Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition

[Anonymous No.6531354]

Is there a character class/race combination that simply will not work or will make me suffer down the line, or can I play literally whatever?
Does my portrait affect what people might tell me? I was thinking of using the dark skinned Arab like fellow but being a Mage/Thief Elf or Half-Elf, not sure if I'll get some contradictory dialogue or anything.
Any tips for a complete newcomer?
Baldur's Gate thread I guess.

[Anonymous No.6531376]

did any crpgs like this ever make it to consoles of any retroera?

[Anonymous No.6531436]

>>6531376
Not that I know of. Warriors of the Eternal Sun for the Genesis is the closest I can think of but that's turn based.

[Anonymous No.6531532]

>>6531354
>tips for a complete newcomer?
read the 2nd edition ad&d rules before creating your char, specifically how the stats affect skills...
you have more liberty to make you char whatever you want as long as you cover your needs using the other playable chars that aren't your main.
I wouldn't suggest multi or dual classing the first playthrough.
Portraits don't affect anything in the game.
Dialogue options are there mostly there for immersion, and making you feel you have a sense of control, just imagine they're important and playing according to the alignment you chose... more important is what you do: kill innocent npcs, get caught stealing, kill flaming fist soldiers, these things affect your reputation.

[Anonymous No.6531627]

>>6531354
No. You can play literally anything and still win.

[Anonymous No.6531960]

>>6531354
As with every RPG, make a fighter. Everyone else just pick what sounds fun, but the fighter gets you across the finish line.

[Anonymous No.6532040]

>>6531960
Are you trying to save him from dying to ranged weapons in the first real fight? Because that's all but guaranteed anyway. And he'll have to discover the beauty and elegance of vancian spellcasting and have to manage his casters either way as well.
"Save often and in different slots."

[Anonymous No.6532051]

>>6531354
>Does my portrait affect what people might tell me?
no, your charisma is the only thing that effects npc reactions

[Anonymous No.6532124]

>>6532040
Nope. Save at the beginning of map and roll with the changes. Only load on TPK.

[Anonymous No.6532132]

>>6532124
He's a new player, though. To the system and possibly to the genre (modern "ARPGs" and relationship simulators don't count). Maybe I'm wrong but I think throwing them into the water and hoping they swim might be resulting in too many cases of turning new players away from the genre forever. At least as long as their first experience is with something old enough to have pronounced rough edges.

[Anonymous No.6532147]

Why is there a hardcore mode in a game where even if you minmax and play as autistically as possible you can still get one shot by a bad roll?

[Anonymous No.6532156]

>>6532147
Because once you get to higher levels proper strategy and tactics begin. Some might want additional difficulty there because they can accurately recite stat blocks and spell descriptions immediately after being awakened in the dead of night.

[Anonymous No.6532246]

>>6531354
>Any tips for a complete newcomer?
Some spells or combos of spells completely trivialize most encounters. Avoid if you want some challenge, enjoy if you want some easy cheese.
If you do not enjoy BG1 enough to finish it, give the second one a try, most people find it more engaging. It's probably harder but also has more interesting fights.

[Anonymous No.6532325]

>>6532147
>you can still get one shot by a bad roll?
Should have had Stoneskin up. Arcane casters > all.

[Anonymous No.6532516]

>>6531376
there was going to be a psx port of bg1 but it got cancelled. must have been pretty late in development since the game can be completed.
if you want to check it out heres the leaked version:
https://cdromance.com/psx-iso/baldurs-gate-usa/

[Anonymous No.6532701]

>>6532147
There is no hardcore mode unless you make it yourself
If you get one shot by a bad roll it's because you are bad at this game
Like, just don't be in a position where you can get killed by a bad roll, the game gives you two million tools for that

[Anonymous No.6532753]

>>6531532
>>6531354
Multi and dual classing are among the best ways to realize just how interesting the ruleset actually is
Definitely 100% recommend them on first playthrough, if not on charname then on other party members. Characters like Montaron, Coran, Yeslick, Tiax, dual classing Imoen or Shar-Teel, etc. can all find a good spot in a beginner's team
Reading the entire ruleset is useless and boring, the manual isn't all that good, a quick glance on the BG wiki articles about attribute scores and thac0 is worth more than this shit.
portraits, dialogues and all that gay shit don't really matter, the story is good but no class/race/cha or int score will change dialogue in deeply meaningful ways, you might get some extra flavor here and there, sometimes avoid a minor fight, but nothing plot critical
Combat is where it's at and there's a world of things to do here, try spells and consumables as often as you can, don't hoard shit but use it instead, use save/reload to try things out rather than savescum and force encounters.
BG2 is the better game, SCS is the greatest shit ever.
>>6532246
Understanding magic is the entire point of the game. Depriving yourself from it isn't making the game more challenging, it's playing poorly. If you want an actual challenge, should install SCS rather than microing martial parties and hope they make that saving throw.

[Anonymous No.6532838]

>>6531354
>Any tips for a complete newcomer?
Make a pure fighter with maxed out str and con, preferably a dwarf for 20 con later, meaning even if you get waylaid you still regenerate HP fully. Ignore mages and clerics because most of the game is hack and slashing melee mobs and you only need one mage for casting haste, all the other magic is discardable. Coran is ridiculously OP as an archer, Yeslick is a perfect combo of Fighter/Cleric to give you situational buffs. The biggest chore of BG1 is the number of items you loot because there are no bags of holding, and so you should get 3-4 fighters so you're never encumbered. 1 mage, 1 cleric (Yeslick), 1 archer because Coran is OP as shit. Then you just click away until all mobs disappear and there's no need for anything else because you're clearing content on your 1st playthrough. Also google how to change switch FPS to 60 in the EE (they moved the file to my documents) because you'll lose half your lifetime exploring everything.

[Anonymous No.6532864]

>>6532838
Retard. Go play Icewind Dale or Diablo.

[Anonymous No.6532881]

>>6532864
>Retard
Explain how it's retarded to be efficient in a game that's not optimized for thinking and preparation. It's better to just see what's ahead and brute force your way through because a significant portion of the mobs are respawnable trash that brawlers are suited for dispatching.

[Anonymous No.6532901]

>>6532881
Your trash mobs don't even need minmaxed fighters to get dispatched. Hard fights require arcane casters and a vague understanding of magic. Party building involving at least some arcane dual and/or multi class are more interesting and fun to play than a party of martial reloading every time they fail a saving throw. There's nothing optimal in your shitty playstyle, just go for story mode or watch a playthrough on youtube if that's all you want to do.

[Anonymous No.6532923]

>>6532881
Not that guy but you undermined your own post: For a game that's not optimized for strategic thinking (which is true, vanilla BG1 is pretty easy), why should it be necessary to engage in the level of sweaty tryhard that you're proposing? Not everything is a speedrun, least of all in a game where free exploration and low-level adventuring is the intended play

[Anonymous No.6532979]

>>6532923
Not everyone considers what you might think of as exhausting tryharding. I like to uncover all the variables on first playthroughs in games I really enjoy and the best approach to that kind of playstyle is a brawler team that doesn't require extra micro in superficial encouneters. OP asked for opinions I provided one suited to my standards.
>least of all in a game where free exploration and low-level adventuring is the intended play
I'm not going to ponder what some sweaty neckbeard dev meant to be "intended". It could be jacking off in a corner roleplaying as a gnomish kiddy diddler for all I know. You do you, and video games are all about that.

[Anonymous No.6532995]

>>6532864
I don't even remember IWD and only played D1 last year for the first time, but that's unfair to them. Even those games are less dudebro.

[Anonymous No.6533003]

>>6532864
Just realized that >>6532995 is ambiguous. Meant to say less dudebro than that guy's approach.

[Anonymous No.6533008]

>>6533003
Then you need to be more specific. Posters in here like to come up with ingenious advice such as "just know beforehand" or "just backtrack to a temple whose location you don't recall". They have a really hard putting themselves in the shoes of a blind playthrough player is what I'm saying.

[Anonymous No.6533029]

>>6533008
Misquote? Because I wasn't disagreeing with you about treating a role-playing game like a single-player Rune team deathmatch being retarded. Just that Diablo and probably Icewind Dale aren't that primitive.
Yes, I do remember that IWD is about combat first and foremost but still.

[Anonymous No.6533046]

>>6533029
Depends on your approach to your playing. To me when dialogue is not involved Id rather focus on the mechanics than imagining my character is intensely focusing on the fragrance of own farts or the shade of green the grass specifically is.

[Anonymous No.6533059]

>>6533046
>To me when dialogue is not involved Id rather focus on the mechanics than imagining

[Anonymous No.6533167]

>>6532753
>Depriving yourself from it isn't making the game more challenging, it's playing poorly.

This is why I use cheat engine in all my games. Depriving yourself from it isn't making the game more challenging, it's playing poorly.

[Anonymous No.6533186]

>>6533059
There's some truth to that. Wouldn't say that it's inherently tied to my personality, just dependent on whether I'm trying to "100%" or having a more spontaneous playthrough instead where being dickish would be more fun.

[Anonymous No.6533195]

>>6531354
You're asking too much of a Bioware game, friend. Especially Baldur's Gate 1. You don't need to minmax if you're just going "normal". I'd tell you that there's books to raise 1 point in every ability at a time, and there's 3 for wisdom. There's also a charisma ring very early in the sequel that will raise your stat to 18.

The most challenging parts are in the original expansion. Durlags Tower is probably one of the best dungeons in the entire series, and at the end of the Werewolf island questline you get to fight a dragon.

There aren't particularly challenging encounters in Siege of Dragonspear, although there's another dragon that you can fight. The game's more like Icewind Dale but easier. And you *can* avoid all the tranny shit people like to cry about. Your character will be overpowered at the start of BG2 if you complete Dragonspear though, since iirc you get to keep all your numbers.

[Anonymous No.6533196]

>>6533167
>This is why I use cheat engine in all my games
Cheat engine isn't even strictly a "pathetic cheating tool" or some such. If the game plays slow as fuck it's totally fine to speed it up with cheat engine

[Anonymous No.6533210]

>>6531354
Download the mod fix pack, it'll patch in a bunch of enhancements and fixes you can pick and choose from. The one that doubles your speed outside of combat is damn near mandatory if you wanna have fun. I played a normal paladin (cavalier kit), had a grand old time. It's not as complicated as it looks, just look things up as you go along if there's a rule or mechanic you don't get. When things get tough, turn on more auto-pause options and micromanage. It's actually really fun when you figure it out. Ignore any content inserted by the enhanced edition, those characters and quests fucking suck. Two-handed swords or maces or flails are very fun, there are some neat ones especially in Bg2.

[Anonymous No.6533230]

>>6533195
>Durlags Tower is probably one of the best dungeons in the entire series
It's okay but not that good. Some of the riddles can fuck you over like when I picked the colored wardstones but the text informing you just putting them into inventory unlocks the doors got obscured by the UI and I just proceeded to the other rooms leaving me in total confusion. Pretty mediocre plot and puzzles overall. I found Irenicus' dungeon much more memorable in retrospect. Nice touch that they left warnings on how to prepare against the demonknight though.

[Anonymous No.6533262]

>>6533167
Ok thanks for your blog but what does it have to do with anything?

[Anonymous No.6533265]

>>6533195
>and at the end of the Werewolf island questline you get to fight a dragon.
A somewhat poorly designed nabassu and you could have make this part spoilered.

[Anonymous No.6533284]

>>6533029
My point isn't that IWD is more about combat than BG, it isn't, it is that in IWD (much like in Diablo), most of the encounter design is based around bashing helpless HP sponges until they die.
BG on the other hand, when it's not throwing trash mobs at you (who at least have the decency to not take 20 minutes to bash to death) has some well-designed encounters for which a party of pure martial reloading until they make their saves isn't cut out for.

[Anonymous No.6533290]

>>6533284
Like the werewolves? I love the werewolves. They're what got me to begin autopausing every round

[Anonymous No.6533303]

>>6533290
In Bg1 I would have said Cloakwood mines, Iron Throne fight, Sarevok, the ambush in Ulgoth's beard and the subsequent boss fight after Durlag's Tower especially, and encounters in BG city and Candlekeep. Werewolves need raw damage for which martials are actually well cut-out for, with a haste or two.
auto pause is for faggets
BG2 has a lot of enemy casters which will often be the bane of pure martial oriented parties.

[Anonymous No.6533316]

>>6532147
Because welcome to D&D

[Anonymous No.6533317]

Yesterday when I posted the question, I didn't notice (somehow) that there was a Shaman class too. Which one is more fun, Mage/Thief or Shaman?

[Anonymous No.6533337]

>>6533284
>BG on the other hand, when it's not throwing trash mobs at you (who at least have the decency to not take 20 minutes to bash to death) has some well-designed encounters
I think this statement just... contradicts itself with the point it's trying to convey. You're saying the combat is good, but it really is just inconsistent.

It really feels like BG1 is best described as hindsight vision: the game, and so it throws at just said trash mobs, and what do you do? You prepare lots of healing spells because they're chipping away at your HP and keep respawning. And then it throws at you a mage with a fireball or a mage with hold person, so what should the player have done? He should have e x p e c t e d it was coming... s o m e h o w. Better yet the player should have beaten the game already and bought all the right potions ahead of time, or even better yet discern it from the lore and NPC dialogue 2 towns back.

It really isn't that clever of a game when it comes down to it. Most of it is just reloading to actually prepare for the specific bullshit or abusing the one spell that's OP like Sleep or Haste.

[Anonymous No.6533349]

>>6533317
Mage/Thief is honestly the single most fun class in BG2, with a lot of things to do. Takes a bit of knowledge of the spells and items, but thos class cam literally do anything. Jan Jansen is one though, and a gnome illusionist/thief at that (so one extra spell slot/level). Shaman is pretty great, haven't tried it extensively but it's a very good class with cool abilities. I kinda prefer Druids or fighter/druids though, and since it works like a Sorcerer, you'd better know in advance which spells from the Druid spellbook are good and which ones are trash or you will fuck up your character. As long as you remember to pick insect plague, ironskins, nature's beauty and creeping doom you'll be alright, but still.

[Anonymous No.6533351]

>>6533337
If you need to prepare for specific shit you haven't understood how you're supposed to play. If you arent always ready for anything, it's not my problem.
Git gud.

[Anonymous No.6533352]

>>6533337
Same as if trash mobs are chirping constantly at your HP, like just get one or two good archers if it's really a problem

[Anonymous No.6533361]

>>6533349
Then I'll probably go for Mage/Thief as my first choice like I indicated yesterday.
Thanks everyone!

[Anonymous No.6533363]

>>6533351
>I am already prepared for anything because I beat the game 10+ times and therefore my hindsight vision pwns, git gud
I'm not saying I couldn't/haven't done that. But don't be telling me it works well as a blind playthrough.

[Anonymous No.6533370]

>>6533361
Wait, I can't be Lawful Good with a Mage/Thief?

[Anonymous No.6533378]

>>6533352
It's not worth it, dude. That's why the IWD games are better, particularly IWD2 that has buffs that last a long time and you have to utilize all the spells to survive waves of enemies. BG1 just jumps from annoyance to another where you're like "sure, this would be less annoying if I did that" but you end up not doing it because it's not worth the effort.

[Anonymous No.6533379]

>>6533363
It does work well. Reloading should be here precisely to teach you that, to allow you to understand how spells and items work and try new approaches.
I too sucked on my first playthrough, but the goal is to get better, and getting ready is the first thing on the list. Long duration buffs, keeping interesting potions and other consumables, having the means to successfully retreat if a fight goes bad rather than instantly reloading, etc.
You might want to call the combat inconsistent, and I agree especially in BG1, but I see it as a strength rather than a weakness. If it was consistent, like it is in Icewind Dale for example, it wouldn't exactly improve it. Even BG2 which has much less trash mobs, really benefits from having this particular pacing rather than one long monotonous slog through a neverending horde of HP sponges.

[Anonymous No.6533382]

>>6533370
Thieves can't be Lawful Good. Which kinda makes sense.
Alignment doesn't really matter beyond perso

[Anonymous No.6533385]

>>6533382
A-are you ok?

[Anonymous No.6533395]

>>6533378
You literally miss the entire point of the magic system and ruleset

[Anonymous No.6533397]

>>6533385
nal RP*
Owned by tab, too lazy to delete and repost

[Anonymous No.6533401]

>>6533379
>It does work well. Reloading should be here precisely to teach you that, to allow you to understand how spells and items work and try new approaches.
The only lesson it teaches you is that wands and potions are good. You should save them for later. For most of the game it feels like you could use a potion, but it'd be wasteful and not make the difference to justify wasting a potion with limited availability in stores.
>I too sucked on my first playthrough, but the goal is to get better
Didn't I just say knowing shit in hindsight makes this whole thing pointless? When you've already experienced the script of the story, you can't argue the game telegraphs well what's coming. Literally the only instance in the game where the game properly communicated what kind of party wrecking spells will happen is the demonknight encounter.
>You might want to call the combat inconsistent, and I agree especially in BG1, but I see it as a strength rather than a weakness. If it was consistent, like it is in Icewind Dale for example, it wouldn't exactly improve it
Sounds like you just hate consistent combat IWD offers because you want to die a lot and reload. And that's what every one does when playing for the 1st time, they reload a lot.

[Anonymous No.6533406]

>>6533337
>It really feels like BG1 is best described as hindsight vision
IIRC there's only one enemy in unmodded BG1 that sees past invisibility. Invisibility is a level 2 spell and lasts 24 hours. And Detect Evil is level 1 (priest) or level 2 (wizard), and in original BG1 it detects everything Evil on the map even outside LOS. If you get into a fight unprepared it's your own fault.

[Anonymous No.6533409]

>>6533395
The point of the magic system is that... it sucks. Let's say I want to cast protection from fire. I can't do it ahead of time because I'd have to rest way more than any sane person's patience would allow. I can't use a potion with an instant cast because they're quite rare or expensive. I can't ven really dedicate slots to having spells that become useful once in a blue moon because it's better to memorize something that'll be put to actual use for the greater portion of time spent playing. So it really just comes down to knowing shit in advance because reloading costs nothing.

[Anonymous No.6533410]

>>6533409
By the time Invisible scouting becomes impractical (BG2) you have enough spell slots to keep Protection from Fire ready (which is the most important of the elemental resistances, so you should).

[Anonymous No.6533413]

>>6533397
Oh well, then I'll be Lawful Neutral. RolePlaying should be fun here, I did a similar thing in the classic Fallout games.

[Anonymous No.6533414]

>>6533410
>BG2
Nobody's talking about that. This is a BG1 thread.

[Anonymous No.6533416]

>>6533401
>Sounds like you just hate consistent combat IWD offers because you want to die a lot and reload.
Quite the opposite really, I think infinity engine games are best played without reloading at all.
I recently completed IWD for the first time and reloaded maybe twice in the entire thing including Trials of the Luremaster (which was the best part of the game precisely because AT LAST there were enemies who had abilities like the crypt things that teleport you around, beholders and rakshasas that dispel and use status effects on you, etc.).
I think Icewind Dale is completely inferior to BG because the combat is consistently boring. The tone is given right from the start, you fight off a horde of orcs with a handful of ogres right from the start, yet none of them are as deadly as the first wolf you meet outside Candlekeep. They are slower than you and can do nothing but try to inflict some physical damage before inevitably dying.
Heart of Fury only exacerbates the problem. You can probably tear through IWD with a Skald and a bunch of archers without ever drinking a potion. You can't do that in BG.
If you don't want to reload, understanding how magic works and using it is how you win.

[Anonymous No.6533419]

>>6533409
Yes you fucking can, the thing lasts one turn per level. You can't in BG1 but you don't really need to unless you are in late game areas (where it becomes possible) but in BG2 you can have your entire party protected from every element from dusk til dawn effortlessly.

[Anonymous No.6533420]

>>6533414
Oh fuck off retard.

[Anonymous No.6533421]

>>6533416
>You can probably tear through IWD with a Skald
Yeah I'd love to see that when there's no such class in either games.

[Anonymous No.6533424]

>the magic system is bad because I don't understand it
Everytime

[Anonymous No.6533428]

>>6533421
There probably is in IWD-in-BG2 or the EE
Anyway that's a hypothetical situation to make you understand that horde encounter design is nothing more than basic number crunching with the occasional click to move out of enemy range.

[Anonymous No.6533431]

>>6533428
Yeah and magic isn't basic number crunching. Do you have some other novel revelations?

[Anonymous No.6533435]

>>6533431
Yes, that encounter design in BG is much more interesting than in IWD for precisely all the reasons I mentioned, but you can keep moaning and nitpicking if you want, I won't stop you.

[Anonymous No.6533438]

Ok, how important are these things?

[Anonymous No.6533439]

>>6533435
>my precisely ambiguous generalizations are PRECISELY on the mark
Yeah uh-huh right. Keep on keeping on with this impressive lateral thinking you've got going on.

[Anonymous No.6533454]

>>6533438
https://baldursgate.fandom.com/wiki/Ability_Scores
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/61571/mod-lefreuts-enhanced-ui-for-bg1ee-sod-bg2ee-and-eet

[Anonymous No.6533460]

>>6533438
Very important if you're dual classing, otherwise not so important, because you get gear/potions to change them.

[Anonymous No.6533461]

>>6533439
Yeah they are, cope.

[Anonymous No.6533465]

>>6533438
https://baldursgate.fandom.com/wiki/Armor_Class
https://baldursgate.fandom.com/wiki/THAC0

[Anonymous No.6533483]

>>6533438
>>6533454
And check the articles for each attribute, should teach you just what it exactly does at what score which is pretty handy

[Anonymous No.6533519]

>>6533337
Running away is a thing. You know, like in the real deal.

[Anonymous No.6533696]

OP here again, are these stats good for a Mage/Thief?

[Anonymous No.6533725]

>>6533696
I would recommend dumping both CHA and WIS to 9-10. You don't need WIS and you can use another party member with high CHA as your party face (just put him/her in front position on the right panel, your very first companion has 17 CHA) or increase it with some items or the "friends" spell.
In return, raise CON to 16 for full bonus HP for non-fighters and STR to 18.
The thac0 bonus when you go from 18 to 19 STR (which you will in BG1) is worth it if you want to backstab a bit in BG1. You'll get a bunch of STR-increasing gear in BG2, but CHA and WIS are both more dispensible.
Otherwise good allocation, 18 DEX is great for thieving abilities and ranged weapons (bows are a good early choice)
18 INT is good because of the relatively small amount of potions of genius in BG1.
gl hf

[Anonymous No.6533742]

>>6533725
Many thanks!
About these Proficiency Slots - do I only ever get them at the beginning or is that something I can upgrade while playing? Can a Scimitar work with a Mage/Thief, or am I better off using something more "conventional", i.e. a dagger or a staff?

[Anonymous No.6533748]

>>6533742
You get more very slowly. You get most of them in Bg2. There are barely any scimitars or katanas in BG1, pick something else.

[Anonymous No.6533757]

>>6533742
No you will get more throughout the game, if you want you can find the proficiency progression tables on the wiki
Scimitar are a good choice, especially for later on. Put another point in bows or crossbows, they'll both be useful throughout the entire trilogy.
Since M/T can't put more than one point in each category though, you will have enough points to spend in several weapon categories, pretty versatile on that account. Your fighting abilities won't be amazing compared to fighters early on, but M/T can reach fighter-DPS and even above in specific situations in BG2 with the right spells and equipment.

[Anonymous No.6533767]

>>6533748
>>6533757
Thanks fellas, I'll go with Scimitars and Shortbows, I don't mind a weapon type being rare. Looks like my BG journey can finally begin. :)

[Anonymous No.6533873]

>>6533406
Better yet, in the original Protection from Evil lasts like hour per class level or something similarly crazy. One of the things that still wasn't fixed in BGT is Firebead's special version being missing. It's a minor thing but they add up.

[Anonymous No.6533891]

I am obviously dumb but what exactly is the difference between Memorize Spells and Learn Spells?

[Anonymous No.6533893]

>Is there a character class/race combination that simply will not work or will make me suffer down the line, or can I play literally whatever?
You'll probably do fine.

>Does my portrait affect what people might tell me? I was thinking of using the dark skinned Arab like fellow but being a Mage/Thief Elf or Half-Elf, not sure if I'll get some contradictory dialogue or anything.
No, it'll change nothing, it's purely decorative.

>Any tips for a complete newcomer?
It's not worth dumpstatting Charisma, you can get away with just 3, and you can play the game, but that WILL change the outcome of numerous situations, and give you worse prices.
You can dumpstat Intelligence, but mind that if you have less than 9 Intelligence, you won't be able use wands or use certain magical items, and you will be canonically illiterate.

When doing your character, just reroll your stats until you like 85 to 90 points to distribute, if you're doing some kind of warrior, don't bother trying to score 18/00 in Strength, just accept whatever percentage bonus you get, because the bonus really isn't that substantial at /00, you can later get a book which can be used to raise your strength permanently by one point, and 19 Strength is better than 18/00 Strength.
There's one book for each attribute, you may think that you could use them on party members to improve them, but it's not really worth it, the stat increase will not carry over on those few characters which do reappear in BG2. Use them on yourself.

Also, if you can, avoid picking fights with the law, the police are fucking bothersome to deal with. Not saying don't do crime, just make sure you don't get seen or caught.

[Anonymous No.6533908]

>>6531354
Make sure to apply the patch which removes the new NPC companions Beamdog added in EE.

>>6531960
If he's doing EE he can do one better and roll a Berserker.

>>6532701
This.

>>6532753
Coran is based as fuck, definitely worth picking up.

[Anonymous No.6533916]

>>6532838
>Ignore mages and clerics because most of the game is hack and slashing melee mobs and you only need one mage for casting haste, all the other magic is discardable.
But they're fun. Clerics are great support just by healing and fixing status effects, and Mages can use all kinds of good wands.

[Anonymous No.6533917]

>>6532838
>because you'll lose half your lifetime exploring everything
It's not that slow, take your ritalin, zoomer.

[Anonymous No.6533920]

>>6533317
Shaman is doodoo.

[Anonymous No.6533924]

>>6533696
Lower your Wisdom to 9 or 10, then put the spare points into Strength.

[Anonymous No.6534119]

>>6533916
"Fun" just isn't good enough when the overwhelming majority of the game is clearing fodder. You can have 2 mages because there are 2 rings of wizardry in the game so you can spam magic missile out the ass, but there are no benefits to having pure clerics with their garbagey 1 APR.

[Anonymous No.6534120]

>>6533891
Pls help

[Anonymous No.6534127]

>>6534119
BG1 is the shortest part of the trilogy, Bg2 is at least three times as long, if not more
High level clerics aren't half bad, especially kitted ones (Lathander especially, reach 6 APR with really good thac0)
And literally all cleric multi classes are amazing classes

[Anonymous No.6534129]

>>6534120
Learning spells is using a scroll to add that spell into your mage spellbook
Memorizing spells is putting spells from your spellbook in slots so you can use them after resting.

[Anonymous No.6534135]

>>6534119
And spamming magic missile is absolutely worthless outside of boss fights anyway, their greatest use is interrupting spells or using them to remove a mirror image in one action
Shield, protection from petrification, then sleep/chromatic spray, are all more useful in Bg1, magic missile is pretty low priority in Bg1.

[Anonymous No.6534139]

>>6534119
>APR
I primarily keep Clerics for their healing and buffs, that they can fight is a secondary concern and is more to help them fend for themselves or join in with the serious fighters.
There's a lot of cannon fodder in the game which doesn't require any special tactics or support, that's true, but there's also some more serious fights here and there.

>>6534127
Correct, Clerics are great at higher levels.
Also, the multiclass clerics are pretty damn solid.

[Anonymous No.6534148]

>>6534127
>BG1 is the shortest part of the trilogy
Why are you assuming no one is going to want to uncover all/most/at least a good portion of the unnamed locations?
>inb4 REE why would you want to explore
That's literally the point of the game.
>Bg2 is at least three times as long
Good thing we're talking mostly about BG1 companions. Do you have a reading comprehension problem?
>High level clerics aren't half bad,
Again, companions in BG1 don't benefit from this. Why is your arguing style all fucked up? This is a BG1 thread and even if it weren't, companions can't be transferred into BG2.
>And literally all cleric multi classes are amazing classes
Again, improve your goddamn reading comprehension before you start arguing for something we already agree on.

[Anonymous No.6534149]

>>6531376
Ultima III on NES, The faery tale adventure on Genesis, dungeon master on SNES, pool of radiance on NES, wizardry v on NES & SNES, ultima v on NES etc.

[Anonymous No.6534150]

>>6534129
And after I use a spell, I have to rest?

[Anonymous No.6534157]

>>6534139
>I primarily keep Clerics for their healing and buffs
And what's stopping you from dual-classing Shal-teel or recruiting Yeslick? Are you really that desperate for a pure class in a game that showers you with XP when dual/multi-classes reach the exact same tiers of spells as the pure ones?

[Anonymous No.6534158]

>>6534157
I keep Viconia for flavor, and for BG2, but yeah, I did pick up Yeslick and he was pretty good.

[Anonymous No.6534164]

>>6534148
Doing a 100% playthrough of BG1 takes literally a quarter of the time of doing a 100% BG2 playthrough
As for the rest, you've said nothing but insisting on how much of a cunt you are, so I don't have anything to add.

[Anonymous No.6534167]

>>6534150
To use it again yes
Low level mages only have a couple spell slots available but it will go up relatively fast once you're out of level 1 hell

[Anonymous No.6534168]

>>6534158
>I did pick up Yeslick and he was pretty good
You don't get a better tank in the game aside from a min-maxed PC so yes - you could say he's pretty good to say the least.
Also, agreed, letting go of Viconia hurts, but she's too much of a pushover and has no dialogue in the first game to want to bother with her. Also her magic resistance only becomes a nuisance rather than an advantage as soon you try to keep her hasted.

[Anonymous No.6534172]

>>6534168
In OG Bg1 yes but in BG2 and by extension the EE, or tutu or BGT, magic resistance only applies to enemy spells
And 90 MR with the cloak of Balduran is pretty fucking good

[Anonymous No.6534173]

>>6534164
BG1 is not shorter than ToB, dummy. Especially not with ToSC. Get outta here with your lies.

[Anonymous No.6534174]

>>6534168
I don't really bother that often with casting haste, so that wasn't a problem for me. Anyway, I give her the Ogre Gauntlets to let her carry more shit, and to squeeze in a good hit in melee every now and then.

[Anonymous No.6534178]

>>6534172
>In OG Bg1
Good. I like to discuss the actual game. Not some creation you made up during random modding or by financing con artist parasites.

[Anonymous No.6534180]

>>6534174
>Ogre Gauntlets
>on Viconia
You do realize you can double the benefits from thac0 and dmg by giving it to a proper fighter like Yeslick/Khalid? Way to underutilize a really strong item.

[Anonymous No.6534186]

>>6534178
Go circlejerk in forums dead for 20 years, shouldn't change you much from here.

[Anonymous No.6534196]

>>6534186
Get lost secondary, if you didn't like/play the game when it came out you don't belong. Go circlejerk beamdog OC while playing with that atrocious zoom out feature. You literally couldn't even play the game the way it was intended when it came out anymore.

[Anonymous No.6534197]

>>6534186
>Implying /vr/ isn't circlejerk

[Anonymous No.6534201]

>>6534150
To refill that slot.

Slots are uses per day per level. A level 5 wizard with 16 Intelligence has four 1st level spell slots, two 2nd level slots and one 3rd level slot from the 5 levels in wizard, as well as two extra 1st level slots and two extra 2nd level slots from high Intelligence.
So in total a 5 level wizard can memorize (put in a slot to prepare for casting) 6 spells of 1st level, 4 of 2nd level and 1 of 3rd level.
The nuance is that you have to select specific spells for each slot.

For example, you have learned a Magic Missile spell. You want to cast as many Magic Missiles after you rest (this is how preparation finalizes). From the example above, you have 6 slots for 1st level spells (MM is a 1st level spell). So you put a Magic Missile in each of your 6 slots of 1st level and rest. Now you can cast MM 6 times.

At some point you decide that you want to swap 3 of those Magic Missiles for Webs. First you need to clear 3 Magic Missile slots. If you already cast 3 of them that's great, you just click them and you get 3 empty slots. If you didn't you can remove them anyway and "waste" them.
Then you put 3 Webs in the free slots and rest. Now you can cast 3 Webs and 3 Magic Missiles (you only cleared 3 MMs, remember).

This can be very confusing for players completely new to the system so save the game and safely experiment.

Also Sorcerers, for example, don't need to memorize specific spells. They just get X uses per day per level. There are drawbacks to compensate, of course.

[Anonymous No.6534204]

>>6534180
I don't keep Khalid/Jaheira because I never liked them much. And probably.

[Anonymous No.6534210]

>>6534196
Cry more, fag
If you were really older than 2 when this shit came out, you're the definition of a manchild
Otherwise you're just an elitist 15 years old desperately trying to fit in while everyone else has actual shit to say about a game they know a lot better than you.

[Anonymous No.6534214]

>>6534196
As someone who played it back in the 90s, the zoom feature is unironically good (yes, I know they didn't make that feature). Just patch out the shitty new companions, turn off the extraneous UI shit and graphics stuff, and patch in the old cinematics, then it's alright.
Also don't pay money for it.

[Anonymous No.6534215]

>>6534210
>the definition of a manchild
You do realise you're on /vr/ in a thread about D&D videogames, right?

[Anonymous No.6534216]

>>6534204
You can keep just Khalid if you use one of those cursed rings. Just put it on him, send her away and remove curse. Khalid won't leave the party, and he's a great tank that can be used in conjunction with any mage to boost his str to 18/50 which lasts for like 10 minutes.

[Anonymous No.6534218]

>>6534215
Yes, I do
I'm not the one getting butthurt over it tho

[Anonymous No.6534223]

Been thinking of getting into the game, but the combat seems kinda... braindead? Just pause the game, issue the appropriate commands and wait? Seems like turn based but with less planning, though I might be wrong?

[Anonymous No.6534224]

>>6534216
Look, I don't like either Khalid or Jaheira very much, so why the fuck would I want to keep just Khalid? I pick them up as support for doing the Nashkel Mines then dump them for better and cooler companions.

[Anonymous No.6534227]

>>6534214
>the zoom feature is unironically good
It isn't. It's extremely clunky to zoom the fuck out of already tiny pixels and completely distort the original graphics. The map is there for a reason and double clicking works extremely well for moving the screen around.
You should feel like a cheap hooker being kept on a drug induced leash by a parasitic company and their garbage OC when using those abysmal features.

[Anonymous No.6534229]

>>6534224
Are you one of those narcissists who think people sharing random info are actually trying to force you into doing things? Because you come across as precisely that much of a dumbass.

[Anonymous No.6534232]

>>6534227
>It isn't. It's extremely clunky to zoom the fuck out of already tiny pixels
Maybe you have a shitty scrollwheel or something, or maybe you just aren't used to zooming in and out in games.

>and completely distort the original graphics
18/00? Is that you?

[Anonymous No.6534236]

>>6534229
>I don't like Khalid and Jaheira
>hey, did you know you can keep one of the companions you don't like if you do this trick everyone already knows
>Yeah, but I don't like Khalid and Jaheira
>fucking narcissist
It IS you!

[Anonymous No.6534237]

>>6534223
Combat is great, ruleset is great, sword coast stratagems turns it into one of the single best single player party-based tactical games ever, with only maybe (modded) JA2 to rival it.

[Anonymous No.6534238]

>>6534232
>Maybe you have a shitty scrollwheel or something, or maybe you just aren't used to zooming in and out in games.
The scroll wheel is not meant for gaming aside from really minute tasks. Ask anyone who plays competitive RTS. You're doing it wrong, very wrong.

[Anonymous No.6534240]

>>6534223
>less planning
Positioning and AOEs play a much bigger role than in standard turn based RPGs. The game system still uses rounds for combat, and you can set it to autopause at the end of each round if you want to play that way.

[Anonymous No.6534243]

>>6534238
>not setting scroll wheel to jump

[Anonymous No.6534245]

>>6534236
>what is reading comprehension
You might actually have braindamage if you interpret "fighter" (or anyone with more than 1 APR) as only Khalid and Jaheira.

[Anonymous No.6534247]

>>6534243
The good old days when you could jump in RTS games. Don't we all miss those - oh wait.

[Anonymous No.6534249]

>>6534238
>The scroll wheel is not meant for gaming aside from really minute tasks. Ask anyone who plays competitive RTS.
SupCom. Thankfully it's not "good enough" to be proper le-sports.

[Anonymous No.6534250]

>>6534238
Casual.

>>6534245
No, I saw you mentioned Yeslick too, and I did keep him, I just gave him potions for combat and carrying shit, and that was fine.

[Anonymous No.6534254]

>>6534223
One big overlooked aspect is the possibility to react to events as they are unfolding, interrupting spells, unsynchronized actions, etc.
The order of play depending on your ability to follow timings (or auto pause) makes it much more interesting (and intricate) than most turn-based games relying on stats to determine order of actions.
It's a really solid system and indeed combined with a great and very rich ruleset.

[Anonymous No.6534257]

>>6534249
I do actually recall one RTS where scrolling moved the screen vertically, but to say that that takes away from my argument, no of course not. It's a straight up terrible control scheme.

[Anonymous No.6534264]

>>6534229
This post reeks of aspergers.

[Anonymous No.6534265]

>>6534250
>Casual.
That's comparable to setting your keybindings to the numpad and pretending you are playing efficiently and are "hardcore". No that's just being dumb.

[Anonymous No.6534278]

Are there any differences between mages and illusionists?

[Anonymous No.6534282]

>>6534247
>The scroll wheel is not meant for gaming aside from really minute tasks

[Anonymous No.6534293]

>>6534278
Yes, illisionists get one additional spell slots per level and can't use necromancy spells. The only really good necromancy spells are skull trap, spirit armor, animate dead and horrid wilting, all of them really good but also relatively easily replaceable or filled in by another mage if you really want them. So it's imo one of the two best specialists with conjurers.
You can read the kit descriptions when you select them, they're relatively clear.

[Anonymous No.6534297]

>>6534293
One additional spell slot per spell level of course, not caster level*

[Anonymous No.6534305]

>>6534293
Thanks. I'm playing BG1, and for some reason the description shows the mage summary 1:1 with no direct references to illusionists at all. The game makes it seem like it's just a name change, but I knew there must be more to it. Thanks. Looking at making an illusionist/thief.

[Anonymous No.6534328]

>>6534305
Yeah it's the best choice
Thing is there is an illusionist/thief companion with amazing personal gear in Bg2, where they get really good.
Not everyone is a fan tho so you can stick with that. Gnome illusionist/fighter can also be an interesting choice for a first playthrough, with a less steep progression curve, likely more satisfying in BG1 than mage/thief for a first-timer.

[Anonymous No.6534349]

>>6534278
Specialist Wizards are supposed to get a specialized slot per spell level just for spells from their chosen school. So in theory Illusionists are supposed to have an extra Illusion-only slot. But in BG 1 and 2 it's just an extra any school slot (but they can't learn from prohibited schools, yeah).

[Anonymous No.6534713]

solo shaman would be rough, but you could probably still manage okay if you don't try to dance

[Anonymous No.6534751]

>>6531532
>read the 2nd edition ad&d rules before creating your char,
Yes, you should absolutley read the 255 page Player's Handbook and 192 page DMG before playing a video game that barely uses any AD&D rules.

[Anonymous No.6535492]

I'm always making a team with 1-2 werewolfs because they are superior in melee combat to any other fighting class in the first levels and I can't bear the fights going too long with so much missed attacks.

[Anonymous No.6535515]

>>6532147
there's no hardcore mode retard

[Anonymous No.6535714]

>>6535492
>a team with 1-2 werewolfs
As in that Druid kit or is this a EE thing?

[Anonymous No.6535841]

Ever played cleric/thief? Is it fun?

[Anonymous No.6535874]

>>6534751
Are you on the spectrum?

[Anonymous No.6536651]

>>6535841
It's great. I have a playthrough atm with a chaotic good half-orc cleric/thief, and it's the most fun I've had with the game in a long time. It has less synergy than mage/thief, but memeing around and playing an orc who backstabs with clubs is awesome. You can go full ranged and focus more on utility (cleric/thief frees up 5 other slots for pure combat shenanigans), buff yourself and use backstabs, or dual from swashbuckler and play a more agile frontliner (maintaining the utility from both). They're great for setting traps too.

[Anonymous No.6536851]

>>6531354
I played and beat this game knowing jackshit about DnD so you should be fine.

[Anonymous No.6537492]

>>6534751
>read the 255 page Player's Handbook and 192 page DMG before playing a video game that barely uses any AD&D rules.
kek I was thinking about this: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/75251-baldurs-gate/faqs/8566

[Anonymous No.6537539]

>>6535714
yes, the druid kit.

[Anonymous !KEyCwN7BXE No.6538265]

reported and saged

[Anonymous No.6538416]

...I'm obviously too dumb for this game but I don't know what to do here. Best I can do is Pause, command Imoen to shoot arrows, hope that most of them hit and then pray that noon else dies... I've played a lot of games, both old and new but this Real Time with Pause is so counterintuitive, I don't know what to do nor what I'm doing...

[Anonymous No.6538446]

>>6538416
What's your main character, and what's he equipped with? What script have you put on each party member?

[Anonymous No.6538450]

>>6538446
My main character is a Mage/Thief with a Scimitar who finally has some Arrows for his Bow, so now both Imoen and him can use Shortbows.
I don't know what Scripts you're talking about, sadly.

[Anonymous No.6538470]

>>6538450
Wolves are a little bit too much for you right now. You should have explored candlekeep a little more thoroughly and bought gear for your Fighter at an inn. Mages are also very underwhelming in the beginning, and Imoen already fullfils the thief's role for you. It's better to have a Fighter protag either an archer or melee multiclass.

[Anonymous No.6538487]

>>6538470
I did buy gear - I bought a Scimitar and a Bow. Now I can "easily" beat a wolf by having my Protag and Imoen shoot it down before it approaches, but the problem might be that I'm playing on Core difficulty - Normal's 25% enemy damage seemed just a bit too easy?

[Anonymous No.6538490]

>>6531354
>Balldirt Gape
NOT RETRO

[Anonymous No.6538506]

>>6538416
That's normal, you're level 1.
You'll get better as you get the hang of it, get more XP and progressively recruit a better party.
Khalid is a good early archer, as are Kivan, Minsc and Shar-Teel. Kagain is a good low effort tank. Edwin the best mage. Branwen or Viconia are good clerics. Keep moving and exploring, you'll be fine.
>>6538470
There are more than enough companions that can do well with a bow in BG1, pure fighter charname is boring, everything is viable.

[Anonymous No.6538512]

>>6538487
Core is fine

[Anonymous No.6538515]

>>6538487
Neither you nor Imoen are fighters, so it's perfectly normal that you both suck at fighting at level 1.
Keep going, you'll meet fighters to recruit.

[Anonymous No.6538526]

>>6538416
Remember, you can use utility spells to your advantage. You don't necessarily need to fight everything you see, and you can use sleep and other control spells to lock down opponents and gain an advantage even if you're at a lower level.

[Anonymous No.6538535]

>>6538416
excluding the main char, cos I don't know what the it's class is , Montaron is your best bet to put in front of anything in that point of the game, he can achieve a decent AC.

[Anonymous No.6538560]

>>6538450
>Mage
That's where you fucked up. You can dual-class Imoen to mage, which she is suited for and recruit Edwin later. Further by rolling mage you're not capitalizing on the best advantages rolling your own stats provides for a fighter class.
- tanky high str brawler
- high dex archer
- great utility/dps/tank from fighter/cleric
Meanwhile thief will only have underwhelming backstabs for most of the game and mages don't really get anything out of a high stat pool.

[Anonymous No.6538565]

>>6538506
>>6538512
>>6538515
>>6538526
>>6538535
Thanks for the tips. How do I determine who goes where in my party/battle formation? I'd like to put Jaheira and Khalid up front because of their HP, and the rest behind them. Maybe even try getting in a sneaky shot or two if that's possible while I'm invisible with Imoen/Myself?

[Anonymous No.6538570]

>>6538560
stop scaring away new players. you can make anything viable in baldur's gate, there's no reason to focus on a specific build. that anon can play a pure thief or a shaman if they want, it's all perfectly usable. mage/thief is actually one of the strongest builds in the game.

[Anonymous No.6538582]

>>6538565
Check out the formations in the lower right of the screen and base it on that. Putting someone with high charisma in first place is good since they initiate dialogue (I think Imoen is probably best for where you're currently at). She sucks at frontlining obviously but there are formations that pull her further back for combat. You want tanky characters up front with your damage dealers either flanking or just behind, and your mages and healers tucked safely at the back. As a mage/thief you'd be best either in the middle or back of the party depending on how often you plan on using your scimitar.

[Anonymous No.6538604]

>>6538560
Stupid post, there are a million companions for every single role in BG1, you really don't need a fighter charname
Mage/thief are the best backstabbers later on, 8 backstabs per round under mislead is pretty hard to top by any other thief types.

[Anonymous No.6538608]

>>6538560
Also fuck Imoen and the "canon" party, a mage/thief charname would be well advised to dump all of their worthless asses.

[Anonymous No.6538610]

>>6538565
Click and drag the portraits, and check formations, right click on a formation, you have more than the default ones

[Anonymous No.6538616]

>>6538604
>>6538608
This. You don't get some of the role combos until BG2 as well, so it's stupid to miss out on the class you want for the entirety of BG1 for the sake of waiting for a voiced character you may not even like. Play however you like, recruit whoever you like, and don't keep someone around just because they're "canon".

[Anonymous No.6538627]

>>6538570
>>6538604
>>6538608
Ignore this samefag. Mages are pure utility in BG1. Mage/Thief is a laughable pick.

[Anonymous No.6538630]

>>6538627
>its another meltdown episode
kys schizo
find another way to cope with your retarded opinions being torn to shreds

[Anonymous No.6538648]

>>6538630
>doctoring screenshots just to try and hide your samefagging
take your meds now freak

[Anonymous No.6538657]

>>6538648
>screaming samefag because your opinions are shit and you're butthurt about criticism
Underage b&

[Anonymous No.6538781]

>>6538608
Imoen is a good pure thief or thief/mage, that isn't even debatable.

>>6538560
What a retarded opinion, the game has great companion fighters/tanks, Minsc, Yeslick, Kivan, Kagain, etc.
Yeah you can choose to not be a mage and then pick up Edwin, but that's not convenient for every player, and you can roll a mage that is almost as good.

There's nothing that stops you from playing a mage and doing well.

[Anonymous No.6538784]

>>6538627
Fuck off.

[Anonymous No.6538808]

>>6538627
>mages are pure utility
>what is access to arcane wands
>what is cloudkill
>what is skull trap
>what is web
>what is blind
>what is a bunch of all sorts of other spells that instantly win fights and only require cleanup afterwards
not to mention that if mages and thieves are pure utility in BG1, then that means you're putting two utility classes in one slot and can fill the rest of the party with, say, fighters

[Anonymous No.6538817]

>>6538808
this is why I love using cleric/thief characters in D&D games. having a full utility character frees up 5 slots for everything else, and they can still buff+backstab (or spam traps) and manage just fine in combat.

[Anonymous No.6538854]

These threads are pure retardation.

Always discard advice from retards who played the game a thousand times and start recommending strategies that won't feel right to use when playing for the first time

You won't wanna use that wand because it runs out and you don't know where the hard encounters are

You will just be frustrated when you're waylaid 100x times trying to rest to get your mage spells back

You will be annoyed when you realize most of the game is clicking through trash enemies and memorizing spells is pointless

Have fun getting up a thief protag instead of imoen when there's not enough points to distribute between hide in shadows/detect traps/pickpocket. what a moronic idea to replace thief companions with a PC half thief

Definitely have fun exploring a pretty big game with trash utility classes that only become interesting in BG2 both thief and mage, what a great idea.

>inb4 (you)'s from schizos

[Anonymous No.6538873]

>>6538854
Your fucking posts are always so fucking stupid
Yeah we get it you're too dumb to play anything but a fighter, fucking move on to another game already.

[Anonymous No.6538878]

>>6538854
You're really just a retard who can't even use consumables
Duck's sake, use that fucking wand or go play something else already, who cares if you run out.

[Anonymous No.6538883]

Fucking incredible how much of a retard you have to dedicate ti shitpost about a game that by your own admission you can't fucking play
If you had spent even half that time actually playing it maybe you wouldn't be so fucking bad at it

[Anonymous No.6538889]

>>6538854
For fuck's sake you never contribute anything relevant to these threads, just a few retarded opinions and then full insane rant as soon as someone disagrees with your stupid shit because you're too thin skinned to handle the slightest fucking disagreement
I am so fucking tired of your obnoxious childish behavior

[Anonymous No.6538892]

>>6538854
>what a moronic idea to replace thief companions with a PC half thief
you mean like Coran?
the best Good-aligned NPC in the game?
perhaps the best overall?

[Anonymous No.6538896]

>>6538892
What's even the fucking point of telling the obvious to morons who do everything they can to deny it

[Anonymous No.6538949]

What are these green thingies? I couldn't move while they were on the field - I killed Xzar and Montaron after saving Neera and they appeared while I was killing them, but I didn't see either of them attempting to fight back (nor did either of them help the other, it was done in two fights).
Also, how do I differentiate what the turns in the game are? Does each turn last a set amount of seconds or is it measured by something else? Can a character change who they're attacking and what they're attacking with within the same turn or does issuing such a command apply it to the following turn?

[Anonymous No.6538950]

Shaman, yay or nay? I was thinking about trying an orc shaman as my MC but not sure if it'll just be tedious. I don't care about powergaming, so as long as it's viable and fun I'l give it a shot.

[Anonymous No.6538973]

>>6538950
>Shaman, yay or nay?
I'm a big Druid fan, but I generally prefer Totemic to Shaman. Totemic Druid summon hits like a truck, doesn't freeze you into place and works well in tandem with other summons your party can get. At level 10 (BG1 level cap), Totemic's Lion spirit is roughly equal in stats to the 6th level Summon Fire Elemental and possesses a handful of immunities; not too shabby.
Now, while Shaman can technically win almost any fight by just keeping themselves on the edge of the fight and streaming infinite cannon fodder at enemies, Beamdog "overbalanced" him and as such the ability, rooting you into place, giving you penalties and so on is a bit cumbersome to learn to use. You often will be able to just overwhelm enemies with your More Sluggaz -- er, Summons - but as a dude with ADD I mostly felt like I could solve interactions faster.
There are some neat things Shamans have - half-orc racial is one, thrown axe / bow is great (for a solo, being able to use Arrows of Dispelling is nice) and they have okay HLAs.
Overall, I'd say they're decently flavorful, but their playstyle didn't click with me and I was overall disappointed even though I love Druids.
Also, IMHO you really should install Lava del Vortel's Shamanic Enhancements - even if you ignore the buffs the mod provides, Shamans don't have any stronghold at all in stock BG2EE (the only class to be this way!), not even the Druid one or whatever would be even semi-appropriate.
>viable
Sure! Everything is.
>fun
Ehh, a big "maybe" from me.

[Anonymous No.6539000]

>>6538949
It's from the entanglement spell. It holds you in place if you fail the save.

[Anonymous No.6539009]

>>6539000
And if I understood correctly, 'saving' is some sort of invisible dice roll or something? I can't affect that directly, only with my stats?

[Anonymous No.6539026]

>>6539009
It's not invisible, turn on the dice rolls in the feedback options
The game rolls a d20. If it's above your save vs. spell (check your character sheet) you make the save, if not you don't. Some spells have bonuses or maluses to save, check the descriptions (and read the spell descriptions, it's obviously important)

[Anonymous No.6539057]

What was I supposed to do here...?

[Anonymous No.6539163]

>>6539057
There's never only one answer to that question, having her lightning bolt bounce on you to kill her is perfectly valid if you survive after all
Of course it's not the best tactic, which is pelting her with arrows, horror or single target spells, but I mean, it werks
god I always forget how ugly those character outlines are, you can disable them in the options

[Anonymous No.6539181]

>>6538973
If your party has two or more shamans, only one needs to continue dancing to maintain all summons. Not sure if there's much you can do with it, but it's an interesting mechanic. Maybe you can both dance to quickly hit the summon limit, then one switches to healing/combat magic while the other keeps dancing. Might be a fun gimmick run.

[Anonymous No.6539192]

>>6539181
Interesting. Would never think of that because I'm not a fan of stacking divine casters, and, again, I'm really not that impressed by the summons themselves -- they WILL get the job done at some point more often than not, but it tends to take a really long time and I don't really enjoy it that way.

[Anonymous No.6539209]

>>6539192
Yeah of course. It's definitely not optimal, but a pair of level 12-17 shamans could hit the summon cap of four in only two rounds, and then can access the solid healing kit instead of needing to choose. You can also have two separate spell loadouts between each character to help alleviate the spell limitations, and then choose based on the situation which shaman cancels their dance. It wouldn't be a slow burn playstyle in that case since setup is so quick.