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NPC Guide to BGEE

elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
edited November 2013 in Challenges and Playthroughs
Apparently BGEE's 1.2 patch has now been released to Steam. What better time than to release my own BGEE NPC Guide?

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=183524786#

If you are on Steam give it a thumbs up or down. Type away about my formatting or my profound ability to misuse comma's and brackets (hehe). Complain about the text colour and background colour (nothing I can do about that). Give me praise or scorn (whatever works for you).

Otherwise feel free to look through it. I've tried not to reveal the location of too many items in the game. Those that I have revealed tend to be items you can buy in Beregost or High Hedge. So all I ask is that if you are going to comment on it on Steam don't start revealing all the locations of all the best items.
Post edited by elminster on
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Comments

  • MessiMessi Member Posts: 738
    Really nice guidde! Are you making one for BG2EE two?
  • WilburWilbur Member Posts: 1,173
    I just took a quick glance, but it looks very good. Nice job! Will review later.
  • Some thoughts from reading the (excellent) guide:

    You might want to note that Edwin's proficiencies are rather crappy if you recruit him at level 6, as he really doesn't have the strength to make using throwing daggers as a ranged option particularly feasible (darts or slings are a much better choice). This is unlikely to be a problem for most players, but if someone is leveling up before recruiting it might become an issue.

    Jaheira: Your guide is cut off midway through the proficiency recommendations. Same thing with Kagain.
    QuartzJuliusBorisov
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited November 2013
    Shit thanks for the heads up Quartz and Kaigen. In some cases I copied in pasted the basic format so there might still be cases like that. It just made it easier than writing them all out (especially for spellcasters and their spell books). So chances are there may still be a few cases like that. In any case I've fixed up what you've mentioned.

    Edit: Looks like Edwin's Strength and Dexterity were also messed up (fixed).
    Post edited by elminster on
    lolien
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited November 2013
    Messi said:

    Really nice guidde! Are you making one for BG2EE two?

    I will probably but only if it goes on a steam sale. You have to own the game on Steam in order to make a guide for it. I bought it from Beamdog already so thats not going to be an option at least at launch.
    Post edited by elminster on
    Quartzlolien
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    Good to see the patch made it to Steam today. It would have been a little awkward if I'd released this and the patch had taken another week :)
    lolien
  • ThrasymachusThrasymachus Member Posts: 873
    Nice work!
    lolien
  • RellinRellin Member Posts: 28
    The links to the manuals don't work for me.
    elminster
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    Hmm I will check out the manual links. In the meantime you can get the off baldursgate.com
    lolien
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    nano said:

    Good stuff. I like that you gave the crappier NPCs a fair treatment instead of saying "this guy sucks, don't use him" as some other guides do.

    I tried my best :)
    QuartzJuliusBorisovCrevsDaaklolien
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    @Rellin Do the manual links work now?
    lolien
  • PugPugPugPug Member Posts: 560
    I haven't read through it all yet, but I checked Rasaad to see if you mention Gauntlets of Dexterity. I know you are trying to keep item metagaming to a minimum, and I guess he has 16 Dex, but...

    I know there was a thread discussing items to get him early to make him suck less, but I don't see it around.
    JuliusBorisov
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited November 2013
    I've now included it only because I had previously mentioned them in the guide (not sure why but meh ohh well). Anyways I won't say where people can find it but if people come across them they will help. However, my final recommendation for the character was to probably not take him on your first play through. So hopefully people understand that he comes with him own challenges.
    PugPugQuartzJuliusBorisovlolien
  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
    edited November 2013
    nano said:

    Good stuff. I like that you gave the crappier NPCs a fair treatment instead of saying "this guy sucks, don't use him" as some other guides do.

    Freakin' agreed. With effort you can make any NPC decent and I think you did a good job of elaborating on that @elminster. Thanks.

    I seem to have an eye for proof-reading so I'll probably give your guide a more thorough look. Honestly your guide is excellent and I'd love to help iron out the whoopsies. :) It's great man, really.
    JuliusBorisovelminster
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,714
    edited November 2013
    Credit where it's due. I see an impressive effort you put into this guide.

    I think this guide is a must-read not only in terms of NPCs but also in terms of general tricks and tips. For i.e., "there is little point in fact in taking Miscast Magic over Summon Insects. While its true it is more effective at stopping spell casting, has a longer duration, and it has a shorter casting time its also true that Summon Insects requires a Save vs. Breath at -4, versus Miscast Magic requiring a save vs. spells at -2. Mages consistently have better saving throws versus spells (by about 3) compared to breath." Bravo!

    I'd like to indicate some additional suggestions. They are minor but still...

    Edwin's Wisdom is 9, not 10 (this means he has -10 penalty to Lore) and his Charisma is 10, not 9.

    There's no sense to choose the Armor spell for Baeloth because it serves as if it were only a scale mail armor (AC 6) while his Robe of the Evil Archmagi gives AC 5 already. Moreover, this spell itself can be useful only in the beginning of the game and is ineffective at the later stages and you can get Baeloth only if you're level 6.

    I would suggest to choose either the Blindness spell or the Protection from Evil spell or the Charm Person spell.

    At level 2 I think the most obvious choice is the Invisibility spell - the life-saver. You can advice taking it if there's no need to take both the Resist Fear spell (due to having a divine casters in the party) and the Knock spell (due to having a thief in the party).

    I think you meant "He (Eldoth) is NOT a decent archer compared to other ranged characters in the game (he lacks their Thac0 and bonus attacks per round)" instead of saying he IS a decent archer (because you say he lacks bonuses).

    Also, you can add that Buckley's Buckler is a great choice for Yeslick - it makes his CON 18 and gives another +1 to saving throws (equip it at least before the every level-up).
    Post edited by JuliusBorisov on
    elminsterMortiannalolien
  • CutlassJackCutlassJack Member Posts: 493
    Great guide. Unbiased and really thorough. I'm keeping it bookmarked.
  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
    bengoshi said:

    Also, you can add that Buckley's Buckler is a great choice for Yeslick - it makes his CON 18 and gives another +1 to saving throws (equip it at least before the every level-up).

    I think he's trying to mostly stay away from mentioning specific equipment.
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited November 2013
    @Bengoshi thanks for the help.

    Yea Edwin's stats were messed up. I made the 10/9 switch yesterday (they were listed yesterday as something weird like 12/13 for whatever reason). That was just a result of a rush job yesterday on my part.

    Otherwise I've looked over your suggestions and made changes. There is not a whole lot I can write about Eldoth because theres actually a character/word limit. Anyways I've changed my wording for him but thats probably about all I can write in his case.

    With regard to Yeslick and Buckley's Buckler I will think on it :)
    JuliusBorisovlolien
  • mackosmackos Member Posts: 188
    one note about Kagain - you can give him gauntlets of dexterity and 19 str belt from Rasaad mission. With stats 19 18 20 he'll became both meele dps and tank with very good AC, HP and Saving Throws. U can also give him gauntlets of dexterity for high AC and make him "only" the best tank in the game. (excellent battlefriend for Dorn)
    JuliusBorisovCrevsDaak
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited November 2013

    Hail and well met, brave warrior @elminster!

    "Of course you can also go for the sheer damaging spells. Holy Smite is probably the best spell a cleric is going to provide for this. However it can be complemented well by mage spells Web, Fireball, and Greater Malison."

    Holy Smite?!

    Could you be more specific with the issue you are having with this? Quayle is neutral so he gets access to both Holy Smite and Unholy Blight.

    Why not Holy Smite? I'm not saying that Holy Smite will do comparable damage to Fireball (1d4 a level vs 1d6) only that clerics really don't get any other damage spells that are as effective. I mean yes you can get Glyph of Warding but if they save vs it it does no damage. Yes you can cast Doom (in preparation for a fireball) but that only lowers saving throws on a specific target and it has a long casting time.
    lolienraelcari
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited November 2013
    mackos said:

    one note about Kagain - you can give him gauntlets of dexterity and 19 str belt from Rasaad mission. With stats 19 18 20 he'll became both meele dps and tank with very good AC, HP and Saving Throws. U can also give him gauntlets of dexterity for high AC and make him "only" the best tank in the game. (excellent battlefriend for Dorn)

    I agree those are two good items for Kagain. I've included a mention of looking for strength and dexterity boosting items for him. I'll think on adding anything further.
    lolien
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited November 2013

    It's not the idea of Holy Smite, but how do I cast it? I searched the Baldur's Gate Spell Listing and don't see it.

    http://www.planetbaldursgate.com/bg2/character/spells/priest/priestspell.asp?lvl_id=3&file_name=HolySmite.htm&title=Holy+Smite

    Only neutral or good clerics will get it.
    lolien
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited November 2013
    No worries. :) that planet baldurs gate website is generally pretty good when it comes to looking up spells. Not always though so make sure to consult your spellbook in game.
    CrevsDaaklolien
  • RnRClownRnRClown Member Posts: 182
    Excellent work @elminster. The write-up for each NPC is informative without being biased. It provides the player a solid foundation on which to create a party of their own.
    elminsterlolien
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited November 2013
    I'm debating about doing it for BG2EE. On the one hand there are a lot less NPC's so thats kind of nice. On the other hand there are a lot more spells and a lot more cases of specific enemies that make general strategies not as effective. I guess there are a few NPC's that people might initially pass up on (like Mazzy or Valygar because of where they are located, Nalia because of her thieving skills, or Cernd because of his general stats and the experience gap) but overall I think NPC's at the start of BG2 are generally fairly rugged and more capable from a stats standpoint compared to their BG1 counterparts.
    lolien
  • BasillicumBasillicum Member, Translator (NDA) Posts: 400
    Excellent stuff! "B-astard" is to avoid being censored?
    lolien
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