months after you lose track of your new acquaintance and ultimately end up getting tipped off to the trouble of which they've become embroiled down in Amn and move to rescue them, making the journey south into it's own adventure. Eventually tracking down leads and Joining the shadow thieves' attack on Irenicus's lair, and freeing Imeon whom you recognize. And now you can have the Bhaalspawn join the party proper as an NPC and follow the story.

    Before BG2 even begins proper you've had your series of related adventures that now lead quite naturally into them joining the group proper.
  • MalicronMalicron Member Posts: 629
    I wouldn't make "Imoen" a player, as it might well be multiple sessions until the party gets to Spellhold, and you don't want one of your players just sitting there with nothing to do. Admittedly, I'm not sure what you should do instead, but that's just my two cents.
  • WigglesWiggles Member Posts: 571
    Have the 'Imoen' character play as the 'Yoshimo' until you get back to Spellhold. Of course that's a long way from now, but I think about it from time to time so that I can get an idea.
    Malicron
  • MalicronMalicron Member Posts: 629
    @Wiggles

    I never would have thought of that. And that's why I don't DM.
  • AendaeronBluescaleAendaeronBluescale Member Posts: 335
    Another alternative is making all party members 'CHARNAME's, remember, Bhaal did spawn many progeny; how many only he knows. A group of Bhaalspawn can actually be quite an interesting affair also ;)
  • WigglesWiggles Member Posts: 571
    I'd also like to point out that none of my players have played BG2 or TOB. So I can fudge that quite a bit more than I can with BG1. Not that I don't fudge a bit anyways, just I have 2 PCs that have played BG1 about 2 or 3 times each.
  • DrugarDrugar Member Posts: 1,566
    @Wiggles
    Had a few busy days, will give input tomorrow (I'll try to be a little bit more condensed than last time :-p)
    Malicron
  • MalicronMalicron Member Posts: 629
    Drugar said:

    @Wiggles
    Had a few busy days, will give input tomorrow (I'll try to be a little bit more condensed than last time :-p)

    No! Don't condense! We want details. Many, MANY details.
    Not everyone on the internet looks at a wall of text and posts tl;dr.
    alnair
  • WigglesWiggles Member Posts: 571
    Wall O' Text....

    NAO!!!
    Malicron
  • DrugarDrugar Member Posts: 1,566
    Well I don't have a definite date yet for the first session, but it'll most likely be in November. The party has been created with the exception of one person who is very ill at the moment. I decided that giving them each a special power like you did would be for the best. I also decided that if the 'Charname' does in fact die then they will go into a coma like sense and will be a new class with stats, but will have the same memories and alignment.
    I actually hadn't thought of the possibility of Charname dying. I always keep my to-hit rolls and damage rolls secret, just telling them if something hits and how much damage it does, so I should be able to keep Charname 'safe' from death (nobody said anything about not getting knocked to -8 though). Your plan also sounds good, but be prepared to having to explain it when the time comes.
    "She has your previous character's memories for...reasons" is usually not acceptable.

    Melonie (Wife) - Helga Bruiseknuckle the female Half-Orc Barbarian CG (possibly be 'Charname' since never played BG and kinda new to D&D)
    Never played BG and even new to D&D are excellent for being the Bhaalspawn, it heightens the "wtf is going on" and "who the fuck is Bhaal? A god? Wait what?" moments. That she's your wife could be tricky, in my experience, boy/girlfriends or wives/husbands of the DM are often suspected of being 'the favorite'. If your group doesn't have a problem with her being the centre of attention for a good portion of the campaign, by all means, go for it.
    Being a Barbarian, she'll probably miss the subtle part of 'murder' but you can change it to embrace the violent part. Small things, like not having her be winded after a rage if she's killed a sentient creature, later giving her a bigger strength boost if she attacks sentient enemies in her rage. Bhaal's power fuels her killing rage and when she learns of where this power comes from, her reaction should be a mix of "That's so cool!" and "Sweet monkeyballs, *that's* been giving me bonusses? Hells no!"

    Alec - (Unnamed Character) male Aasimar Monk LN (Debating on to make 'Charname'; has played both D&D and BG1 immensely)
    Having played BG1 immensely dampens the impact, he'll catch on the moment he gets a weird dream or whatever. The surprise is best kept for someone who has no idea what's going on. A LN Aasimar Monk can (depending on monk order) have a storyline delving into his heritage. Perhaps set up some challenges to see how devoted he is to his neutrality. As his power increases (level 10+), both fiendish and celestial powers might become interested in recruiting him for their side, with Celestials claiming their 'prodigal son' and the fiendish powers seeing an opportunity ripe for corruption.

    Cole - Ethnar Valarion the male Half-Elf Scout CG (Don't think I'll make a 'Charname' out of him, D&D veteran but played little of BG1)
    Seems a bit vanilla. Does the character have any particular intrests or motivations? Does the Valarion family have deep roots? I'm always a sucker for things from the far past coming back to bite current generations in the ass and elves have long memories.

    Kurt - Torin the male Dragonborn Cleric of Anhur CN (Liked the 4th edition race so I trimmed him down to not be so powerful. Never played BG1, but is a big D&D Veteran. I don't see a Dragonborn being a 'Charname', but it's possible.)
    I think a Dragonborn (possibly the only one?) cleric of an exotic war deity will be weird enough, also making him a half-god might be too much. How did he come to his religion and how do people percieve him? I mean, Dragonborn look fairly monstrous, do people flee in terror at the sight of him? How does he deal with that? Why a Mulhorandi deity of War? Did he grow up in Candlekeep along with the rest?
    Also, consider that the party will work against starting a war. How does he feel about that? How does his god feel about that? Maybe later on, his god will demand recompense, for example by involving him in the monster uprisings in Amn (that Madulf and the monsters in the Umar Hills used to be a part of).

    Julie - Assuming she gets feeling better she will be the 5th person, the party really needs a thief or mage so I'm thinking a bard is in order if she wants. The youngest of the party, she could be a good 'Imoen', but that's if she has a long enough attention span.
    I don't think there's a 'need' to include an Imoen. When it comes to the Spellhold plot, best to use an NPC attached to one of the main characters (or you leave a player out for a bunch of sessions). The half elf (as far as I can tell for now) seems the best choice to attach this NPC to as he doesn't have a lot going on and eeeevery lady wants a half elf.
    Bard is a very awesome class to play (if you know how to play them). Nimbul the assassin is originally a bard and in my last game he almost wiped the floor with the party due to a healthy combination of Enchantments and self-healing spells. Bardic lore also gives you an excuse to lore-dump all sorts of stuff whenever you can, which is always good for immersion (or 'immuuuuushun!' as my players call it).
    Give her lots of forgotten books and ancient lore to work with and you'll be fine.

    So far I have almost all of the sidequests and encounters that can take place at Candlekeep, Friendly Arm Inn, Beregost, High Hedge, Nashkel, Gnoll Stronghold, Nashkel Mines and everything inbetween. Assuming the party bee lines it there and doesn't take much time wandering around I got about 24hrs of straight play time done.
    Always nice to have a lot prepared! I uh, kinda slacked and should really prepare for next week.

    Xzar and Montaron will meet the party and then reunite after the Nashkel Mines. Khalid and Jahiera are retiring from adventuring due to Jahiera suffering a bum leg from an ogre (with a belt fetish) outside of the Inn. Garrick will hire the party for Silke, but will turn and flee when she attempts to flee as well. They will meet both of them again in Baldur's Gate.
    Sounds good! I've placed Xzar and Montaron in the Bandit Camp, making a deal with the leaders there. Letting Garrick and Silke return makes sense, Baldur's Gate seems like a place where they would be likely to hide out, especially Silke.

    Kagain will hire the party to retrieve some stolen goods that were ironically stolen from him from a bandit raid on a caravan. Minsc will hire the party to rescue his damsel in distress from the gnolls. While the party is waiting for Minsc to return from buying gear, they will be approached by Edwin to make sure Dynaheir is properly executed. The party must decide on who to side with.
    Sounds good. Having Minsc accompany the party also allows you to yell stuff like "Go for the eyes Boo!" at the table, which is always a big plus. I personally left him in town because the previous game had a lot (too many in my opinion) NPC's helping the party out so they started feeling like the spotlight wasn't really on them. I'm going without this time.
    As long as it's done in moderation, it should not be a problem.
  • DrugarDrugar Member Posts: 1,566
    Related to this;

    Is there a way to extract images from the movies in BG:EE? Printscreen doesn't work and using the excellent pictures of the mine flooding or the bandit camp could be very useful.
  • WigglesWiggles Member Posts: 571
    edited March 2014
    Wiggles casts Resurrection!! @Drugar @Malicron‌

    It begins today! A lot has changed with the players and we're beginning a lot later than hoped, but we're playing, and that's what counts.

    Wife - Still the same (Decided she'll be the bhaalspawn. Kurt would drastically fit the role better, but he's going through a situation with his ex-wife and 'who gets the kids when stage'. Seeing as how he might miss a few sessions here and there and could go to court for all I know, best left it to someone who'll always be there..... hopefully. :D)

    Kurt - Half-Elf Sorcerer. I told him a dragonborn cleric kinda wouldn't fit in a campaign setting featuring mostly civilized humanoids from the PHB. He reluctantly agreed mainly because of the next person to join our group.

    My mother - Human Cleric of Torm. Yuuuuuuup. She played in the previous campaign stated above in the original post. She was also a cleric and it was her first time playing 3.5. The last time she played was a halfling rogue in AD&D 2nd edition. She grasped the concept slowly, but surely. Now we just need to add...

    My baby sister - Halfling Rogue. She's 14 and is almost getting to be as nerdy as I am. She has a slight dyslexia problem and is starting to show signs of the "friends, boys, and defy parents" age, but if she's anything like the rest of the family, that'll last a month and then you go play an RPG for six months. :P She's handling the concept well, but her first character was probably the worst class you can be for a first time D&D player (Druid). She started the same time my Mom did and thoroughly enjoys the game if her attention span lasts long enough.

    Cole - Still the same.

    Removed:
    Alec - Dwarven Cleric. He changed his character then the next day, he lost his job. He's been job hopping for awhile to find a decent one and I think he found one yesterday. However, he didn't reply to my text if he wanted to play so I assume he wants to wait awhile. No problem, there's plenty of NPC's he knows that he could replace if he wanted.

    Julie - Half-Elf Rogue. Her illnesss is way in the past now and is going back to public schooling on Monday. While she enjoyed her time playing, being 16 and giving up every Sunday afternoon/evening to be around nerds rolling dice when you could be out underage drinking... ah, to each their own... She's a nice girl and at least she gave it her all. If she ever did come back, I'd obviously take her.

    So the party will gather and venture forth here in 7 hours (4pm local time). I hope to update and tell their story after every session. Funny lines, battles, tragedies, reactions to NPCs, etc.

    O, I got one for ya from last campaign. Party kills a medium sized dragon and wife (archer ranger) wants to skin the dragon for leather obviously, she didn't know the proper term to use and this was her sentence: "So, do we get to sodomize the dragon now!?!?!" lol ooooo God bless her! xD
    scriverDrugarjackjack
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