Baldurs gate - how should I start.

[lord of the mark]

I just bought Baldurs Gate (the original, without the Xpack) Assuming it installs ok, i'll probably play tonight.

So what should i know to start (beyond whats in the manual, which ive read/skimmed. Not looking for tips or a walkthrough, just general stuff for someone new to RPG's of any kind.

What race, class, etc of character should i start with? Should I wander around or pursue more linear goals? Any ideas you have (please,spoilers)

[Snotty]

Your initial character generation is important as if he dies, you will have to reload. You can help get around this by making him tough (dwarf/half orc fighter type), or make sure he is more useful behind your front rank of fighters (elf/gnome wizard, priest type) and so rarely in combat. The idea is to maximize on your class and race strengths eg dwarfs get +2 constitution so will be tougher fighters. You may want to have your alignment more towards good as a very evil party can be tough to play if you roleplay them as being evil. I could tell you a good class that would compliment the other characters you find, but thats something much more enjoyable to find out yourself. This game had enough variety to make me want to start again several times to try out different things.

As this is your first time through, I would suggest doing all the keep missions the help familirize yourself with the control system.

There is a magic ring nearish the start that you will never find on your own due to it only being one pixel large, and you have to click directly on that pixel to get it. Its powerful, but not game breaking, and i found it very useful through the game. I can find the site to tell you how to find it if you like.

Both wandering around and following quests can be enjoyable, but its all down to what you get out of games. I enjoyed following plot leads and questing. My friend loved to wipe out every baddie on the map. See what works best for you.

[Marid Audran]

You have to remember Snotty, this is BG1 still using the 2E ruleset.

This is a low-level campaign so there is a lot of potential peril out there, especially at Level 1/2 when your character can easily die from a well-placed smack, errant arrow, spell, or two.

Warriors (Fighters/Rangers/Paladins) are the easiest class to play and the safest; they're bruisers on the front lines well-protected in armor, a decent amount of hit points, and the most fighting skill. All of the races (excepting halflings) are acceptable warriors, dwarves trade off a little dex (AC) for more staying power (con/hp), elves do just the opposite.

Fighter/Clerics are an effective multiclass; the two often complement each other as there are many "self-buffing" clerical spells to assit one in battle. Same thing with Fighter/Mages (or fighter/illusionists in a gnome's case), although the later are a little weaker because wizards have low amount of hp that have to be divided up whenever you level up. On the other hand, they'll have more offensive magic.

Single class clerics and mages are fun once you get the hang of them, though their relative weakness early on (compared to warriors) can be discouraging until you gain a few levels. After surpassing this hurdle they become quite potent with their casting ability, helping your party and hindering the enemy.

Druids and Bards are finesse classes that are rarely fun for first-time players (but grow on you, if you know how to use them). Thieves IMO should be avoided because there are an abundance of Thief NPCs in BG1.

Whatever character you generate however, you should pick up a full complement of party members as soon as you can. On the first world map Montaron and Xzar will join your party a little ways up the road. You should follow the road to the Friendly Arm Inn where Khalid and Jaheira are waiting. Those four plus Imoen and yourself already makes a well-blanced six-man party, and you can mix n' match them as you go, taking on new party members and leaving old ones behind as you prefer.

Take the road south to Naskel to do the Mine quest. Don't get bogged down with a lot of little sidequests; there will be time for those latter. You should complete the mines (it's a first-level dungeon) and return to Naskel. After which, you have a bit more freedom to explore and develop your PC and party members (and should, before progressing the plot).

Good luck!

[Standup]

Get the patch

The game also rewards you more if you're a 'good' character. There isn't that much option for proper role playing but generally being nice to people gets more rewards and quests.

[Dis]

okay I'm still playing as a Bard. I still haven't finished the damn thing. I go sidestracked with civ3- conquests.

Bard isn't the most fun character to playin Bg1. But they are much, much more interesting in BG2. I do plan on taking her into Bg2 so I can take a cool bard kit and do their stronghold quests.

But one good thing about a bard in Bg1 is I have never been killed since the very beginning (when a wolf took out me and Imoen). My character is very safe behind my line of fighters. And she can also pickpocket- but that's something I don't really do.

[Dis]

Here are some tips to add one to what Marid said. Some of these might seem spoilerish, but I tried to avoid most spoilers. The only thing this gives away is a general direction in which to travel. The trouble I had with this game was it was almost too open-ended. Yes I know that is a good thing. But it takes a while to figure out what to do and what direction to head. But if you want, you can just wander around and do quests as you get them. There really aren't any time limits, though if you pick up someone like Minsc- I think there is a time limit in which to find Dynaheir (but the time limit isn't too severe- I think you can do the Nashkel Mines before picking up Dynaheir)

After doing the Keep quests (just newbie quests- fetching arrows and killing rats), you exit into the wilderness. Something happens ( I won't spoil it) but you will be required to go through the outdoor forest areas to the Friendly Farm Inn. That is the first quest you are given.

You will find those 2 evil guys along the way. I suggest picking them up for now. But I do recommend playing a good part as a beginner. It is easier and things are cheaper when you have a high reputation.

Picking up those 2 baddies will be easier if something bad happens as you try to get to the friendly farm inn (I won't spoil it for ya). It just helps you out as there is only you and Imoen to start off with. Of course you can kick Imoen out, but I wouldn't. You can duel her to a mage, but duelling takes a little while to get used to. So you don't really need to do that.

In the friendly farm inn you will find Khalid and Jaheira. They are okay, but I dumped them. Jaheira isn't a real cleric. One complaint I have is the lack of a good cleric early on. I had to search for Branwen (sp?). She takes a little while to find. She is next to a carnivale type area south and a little bit east of the friendly farm area.

Travelling south will also meet you up with Minsc. A very capable fighter (actually Ranger, but he's pretty much a fighter). Travelling north you can pick up a Paladin. He's not the greatest NPC, but I picked him up. But beware- there are basilisks in that area- very dangerous. If you do pick up Minsc he will ask you to find his witch- Dynaheir. This is another little sidequest. It will take you far to the south and west to the gnoll area. There are some annoying areas here as there are many spots monsters respawn (I don't like monster respawn).

But after getting your party together you can proceed with the Nashkel Mines. You can do that first if you want- but I just like to shape the party myself.

After doing that you head north of the friendly farm inn. There will be a sidequest in some areas to the west- more mines. I don't think you have to do them.

And eventually you will go to an area to the east of there to find out how to get inside the city of Baldur's Gate.

[Main_Brain]

Dwarf Cleric.
Always play a Dwarf Cleric.
I do since Spelljammer came out :=)

[Jamski]

Half-Elf Wizard/Theif, please

With BG1, the best tactic is to use BOWS AND ARROWS! You can't go wrong. If you have to, use slings as well, or anything ranged. You can kill most enemies before they even close with you, and there are some VERY tasty magic arrows to be had too.

Of course, bows combine well with two-handed swords (they both need two hands, so its easy to change between them)

And talk to everyone, and loot anything not tied down. Always make sure you have enough arrows, and pack a few magic weapons to fight vampiric wolfs and so on...

Use Imoen's abilites to hide in shadows to look ahead and see what's waiting for you.

Have fun

-Jam

[lord of the mark]

well i started out as a Dwarf fighter, since my main goal was not to die right away. (I have adopted the name Thorin )



Yeah, i did the small quests around the keep, ran into one guy who tried to kill me, found the book for that woman in the inn but by the time i went back to the inn she was gone.

Went off and joined the folks you mentioned - (how do i tell who's evil? Where do i see their reputation, aligngment etc?) Have now finished chapter 1, headed for the Friendly Inn.


Seems like a lot of fun.

Now why do I need the patch?

And can I fix the sound? The ambient sound effects make it hard to hear the speech.

[Jamski]

Press "R" to see the "roster" an look at the alignments etc.

Reputation is party-wide, but each character is "lawful evil" or "neutral good" etc.

There should be an option for sound volumes for speech, music, background etc. Just hunt for it. Perhaps you have to run the BGConfig.exe to bring up the options? I use BG1-tutu which lets you play BG1 using the BG2 interface, so I'm not sure.

-Jam

[centrifuge]

I was going to suggest a Ranger. They are just as tough as a fighter, but lack a couple of proficiency levels. The lack is made up for by the special abilities: hide in shadows and some spells (:hmm: I can't remember any others in BG1...)

[Jamski]

Rangers won't get any spells in BG1 will they? They get one level 1 spell at level 8... hmmm... big wow. And they can't get more than two ** in any weapon... and they can't hide in medium or heavy armour....

Nah, take a ranger in BG2 perhaps, but in BG1 they're a bit nerfed.

-Jam

[lord of the mark]

i took a fighter cause a dwarf cant be a ranger. and i wanted the dwarf constitution points.

[Main_Brain]

For how much you bought it, if I may ask?

[lord of the mark]

Ive already seen some mistakes ive made early.

I bought healing at the candlekeep temple. I bought a dagger from the innkeeper. And i took all the different weapon proficiencies I could, instead of specializing.