How intertwined are the Baldur's Gate games?

[Vermachtnis]

I was thinking about playing the games on the PC, not PS2. And was wondering how intertwined the plots are. Almost everyone herald's the second one as better of the two. But I didn't look up plot stuff to avoid spoilers so I was wondering if I'd miss out on anything if I just played the second one.

[Jings]

You don't have to have played the original game to enjoy the second one. It helps, but it's not necessary. There's also an excellent mod (BGTutu) that allows you to play BG1 and TotSC using the BG2 resolutions. You can also use the numerous new BG2 classes from the very beginning. I can no longer play BG1 without this.

It's not as if the games are expensive anymore so you might as well start from the very beginning. :)

[Vyk]

It also helps that you are the same character and it can be carried over. So you can mesh out a character over (what is it, 7 levels?) the way you like it, instead of having to invent a 7th level character from scratch at the beginning of 2. Though admittedly, the game lets you start out as a total BAMF in 2, its probably kinda nice to have crafted and grown that character yourself. Also 2 has a smattering of faces you'd see and possibly travel with in the first one

I might have to get that hack. I love pulling those games out from time to time and it always astounds me how small the BG1 window is xD I must have played that on a really crappy computer back in the day, 'cause I remember it being full screen on my first play through, but now that's way too ugly, so I always use windowed mode now

[Vermachtnis]

Thanks you guys. I'm gonna start with the first one.

[Laddy]

Best. Games. Ever. Glad people are listening to my suggestions. The somewhat superior II is great, but more enjoyable with playing the first one, II does a great job of explaining I without getting out of topic, but the confrontations with Sarevok in the expansion are more interesting and powerful when you've beaten the first one.

Oh, and if you need any help with the games, ask your resident CRPG Nerd, moi~.

EDIT: Pick up Minsc right away in I for one of the greatest characters ever. Tiax, Quayle, Xan, Alora, and Edwin are great entertainment as well.

[Vermachtnis]

Started playing this last night. Really shouldn't have started playing something while it was downloading xD. Anyway, I already have a question, is death permanent? I've been resetting every time someone dies.

And I can't wait to get Minsc, I heard about him before I heard about the game. Right now my team is that girl from the home town, two random people we met along the way, and the hero's dad's friends.

[Vyk]

Its probably easiest to consider it permanent for a while. In D&D death occurs after 10 rounds or turns or whatever, I can't remember if BG is that strict. You can carry a person's corpse to any town with a priest and get them revived for a fee. Though reloading is just easier regardless. Plus its possible for people to be killed with a critical hit which makes them explode and can no longer be re-animated. A regular death just grays them out but they're still part of your team. If they explode their portrait goes away and they're just done. I've only ever revived someone like maybe twice. Probably best to stick with the reloading. I know the first game is tough. Being low level in D&D is really rough. Best to play cautiously on the defensive. Keep a theif around and always check for traps. Always sleep after battles where good spells were wasted. Yadda yadda yadda. Take your time for the first few levels. People are very fragile. Kinda sucks. But that's D&D. They get a little more hearty after level 3 or so

[Laddy]

No, you can revive someone at a temple or with a spell unless they are the unholy victim of some select spells. I would save often so you an reload when it happens to a character you specifically like or wish to keep.

Don't keep Jaheira/Khalid and Montaron/Xzar around each other for too long, as they will come to blows due to them being part of opposing organizations, the Harpers and Zhentarim, respectively. This isn't guaranteed, but likely.

[Vermachtnis]

Alright thanks for the tips. I got Minsc and had to kick someone out so I went with Xzar cause he got uppity with me for taking to long and Montaron went with him. So now my team is Imeon, Jaheira, Khalid, and Minsc.

[Laddy]

Rescue Dynaheir for a good mage. If you have a good-aligned party, get Ajantis for a nice Paladin (He's in one of the Wildernesses above the Friendly Arm Inn), Branwen for a solid Cleric (At the Carnival), or Kivan (at High Hedge) for a Ranger.

[Vyk]

That's the standard party for most players if you're going good. I actually really like that party. I've only ever tried out a few other people. The bard and the emo wizard are amusing but hardly worth putting a lot of effort into. If I remember correctly, Imoen will try to stick it out with you to almost the extreme edges of her conscience. I've never went on a murdering spree to test her allegiance but everyone else starts to complain pretty readily, but as long as you keep their complaints in mind they typically won't bail. Minsc is probably the only exception. Being a good dude doesn't keep him happy, he requires something. That might be a spoiler so I'll just leave it at that for now. Suffice to say I damn near got my ass kicked by him once when he got upset over it

[Laddy]

You need to rescue Dynaheir, that's not a spoiler as he gives you that task upon meeting him.

[Vermachtnis]

I'm storming the Stronghold right now. Should I get rid of Imoen for Branwen? Or if I boot Khalid will Jaheira stay? My character is Chaotic Neutral so I don't think I can get that Paladin.

[Laddy]

You can get any character of any alignment, it's just if they stick with you or not that alignment comes into play. If you have a thief, kick Imoen for Branwen. Jaheira and Khalid are an item, as are Dynaheir and Minsc, so they must be together. Dynaheir and Minsc are competent enough on their own, as is Jaheira, but Khalid's terrible stats (Elf Fighters are just not very good, at least in this case) make him a liability.

And playing a Chaotic Neutral on your first try? Not my choice due to it being the hardest alignment to play well, but that's the beauty of the game, you can play whoever you want. :)

[Vyk]

You need to rescue Dynaheir, that's not a spoiler as he gives you that task upon meeting him.

The fact that he beats the :bou::bou::bou::bou: out of you for dawdling is what I thought might be a spoiler. If you want to play the game at your own pace with whatever consequences that might bring based on the game's design. But yeah. She's not the best mage, but to have Minsc and her, its a -really- good compromise. Minsc is almost a requirement for new players. Not only is he one of the most handy characters to have around, with his strength he can hit harder and carry more, but his personality HAS to be experienced xD

I always gave Khalid one of the best armors and played him strategically (I usually either paused the game at the beginning of most fights or had the game set to auto-pause upon encounters). He freaks out and goes cowardly pretty easily (usually after any critical hit) and his strength and health might not compare to Minsc, but you can work around his shortcomings if you want. I didn't have too much trouble with him. He was easier for me to work with than that bard guy at any rate. But I won't argue that there are better characters. I just like being around for the playful drama between him and Jaheira

[Laddy]

But everyone knows you can't delay justice's mighty fist.

[Markus. D]

One of my favourite RPGs. It's good to see you're going for the full game, rather than starting at two

[Vermachtnis]

I finished the Nashkel Mine arc and figured I go exploring for a little bit. My team is the hero, Shar-Teel, Minsc, Dynahier, and Branwen at LV2 and Imoen at LV3. So I was starting to feel good about not dieing every couple of steps. But why for the love of god can't the north decide what disc it's on!? But other than changing disks with every area, this game is great. I wish I didn't wait to so long to play them.

[Vyk]

I'm pretty sure the game was re-released on DVD to atone for the problem. I used to know how it worked. Each quadrant or so was a disc, or something like that