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How long does your protagonist’s journey from Candlekeep to the end of the saga take?

RavenslightRavenslight Member Posts: 1,609
edited October 2016 in General Discussion (Spoiler Warning!)
I always tend to think of my own protagonist’s journey as taking at least a few years to complete. However, I’ve seen others thinking of it in terms of only a few months.

Maybe mine just got too much blood from her mother’s side of the family ;)

How long does your journey take?
  1. How long does your protagonist’s journey from Candlekeep to the end of the saga take?45 votes
    1. A few months.
      13.33%
    2. 1-2 years
      42.22%
    3. 2-3 years
      24.44%
    4. 3-4 years
        8.89%
    5. 4-5 years
        0.00%
    6. Over 5 years.
      11.11%
«1

Comments

  • mf2112mf2112 Member, Moderator Posts: 1,919
    My average is 3-4 months, although it should be much longer in DnD time to get to those levels. I guess if played a bit more realistically, like only having a couple major fights then resting instead of heal'n'go it could take a year in game time but the travel times are all skewed in the game so I just headcanon a multiyear game, closer to a decade maybe.
  • megamike15megamike15 Member Posts: 2,666
    i'd say a year there are a couple time skips between adventures [ the few weeks between the tutorial dungeon and the actual start of sod, the time your stuck in the dungeon in 2, and the short time before tob starts.] bg1 feels like it takes a couple months. sod feels afew weeks, 2 the same as 1. tob it's hard to pinpoint in lore time.
  • JumboWheat01JumboWheat01 Member Posts: 1,028
    Well if the Races of the Wild supplement for the 3rd Edition Era is anything to go by, considering how Aerie can have your kid in the Throne of Bhaal, at least a year needs to go by from the moment you stand in front of the Candlekeep Inn to the start of the events of Throne of Bhaal. So one to two years is definitely the minimum in my mind.
  • mf2112mf2112 Member, Moderator Posts: 1,919
    I had looked into travel distance earlier and it looks to be 160-170 miles between Baldur's Gate and Candlekeep which I would estimate a few days, maybe almost a week to do. I just checked in the game and it shows 32 hours, which does make sense at 4 days times 8 hours for a normal party traveling.
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    I mainly play only BG2, so I don't vote.
    And usually I am quite a completionist, and have often like 3-6 mod quests installed.
    I also use sometimes leveling strategies that involve fighting multiple spawning enemies (only when a real battle is done, never that trick in Saradush), or enemies that myself cause to spawn (the vampires from the limited wish are much more funny and challenging that gating demons and can be obtained earlier).
    Sometimes I also spend some weeks in dragon dungeons crafting again and again beautiful lizard stone statues, usually without a preemptive feeblemind, that make it trivial.
    And I use often the rest wish option, that at least in not EE is not implemented correctly as states "as if I have rested" but adds a rest time to the game clock, that imo should not add.
    And I don't abuse rest, but usually rest as the party members begin to be fatigued, more for RP issues than for fatigue penalties. Most of the times that I rest I have still spells and HLAs, very seldom I rest just to reconfigure the spellbooks for a certain battle.
    Even with all those delays my runs are averaging 180 days or so from the Irenicus prison to the end.
    I suppose that without all those factors the time would have been a couple of months, less if optimizing travels, waiting for spellbooks almost empty and HLAs exausted and skipping some vanilla quest.
    So probably from Candlekeep it would be like 2-3 months more, as many of the reasons that make me delay in BG2 before are not possible.
    Bu I am guessing on a game that I did play very little, BG1, and one that I don't own and did never try, SoD.
  • RodrianRodrian Member Posts: 426
    Canonically , I would begin from checking the starting dates in journals, throughout the BG/SoD/BGII.

    BG is "1 Mirtul 1368" if I remember it correctly. . Someone knows the rest?
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    Correct. by the way are in FR lore, in the prime plane, the years of 365,5 days and split in 12 months like in this RL planet?
  • RodrianRodrian Member Posts: 426
    edited October 2016
    There are 12 months with 30 days each,

    [EDIT]: + 5 holidays: Midwinter , Greengrass , Midsummer , Highharvestide  and Feast of the Moon

    . . so exactly 360 365 days/year, yes.
    Post edited by Rodrian on
  • JumboWheat01JumboWheat01 Member Posts: 1,028
    Rodrian said:

    There are 12 months with 30 days each, so exactly 360d/year, yes.

    Plus five days that are not part of the months and are instead holidays.
  • RodrianRodrian Member Posts: 426
    @JumboWheat01, ahh yes right, I totally missed them somehow ^^
    Thanks for the correction!
  • RodrianRodrian Member Posts: 426
    FR Wiki said:

    Shieldmeet was the equivalent of a leap year day in the Calendar of Harptos, occurring once every four years, adding a day after the festival of Midsummer and before Eleasis 1.

    Shieldmeet Years:

    There were Shieldmeets  every four years. Since 1372 DR contained a Shieldmeet, this meant that 0 DR and every fourth year prior or afterward also contained a Shieldmeet.

    MAN! Things are getting tricky xD
    This would mean that our 1368 DR had 366 days straight too. .
  • dunbardunbar Member Posts: 1,603
    Can anyone remember from Viconia's storyline how long she spent hanging around the Beregost area, then living with the farmer before the 'incident' and then travelling to Athkatla - because I got the impression that all that accounted for at least a few months.
  • mf2112mf2112 Member, Moderator Posts: 1,919
    dunbar said:

    Can anyone remember from Viconia's storyline how long she spent hanging around the Beregost area, then living with the farmer before the 'incident' and then travelling to Athkatla - because I got the impression that all that accounted for at least a few months.

    I am not sure that story is necessarily accurate. Or her other stories.
  • mf2112mf2112 Member, Moderator Posts: 1,919
    Ravenslight said:

    Interesting, I believed her.

    Well, I guess I meant that I am not sure which one of her stories to believe exactly. Each seemed plausible and equally likely.
  • dunbardunbar Member Posts: 1,603
    mf2112 said:

    dunbar said:

    Can anyone remember from Viconia's storyline how long she spent hanging around the Beregost area, then living with the farmer before the 'incident' and then travelling to Athkatla - because I got the impression that all that accounted for at least a few months.

    I am not sure that story is necessarily accurate. Or her other stories.
    Ah, good point, but even if it was all a lie enough time must have elapsed for the lie to be believable,

  • OrlonKronsteenOrlonKronsteen Member Posts: 905
    @gorgonzola I wonder how long it would take in game time to drink through 100,000 gp? In any case, you'd better check the "Over 5 years" box in the poll.
  • sluckerssluckers Member Posts: 280
    Not that I've beaten the game right from start to Throne of Bhaal more than once, but the most time I took in BG1 + Soa and ToB was about six or seven months. About 80-90 days for BG1, and 100-120 for Soa/ToB.

    I remember seeing a playthrough on the forum that took something like 350 days for SoA alone and I just couldn't believe it. Where did all that time go?
  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811
    Minimal RP play through:
    Baldur's Gate

    A day in Candlekeep (1 day)
    A day to get to the Friendly Arm Inn, resting there. (2 days)
    A day to get to Beregost + exploring the area and obtaining equipment /w rest (3 days)
    2 days to get to Nashkel + one day to rest (3 days)
    1 day to do the mine (1 day)
    1 day to rest (1 day)
    2 days back to Beregost + 1 to rest (3 days)
    1 day to reach the FAI + 1 day to rest (2 days)
    1 day to find the bandit camp and return to FAI + rest (2 day)
    1 day to do cloakwood + mines (1 day)
    1 day to travel back to FAI + rest (2 days)
    1 day to travel to Baldur's Gate + rest (2 days)
    1 day to explore the city + rest (2 days)
    1 day to do Scar's quests + rest (2 day)
    3 days to travel back to Candlekeep (3 days)
    1 day inside candlekeep (including catacombs) (1 day)
    3 days travel back to Baldur's Gate + rest (4 days)
    1 day to thwart your brother's plans (1 day)

    Total: 36 days
    two weeks of down time between BG and Sod(14 days)
    marching an army to war 3-4 weeks (25 days)
    being kidnapped by Jonny and dungeon time 3-4 weeks(25 days)
    Total Interlude: 64 days (100 days total)

    SoA

    1 day to escape jonny's + rest (2 days)
    1 day in the slums freeing slaves + rest (2 days)
    2 day "helping" the harpers and the shadow thieves + rest (3 days)
    1 day to help the church + rest (2 days)
    7 days working for the shadow thieves (7 days)
    7 days traveling to Brynlaww (7 days)
    1 day in Spellhold (1 day)
    3 days at sea (3 days)
    1 day in Fish City (1 day)
    1 day in underdark + rest (2 days)
    1 day to find deep gnomes + dragon (1 day)
    5 days in drow city (5 days)
    1 day in elven city + hell trails (1 day)

    Total: 37 days (more of course, if you venture outside the city) (137 days total)

    truthfully, I haven't did throne of bhaal for awhile, so I'll stop there. But that is 4 and half months.

    I always estimated the time line to be about a year though.
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    @OrlonKronsteen I am only planning that drunken run, for when I will very bored after trying almost everything else possible, but is not my average run.
    As is not average the present run, vanilla insane with no DMG increase for enemies, where I did beat all the liches in town, Rune (with 2 uses of a wand) and demilich included, and completed the fallen Paladins quest, in less than 24 in game hours, previous rest included, with no spell recovery tricks, in chap 3, and still have enough spells for a big quest. And with at least 1 party member constantly in sight, so without tricks like having their buffs expire while they can not hit me. As I am used to play with difficulty enhancers vanilla for me is really easy, not an average run.
    Probably my choice should be less than one year but, as I have limited experience with BG1 and no experience with SoD, I still chose to not vote.
  • PK2748PK2748 Member Posts: 381
    Honestly to hit level 40? Thirty years?
  • GodGod Member Posts: 1,150
    edited October 2016
    deltago said:

    Minimal RP play through:
    Baldur's Gate


    A day in Candlekeep (1 day)
    A day to get to the Friendly Arm Inn, resting there. (2 days)
    A day to get to Beregost + exploring the area and obtaining equipment /w rest (3 days)
    2 days to get to Nashkel + one day to rest (3 days)
    1 day to do the mine (1 day)
    1 day to rest (1 day)
    2 days back to Beregost + 1 to rest (3 days)
    1 day to reach the FAI + 1 day to rest (2 days)
    1 day to find the bandit camp and return to FAI + rest (2 day)
    1 day to do cloakwood + mines (1 day)
    1 day to travel back to FAI + rest (2 days)
    1 day to travel to Baldur's Gate + rest (2 days)
    1 day to explore the city + rest (2 days)
    1 day to do Scar's quests + rest (2 day)
    3 days to travel back to Candlekeep (3 days)
    1 day inside candlekeep (including catacombs) (1 day)
    3 days travel back to Baldur's Gate + rest (4 days)
    1 day to thwart your brother's plans (1 day)

    Total: 36 days
    two weeks of down time between BG and Sod(14 days)
    marching an army to war 3-4 weeks (25 days)
    being kidnapped by Jonny and dungeon time 3-4 weeks(25 days)
    Total Interlude: 64 days (100 days total)

    SoA

    1 day to escape jonny's + rest (2 days)
    1 day in the slums freeing slaves + rest (2 days)
    2 day "helping" the harpers and the shadow thieves + rest (3 days)
    1 day to help the church + rest (2 days)
    7 days working for the shadow thieves (7 days)
    7 days traveling to Brynlaww (7 days)
    1 day in Spellhold (1 day)
    3 days at sea (3 days)
    1 day in Fish City (1 day)
    1 day in underdark + rest (2 days)
    1 day to find deep gnomes + dragon (1 day)
    5 days in drow city (5 days)
    1 day in elven city + hell trails (1 day)

    Total: 37 days (more of course, if you venture outside the city) (137 days total)

    truthfully, I haven't did throne of bhaal for awhile, so I'll stop there. But that is 4 and half months.

    I always estimated the time line to be about a year though.
    Pretty much.
    Often skipping SoD and/or Fish City, with some extra camping time in the wilderness and assorted astral travel shenanigans, my runs normally total to no more than 7-9 months. I did do a couple of semi-completionist no-reload sleep-16-hours-a-day runs that netted more but that's not really my usual playstyle.
  • AlexisisinneedAlexisisinneed Member Posts: 470
    Is it like cannonly like a year or two for the whole series?

    But in my personal opinion I think bg1/totsc takes a year. Sod takes about four months. In my rp mind I always thought that jon had me in his dungeon for a year or two.
  • mashedtatersmashedtaters Member Posts: 2,266
    I like to take my time, see the sights. The whole rush to save the world thing is so stressful, yknow? After I leave candle keep, I usually just lallygag around and camp out, sleeping in and hsving weird dreams...must be something i ate. What was i saying? oh yeah, foster father just died, so I don't have any more commitments. Eventually I get to meet my brother and, after a nasty spat, we agree to go our separate ways, although he didnt look to good. Then I hang out for a year until some jerk jumps me and I end up being tortured in his dungeon. Well, whatever, you can't stay mad forever, just go drink it off. Eventually I meet some hoochie-mama who wants to get hitched. Sure, that's cool...but it's going to have to wait until after we get out of the underdark, k babe? Whatever...then I meet that same guy that tortured me last year, waddya know? Apparently he had my soul or something? If he says so, I can't feel a difference, except sometimes I get really pissed for no reason. So he ends up kicking the bucket, then hoochie-mama and I get married by some elvish chick...under a tree? I don't remember. After that, another year, and then I can't remember. Where am I? Its all a blur. i got to lay off the spiked mashedtaters...
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