Baldur's Gate The Baldur's Gate Series Thread

[agris]

What reason would he have to betray you?

It’s strange, I’ve had the belief that they would turn on you since I first played it in 98. 25 years! I guess the combination of them clearly being evil plus their conspicuous interest in the mines, I suppose I thought they were an indirect way to take out charname while Sarevok’s bounty noticed were the direct method.

Would make a decent mod, actually…

 

[octavius]

Best thing about vanilla BG1 is that if you have both Monty+Xzar and Jaheira+Khalid, they will eventually come to blows. When I played J+K easily won.

 

[agris]

Have any of you played BG1 with Shades of the Sword Coast? I'm curious as to the quality of the writing and quest content.

Mods for the IE games have a poor track record when it comes to writing and inspiration, like BG Quests and Encounters, or ruining balance through the introduction of OP items/spells like literally all the mods that add new items. But this author has a good technical track record, they made the Colours of Infinity series. I've never played those, but they're visually impressive. They can make new maps / remix old assets in creative ways, and it looks good. The other thing is that I'm pretty sure the author is a furry...

 

[roshan]

I'm also curious about this as well as the author's Colours of Infinity and Athkatlan Grounds series.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

Best thing about vanilla BG1 is that if you have both Monty+Xzar and Jaheira+Khalid, they will eventually come to blows. When I played J+K easily won.

This is one of the things that cemented BG as one of the greatest CRPGs ever made. I was in Durlag's Tower and things weren't going well. Potions and spells were low. Everyone was injured and needing rest. When I tried to camp, the four of them started bickering. This had happened before, but they suddenly became uncontrollable and hacked each other to pieces. Only a half-dead Khalid survived. I was stunned as I looked upon the tattered remains of my party, reeling from what had just happened.

 

[Taim]

Best thing about vanilla BG1 is that if you have both Monty+Xzar and Jaheira+Khalid, they will eventually come to blows. When I played J+K easily won.

This is one of the things that cemented BG as one of the greatest CRPGs ever made. I was in Durlag's Tower and things weren't going well. Potions and spells were low. Everyone was injured and needing rest. When I tried to camp, the four of them started bickering. This had happened before, but they suddenly became uncontrollable and hacked each other to pieces. Only a half-dead Khalid survived. I was stunned as I looked upon the tattered remains of my party, reeling from what had just happened.

If you didn't reload I salute you.

 

[Average Manatee]

Stuff like that would never happen nowadays because the internet would spoil it within 30 mins of game release and no dev would bother to implement something that players would know to avoid

 

[Nano]

High-speed internet was a net negative for society.

 

[Melcar]

Best thing about vanilla BG1 is that if you have both Monty+Xzar and Jaheira+Khalid, they will eventually come to blows. When I played J+K easily won.

They usually did, unless they happened to be massively injured at that moment or there was a big level difference between them. Xzar would often just melee and not use spells and Montaron would only try to front attack. I wonder if with better scripts from the mods they would put more of a fight? In fact, at least in the original unmoded game inter party fights would just turn into melee encounters.

 

[BruceVC]

Best thing about vanilla BG1 is that if you have both Monty+Xzar and Jaheira+Khalid, they will eventually come to blows. When I played J+K easily won.

This is one of the things that cemented BG as one of the greatest CRPGs ever made. I was in Durlag's Tower and things weren't going well. Potions and spells were low. Everyone was injured and needing rest. When I tried to camp, the four of them started bickering. This had happened before, but they suddenly became uncontrollable and hacked each other to pieces. Only a half-dead Khalid survived. I was stunned as I looked upon the tattered remains of my party, reeling from what had just happened.

Thats a great feature and companion design mechanic. Once they all get killed can you Raise Dead them and I assume the aggro counter is reset?

In other words I assume they wouldnt start fighting again?

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

BruceVC You can raise the losers and things carry on. In BG2 things were handled a bit differently. For example, when Kheldorn attacks Viconia, or Minsc goes ape on Edwin you lose control and they leave the party. You cannot raise them then, but you can in BG1 if I recall correctly. This only ever happened ince for me in BG and it was 1998 or 1999. Long time ago.

 

[MurkrLurkr]

I will never forget my BG adventure, the first time I transferred a character from 1st to 2nd game... BG1 was my first CRPG back in the early 2000s and I always saw it as an open world game.. I didn't follow the main story at all costs but I wandered around the maps in search of artifacts and companions. In that game session, I decided not to go to Beregost, but to explore all the open maps north of it and try the new content of the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion. It was shear madness exploring The Wood of Sharp Teeth at level two/three but I persevered, and was rewarded with Viconia's affection I even managed to beat ankhegs by quick save harvesting... I was young and totally mesmerized by, in my opinion, the perfect translation of TRPG into a single player computer setting. I managed to drag my team consisting of Imoen, Viconia, Khalid and Jaheira (my character, Oneiros, was a druid to whom I assigned a shapeshifter kit in the second part) to Ulgoth's Beard where Shandalar teleported us to a frozen island, crazed mages labyrinthine prison.. After defeating the spell casters in the first chamber, I got a Wand of fire as one of the treasures and it became the only way to defeat and draw out the villains from the fog of war, but I didn't have anyone who could use it... At that moment I decided to dual class Imoen into mage, which turned out to be a great move because I was able to come on top and later find out that was her default class in the second part In those sinister corridors I also lost Khalid, who exploded to pieces after a critical hit and who, I later discovered, does not appear in the sequel. I was Jaheira's comforter and pursued wholesome romance with her, and the fact that we were both druids made it sweeter One of the highlights of that game was also a bug that happened on the Lycanthrope island... I regret I didn't manage to record and upload it on YouTube, since everything happened in the period before that platform, because I'm sure it would've been a hit on teh internetz. Well, it's the last skirmish in hidden alcove against Loup Garou.. When you beat him, he would multiply, and every inch of the map was filled with a myriad of angry werewolves. I remember having to play through the entire Balduran's concoction again The last time I played one of my favorite games, besides Morrowind and Arcanum, was in 2017., just before my son was born, when I modded both games into one massive CRPG gem in the desire to experience the epic campaign again, but my conscience did not allow me because soon my real life company would be expanded for another hero I plan to embark on the Bhaalspawn adventure again in the near future and the only thing I am sure of is that I will not approach filthy peasant's EE version even with the help of a ten-foot pole, cos I still have my burned disks and GOG edition

 

[BruceVC]

I will never forget my BG adventure, the first time I transferred a character from 1st to 2nd game... BG1 was my first CRPG back in the early 2000s and I always saw it as an open world game.. I didn't follow the main story at all costs but I wandered around the maps in search of artifacts and companions. In that game session, I decided not to go to Beregost, but to explore all the open maps north of it and try the new content of the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion. It was shear madness exploring The Wood of Sharp Teeth at level two/three but I persevered, and was rewarded with Viconia's affection I even managed to beat ankhegs by quick save harvesting... I was young and totally mesmerized by, in my opinion, the perfect translation of TRPG into a single player computer setting. I managed to drag my team consisting of Imoen, Viconia, Khalid and Jaheira (my character, Oneiros, was a druid to whom I assigned a shapeshifter kit in the second part) to Ulgoth's Beard where Shandalar teleported us to a frozen island, crazed mages labyrinthine prison.. After defeating the spell casters in the first chamber, I got a Wand of fire as one of the treasures and it became the only way to defeat and draw out the villains from the fog of war, but I didn't have anyone who could use it... At that moment I decided to dual class Imoen into mage, which turned out to be a great move because I was able to come on top and later find out that was her default class in the second part In those sinister corridors I also lost Khalid, who exploded to pieces after a critical hit and who, I later discovered, does not appear in the sequel. I was Jaheira's comforter and pursued wholesome romance with her, and the fact that we were both druids made it sweeter One of the highlights of that game was also a bug that happened on the Lycanthrope island... I regret I didn't manage to record and upload it on YouTube, since everything happened in the period before that platform, because I'm sure it would've been a hit on teh internetz. Well, it's the last skirmish in hidden alcove against Loup Garou.. When you beat him, he would multiply, and every inch of the map was filled with a myriad of angry werewolves. I remember having to play through the entire Balduran's concoction again The last time I played one of my favorite games, besides Morrowind and Arcanum, was in 2017., just before my son was born, when I modded both games into one massive CRPG gem in the desire to experience the epic campaign again, but my conscience did not allow me because soon my real life company would be expanded for another hero I plan to embark on the Bhaalspawn adventure again in the near future and the only thing I am sure of is that I will not approach filthy peasant's EE version even with the help of a ten-foot pole, cos I still have my burned disks and GOG edition

Great post and memories, Viconia is always my main Romance interest in BG games. It would be great if she makes a BG3 appearance but I doubt it ?

 

[NecroLord]

I will never forget my BG adventure, the first time I transferred a character from 1st to 2nd game... BG1 was my first CRPG back in the early 2000s and I always saw it as an open world game.. I didn't follow the main story at all costs but I wandered around the maps in search of artifacts and companions. In that game session, I decided not to go to Beregost, but to explore all the open maps north of it and try the new content of the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion. It was shear madness exploring The Wood of Sharp Teeth at level two/three but I persevered, and was rewarded with Viconia's affection I even managed to beat ankhegs by quick save harvesting... I was young and totally mesmerized by, in my opinion, the perfect translation of TRPG into a single player computer setting. I managed to drag my team consisting of Imoen, Viconia, Khalid and Jaheira (my character, Oneiros, was a druid to whom I assigned a shapeshifter kit in the second part) to Ulgoth's Beard where Shandalar teleported us to a frozen island, crazed mages labyrinthine prison.. After defeating the spell casters in the first chamber, I got a Wand of fire as one of the treasures and it became the only way to defeat and draw out the villains from the fog of war, but I didn't have anyone who could use it... At that moment I decided to dual class Imoen into mage, which turned out to be a great move because I was able to come on top and later find out that was her default class in the second part In those sinister corridors I also lost Khalid, who exploded to pieces after a critical hit and who, I later discovered, does not appear in the sequel. I was Jaheira's comforter and pursued wholesome romance with her, and the fact that we were both druids made it sweeter One of the highlights of that game was also a bug that happened on the Lycanthrope island... I regret I didn't manage to record and upload it on YouTube, since everything happened in the period before that platform, because I'm sure it would've been a hit on teh internetz. Well, it's the last skirmish in hidden alcove against Loup Garou.. When you beat him, he would multiply, and every inch of the map was filled with a myriad of angry werewolves. I remember having to play through the entire Balduran's concoction again The last time I played one of my favorite games, besides Morrowind and Arcanum, was in 2017., just before my son was born, when I modded both games into one massive CRPG gem in the desire to experience the epic campaign again, but my conscience did not allow me because soon my real life company would be expanded for another hero I plan to embark on the Bhaalspawn adventure again in the near future and the only thing I am sure of is that I will not approach filthy peasant's EE version even with the help of a ten-foot pole, cos I still have my burned disks and GOG edition

 

[Orud]

Great post and memories, Viconia is always my main Romance interest in BG games. It would be great if she makes a BG3 appearance but I doubt it ?

Isn't she canonically dead?

 

[BruceVC]

Great post and memories, Viconia is always my main Romance interest in BG games. It would be great if she makes a BG3 appearance but I doubt it ?

Isn't she canonically dead?

Yes ....thats true...dont remind me

 

[Orud]

Yes ....thats true...dont remind me

While that might suck for her fans, I prefer it this way. She has more character than some 'butt-end' of a joke that they keep resurrecting. Stories that have a beginning and ending are superior.

At least she went out swinging, no?

 

[BruceVC]

Yes ....thats true...dont remind me

While that might suck for her fans, I prefer it this way. She has more character than some 'butt-end' of a joke that they keep resurrecting. Stories that have a beginning and ending are superior.

At least she went out swinging, no?

In my one BG2 ending I married her and she died during childbirth and then other ending is she disappears into the Underdark if you dont Romance her ...as far as I remember. I only played BG2 twice and I messed up the Romance with Viconia the second time because I loaded a NPC mod with another hot elf called Vienxay and I tried to Romance her and Viconia and that ruined the Viconia Romance, I got to 70%. I didnt end up saving her from the Lolth summons and I didnt restore back because I had progressed too far in the game and the Romance is not as important as the progress I had made

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

Viconia only canonically dies if you romance her. Poisoned by agents of Lolth. The child she has with the Bhaalspawn lives and is raised by them in secret. If you don't romance her, she saves Suldanesselar with Drizz't and then rides off into the sunset alone.

 

[Lagole Gon]

The doppleganger conspiracy was truly horrifying and they just threw it away as a convenient plot device without much weight. they didn't even brought that back in the sequel save for one extremely brief and inconsequential encounter.

Wrong.
BG2 doppleganger encounter is far more horrifying than BG1 silly plot device.
1. Irenicus is obsessed with Ellesime.
2. He keeps dryad sex slaves to roleplay Ellesime for him.
3. He keeps clones of Ellesime to play with them.
4. He keeps doppleganger shapeshifter for... OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOD NOOOOOOO~!!!

 

[Cat Headed Eagle]

The doppleganger conspiracy was truly horrifying and they just threw it away as a convenient plot device without much weight. they didn't even brought that back in the sequel save for one extremely brief and inconsequential encounter.

Wrong.
BG2 doppleganger encounter is far more horrifying than BG1 silly plot device.
1. Irenicus is obsessed with Ellesime.
2. He keeps dryad sex slaves to roleplay Ellesime for him.
3. He keeps clones of Ellesime to play with them.
4. He keeps doppleganger shapeshifter for... OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOD NOOOOOOO~!!!

Do not kinkshame!

 

[agris]

Yes ....thats true...dont remind me

While that might suck for her fans, I prefer it this way. She has more character than some 'butt-end' of a joke that they keep resurrecting. Stories that have a beginning and ending are superior.

At least she went out swinging, no?

In my one BG2 ending I married her and she died during childbirth and then other ending is she disappears into the Underdark if you dont Romance her ...as far as I remember. I only played BG2 twice and I messed up the Romance with Viconia the second time because I loaded a NPC mod with another hot elf called Vienxay and I tried to Romance her and Viconia and that ruined the Viconia Romance, I got to 70%. I didnt end up saving her from the Lolth summons and I didnt restore back because I had progressed too far in the game and the Romance is not as important as the progress I had made

The focus on narrative and NPC relationships in cRPGs is a huge part of what attracted the current crowd of mouth breathing idiots that numerically dominate the customer demographics. This trend, the swelling of the customer base by the pathetic and feeble-minded, almost led to the total destruction of the genre after the early 00s. Relationships in RPGs are 99.9% cancerous, fanservice peddling, deep-as-a-puddle forever alone bullshit and those that celebrate them should be driven out of polite (cRPG) society.

You want to know why AAA+ sports manager games like Fútbol Manager 2024 are mechanically more rich and nuanced than Baldur's Gate 3? The fans. The customers. Those who do the buying, set the standards.

Fans chasing paper thin human contact through relationships in cRPGs are a large part of what gave you the cRPGs from 2005 to today.

This shit and those that celebrate it should be nuked from orbit.

 

[Cat Headed Eagle]

Football Manager has a ton of fans who aren't even into footy, too. The managerial aspect of it is so finely tuned that it manages to be a good game even for those who don't even watch or actively follow the sport.
Your average AA/AAA rpg is like a happy meal at this point. So many colors, so little value. I've been disheartened by the changes they've introduced in recent patches, actually. The rolls are too fucking lenient and it's starting to feel like why did they include them if it's just going to be a 20 all the time.

 

[BruceVC]

Yes ....thats true...dont remind me

While that might suck for her fans, I prefer it this way. She has more character than some 'butt-end' of a joke that they keep resurrecting. Stories that have a beginning and ending are superior.

At least she went out swinging, no?

In my one BG2 ending I married her and she died during childbirth and then other ending is she disappears into the Underdark if you dont Romance her ...as far as I remember. I only played BG2 twice and I messed up the Romance with Viconia the second time because I loaded a NPC mod with another hot elf called Vienxay and I tried to Romance her and Viconia and that ruined the Viconia Romance, I got to 70%. I didnt end up saving her from the Lolth summons and I didnt restore back because I had progressed too far in the game and the Romance is not as important as the progress I had made

The focus on narrative and NPC relationships in cRPGs is a huge part of what attracted the current crowd of mouth breathing idiots that numerically dominate the customer demographics. This trend, the swelling of the customer base by the pathetic and feeble-minded, almost led to the total destruction of the genre after the early 00s. Relationships in RPGs are 99.9% cancerous, fanservice peddling, deep-as-a-puddle forever alone bullshit and those that celebrate them should be driven out of polite (cRPG) society.

You want to know why AAA+ sports manager games like Fútbol Manager 2024 are mechanically more rich and nuanced than Baldur's Gate 3? The fans. The customers. Those who do the buying, set the standards.

Fans chasing paper thin human contact through relationships in cRPGs are a large part of what gave you the cRPGs from 2005 to today.

This shit and those that celebrate it should be nuked from orbit.

Nah, you guys are giving optional Romance arcs in RPG like BG2 too much agency and influence. To be honest I have had this debate for years and I have never been convinced by the criticism or why people are concerned with how other people want to play there games. I'll summarize my view on it ( Im not saying you saying all the things below, its just a summary of my views)

• the amount of resources and time spent on implementing Romance is minor. A couple of dialogue options thrown into the broader companion dialogue options is not going to be considered a resource drain for developers. If you going to have normal companion dialogue then you can easily implement Romance from a resource perspective
• Why do you care how someone else plays an RPG that they paid for ? Why does Romance specifically trigger you, do you criticize when someone enjoys and expects crafting or what if I tell you I like RPG with gnomes. Is it just Romance?
• Romance arcs are completely optional and if you ignore them they dont develop. So they not mandatory or intrusive despite what people claim. I recently played DA:I, with Bioware considered the king of Romance, and the Romance options with the hearts was optional and I ended up not having any Romance because the one person I wanted to Romance, Josephine, it just didnt develop
• Romance adds a level of expected realism around human and party interaction and how things would naturally occur. For example if you know that tomorrow may be your last day and you fighting to save the world from utter darkness against a resurrected Dragon god and you spending many nights around a campfire with hot women like Isabella or Viconia why would you not initiate a physical relationship? Romance makes the RPG experience more immersive and realistic
• There are lots of shit modern games that dont have any Romance and its because of things like commercialization and console support. Romance is a minor contribution towards the ostensible decline of modern day RPG. And games like BG2 are an example of this, its an excellent RPG with optional Romance. So you definitely can have a fantastic RPG with Romance, the 2 are not mutually exclusive

 

[NecroLord]

I think the main issue with Romance is either it being forced upon the PC or being done in a completely childish and stupid way. You need to make it believable and create a good romance choice too. While I like to give a lot of shit to Witcher, I think the way it lets you romance Yennefer and Triss is pretty good, as they are both smoking hot and you can connect with them as characters (no pun intended).

Anyway, just put a brothel in the game if your PC finds the need to empty his balls and forget romance entirely.