Baldurs gate - how should I start.

[Jamski]

It takes FOREVER to heal without a Cleric. However - most of the time there's no time limit.

BTW, with IWD2 and BG2, the difficulty slider has no effect on EXP, this only happens in the earlier IE games. Its best to play BG1 on a hard setting to get those levels faster. Once you get to level 3, "you're ahead of the curve" because you level up faster than the monsters get really hard. This lets you kill harder stuff earlier and so on... you level up much faster on "hard" and it ISN'T harder, after level 3 anyway.

Re SkullTrap : It has a smaller area than fireball, so less chance of toasting your party. Another reason it is superior. Remember to use the terrain tactically, make the enemies bunch together, and BOOM!

-Jam

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Drogue
How can you sell Ankhegs each? Surely you just give the Smithy the lot and he makes the armour? How long does that take btw? I've never managed to get Ankheg armour in BGI.

the annoying thing is that he when he buys them from you, he pays for 500 for the lot, regardless of how many you have. Ive taken to stowing them in the barrel around the corner from the smithy, and walking them in one at a time to get the full gold for them (since i sometimes come back from the north with several shells)

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Jamski


This is THE best spell in the game, much better than fireball even.

Ok, use a thief in stealth-mode to findthe enemy, or an invisible char. Cast the spell in an empty place and use missile waepons to get the enemy to charge into the skull.

-Jam

Ive only finally got imoens thief skills back, and have not used her in stealth mode. This gives a good reason to try it.

[Jamski]

I use stealth or invisibilty in nearly every fight. You can lead the enemy into traps, door ways, narrow bridges... anyway to make them bunch up and come at me one-at-a-time.

-Jam

[DarkCloud]

RE: Slider driven

All the infinity engine games have a difficulty slider which you can use, I prefer to keep it on normal for maximum XP efficiency. Icewind Dale to me is very difficult.... which I like. I play almost every battle at least 3 times over right now.

That may be true, but I can't succeed AT ALL (please note I have yet to try any of your tactics) at Baldur's Gate even on the easiest slider... With a Ranger... using arrows. And a full party ??

But In Icewind Dale, I can rest forever and then continue unharrassed and there's no disc-swapping. I have a lot more fun with icewind dale even though it has its tedious moments.

--

Once you get to level 3, "you're ahead of the curve" because you level up faster than the monsters get really hard. This lets you kill harder stuff earlier and so on... you level up much faster on "hard" and it ISN'T harder, after level 3 anyway

Maybe that's why I could never get to level 3 until the cloakwood mines. Hmm... ... ...
I was very afraid of wyvrens
I may have killed 1-3 total and that was with having to resurrect half my party

I blew so much gp on resurrections
and that's with reloading each transition about 10 times AT LEAST to avoid an encounter
-

Hmm.. Jamski- in Icewind Dale II, how would you best use invisibility? I really have yet to figure out how to actually surprise the enemy or make any sort of surprise work? Even wiht a thief character with a 9 in move silently... How useful really is invisibility?

[NeOmega]

Having a thief with high stealth is your best asset in BG IMO. It works as a great scout, and to use the "rope a dope" tactic, of drawing in one enemy at a time. Plus the backstab lets you inflict heavy damage on enemy central party members.... ie the mage, especially since the mage is usually lightly armored, they can die in the first strike without ever casting a nasty spell.

I just founded the "jester's bag of holding" in Icewind Dale. I spent like six (real life) hours at the inn using it to build up stuff. I plan to make myself 100,000 gold with the useless stuff, and am building it up right now. But now I am on like day 780 or so.... :P

RE: SLIDER

The slider in all the versions penalizes your XP if it is set below normal, but does not give bonus XP if it is set above normal.

[Jamski]

Hmm.. Jamski- in Icewind Dale II, how would you best use invisibility? I really have yet to figure out how to actually surprise the enemy or make any sort of surprise work? Even wiht a thief character with a 9 in move silently... How useful really is invisibility?

OK, in IWD 2, cast IMPROVED invisibilty on the whole party. They stay invisible after they attack, and the enemy just sits there till they are dead. Its the purest cheeze. That's useful. There are a couple of places where its needed to get past the guards and pull a lever (Torak's place, Dragon's Eye level 1...) but apart from that stealth and invisibilty are useful mainly for making sure that the enemy wizard is killed before he can cast a single spell.

The slider in all the versions penalizes your XP if it is set below normal, but does not give bonus XP if it is set above normal.

No, not in BG2 or IWD2.

-Jam

[DarkCloud]

How exactly can I get a sneak attack or backstab to work?

oh and NeOmega- I think I have you beat- I'm on day 2100 now in Icewind Dale II and have only just started Chapter III

-

OK, in IWD 2, cast IMPROVED invisibilty on the whole party. They stay invisible after they attack, and the enemy just sits there till they are dead

that's a great idea- I'll try to find that spell!

--
So the XP slider gives you more exp if you set it above normal?

hmm... i might just try that in Icewind Dale II

[Jamski]

that's a great idea- I'll try to find that spell!

Its a fourth level mage spell. Either find a scroll (forget it in IWD2) or use a sorceror and choose it when you get to level 8.

How exactly can I get a sneak attack or backstab to work?

In IWD1, BG1 & BG2 - Make sure you are invisible or sneaked, and stand behind the enemy. Hit him with a weapon that can do back-stabbing (all one-handed weapons except mace, no two handed weapons except staff) and you get a multiplyer of the damage depending on thief level.
In IWD2 - Hit the enemy from the side or rear, while they are already engaged with another party member and do d6 extra damge per 2 levels, starting with +1d6 at 1st, 2d6 at 3rd, 3d6 at 5th... No invisibiltiy requirement.

So the XP slider gives you more exp if you set it above normal?

hmm... i might just try that in Icewind Dale II

Not in IWD2, sorry. Only idf you set it to Heart of Fury Mode (in set-up) and start a new game. Then all the monsters have at least 10 times more HP and are worth at least 10 time more XP. They also have huge AC and BAB. Only try this with at least 15th levelk characters, unless you like getting 6 guys killed by the first goblin in Targos.

-Jam

[NeOmega]

RE: Slider
Well I could be wrong about ID2, since I have not played it yet, but I am 99% sure about the other games.

RE: Parties
In Icewind dale, I am starting to enjoy the party I made. It is a thief, a fighter, a ranger, mage, and two mage thieves. I can definitely seee how this option make the game have more "replayability" than Baldur's Gate.

RE: Sleep
Sleeping 8 hours a time is fun. I tallows you to rememorize all your spells, so when you are ambushed, you can release your most powerful spells immediately. I am getting a good workout right now in the magic system.

[Jamski]

It is a thief, a fighter, a ranger, mage, and two mage thieves.

No cleric? And a single classed theif? Madness.

In IWD1, a single class thief gets so many skill points that at the end of the game they are wasted. Just a word of advice And life without a cleric? Owch. No healing, no buffing, no turn undead, and he can even fight a bit too

-Jam

[lord of the mark]

anyone know a website with the contents of all the BG "history books" - Im interested in the fuller backstory of Sword coast history, but have left the books behind all over the place.

A search of DnD forgotten realms sites reveals an overwhelming amount of material, most of it not relevant to BG backstory. Similarly for Dnd materials found in RL bookstores, etc.

[centrifuge]

LotM,
this is the best that I could find for you, It's a link to a word97 document with the complete texts of all the books.

...requires gamespy id to download (I tried to dowload it but file planet was having problems

http://www.planetbaldursgate.com/bg/inventory/items/books/

click the link at the top that says "adventurers companion"

[centrifuge]

BTW, you are far more ambitious than I , I read maybe two of the books, and decided that I'd had enough

[Jamski]

You can browse the books using gatekeeper (for BG) gatekeeper2 (for BG2) dalekeeper (for IWD) and dalekeeper2 (for IWD2) YOu can get all these programms either with a quick google, or from planetBG.com

They are essential stuff if you're really into the games. They allow you to edit save games, characters, variables and view all items and so on...

-Jam