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Dorkopotamis posted:I'm downloading the enhanced edition of BG2 right now. I remember playing through it as a wizard when it had first come out and that was fun. Now I'm interested in playing through it in the most min/maxed cheesy way possible. Any suggestions? Mage is the way to go for cheese in BG2.
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Nov 20, 2013 03:06
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Spellhold Studios and Gibberlings 3 are probably the best of the BG modding community. Pocket Plane is two big-name modders and their cults of personality, and Chosen of Mystra is mainly for mods rejected by the other three. Spellhold Studios tends to be more active, Gibberlings 3 tends to be more selective about the mods they host. For NPCs, it's always a matter of personal taste, but both sites have clunkers like Chloe and Angelo.
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Nov 20, 2013 07:46
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Smol posted:I'll see if I can find the time to write up some proper modding tutorials (including other games than BG2 as well). The one in the OP is just something I hastily wrote up when responding to a post back in the old thread. Not really OP worthy material. Gibberlings 3 has a link to a good one for BG2, by theacefes. The other IE games were never modded as much.
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Nov 20, 2013 19:19
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fong posted:Most fantasy settings romanticise thieves guild-type organisations into good guys against corrupt/ineffective/powerless authorities. The Shadow Thieves are definitely not good guys - you walk in on them merrily torturing people for one. But better mere criminals than predatory undead.
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Nov 23, 2013 03:56
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Bear in mind that the Shadow Thieves are evil. They're Amn's fantasy mafia, if the mafia were also slave traders. It's not so much a choice between shades of grey as it is a choice between Lawful and Chaotic Evil.
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Nov 23, 2013 17:24
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Mordaedil posted:Please quote the paragraph that says Detect Evil gives you a license to kill. One of the Eberron books states that a paladin who constantly uses Detect Evil to find evil people and kill them on that basis is not a righteous avenger - he's a serial killer.
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Nov 23, 2013 21:56
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Belasarius posted:is there anything new in the enhanced editions that would justify playing again? Some mediocre new NPCs, their addendant sidequests, and a few new items. Yes for some people, no for others.
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Nov 24, 2013 03:25
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kingcom posted:Just to confirm the canonical party is CharName, Imoen, Jahiera, Khalid, Minsc and Dynaheir right? Correct, and to be fair it's a pretty solid good-aligned party in general.
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Nov 25, 2013 23:58
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TomWaitsForNoMan posted:Oh I know, that's why I put "canonical" in quotes. I just haven't played this game in a decade and thought it'd be nice to roll with that party this time round. That gives me an idea. Maybe Beamdog should do enhanced editions of the Baldur's Gate novelizations as well. Can't be worse than the originals.
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Nov 26, 2013 00:23
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King Doom posted:You couldn't write a worse book without it actually counting as a war crime. I know. That's the point. IIRC, Imoen is also arguably raped, given the context of coercion.
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Nov 26, 2013 01:42
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Factor_VIII posted:Wouldn't that be following BG2? I thought it was implied fairly strongly that Irenicus did things to Imoen. The three dryads you meed call themselves his concubines and when Imoen talks to them there's the exchange: Imoen: "I used to dream... but he doesn't. Your charms don't work on him anymore, do they?" Dryad: "How do you know of this? He has touched you as we, hasn't he?". Also, there was the bit in ToB where if Imoen gives Sarevok a piece of her soul and then asks him what the effects were he says "Perhaps you would be interested to know that I can feel the knives of Irenicus, slicing into my skin, torturing me. I can feel his hands and his breath, I *know* what he did to you, girl...". In the book, Imoen is pressured into boinking a drow priestess.
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Nov 26, 2013 02:51
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Factor_VIII posted:I'm curious; how does that come about? Imoen takes one for the team so that the protagonist doesn't have to bang Phaere? I don't remember very clearly - I read the books back in middle school when I first played the BG series - but I think so, yes. IIRC, the moronic chucklefuck of a protagonist told Imoen that she boinked Phaere or the party's cover would be blown. Imoen decided she already preferred women anyway.
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Nov 26, 2013 03:33
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Factor_VIII posted:Interestingly, the Mission Pack Save included in ToSC with a party that could tackle the expansion pack's content included a character called Abdel who must have been the novel's protagonist. Hr was a Neutral Good Human Fighter and his stats were STR 18(90), DEX 19, CON 19, INT 7, WIS 6, CHA 18. With an Int of 7 and Wis of 6 I guess he really was a complete moron. Interesting that he was Good instead of Neutral. Abdel is neutral at best. IIRC, he also boinks Bodhi.
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Nov 26, 2013 03:41
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Basic Chunnel posted:I think it's pretty clear that a BG3 isn't happening, not due to any fault of Beamdog's / Overhaul's (I've been playing games long enough not to be outraged by bugs and the stuff they made is good) but because the rights are still with Atari as far as I'm aware, and if anything an increase in the property's profile will only make a sequel less likely. I imagine WotC / Atari will want to make it a Big Deal Game but Atari hasn't had Big Deal Game money for years (nor should they). I know Obsidian Entertainment were pitching their own ideas not too long ago and didn't hear anything. D&D CRPGs are in development hell right now outside of the MMOs that boardrooms reflexively throw money at. For me, it comes down to the fact that the Enhanced Editions offer very little that modded installations of the original games don't. There's a smattering of mediocre-to-average new NPCs, the zoom function, one or two bug fixes, and availability on another platform or two. As I understand it, the terms of Beamdog's license means that they couldn't make any substantial changes to the games or existing content, like fleshing out Throne of Bhaal and making Melissan a worthy villain like Sarevok and Irenicus, or moving the games into 3.5E rules. CRPGs in general seem to be a dying breed. Bioware's the only company left that's actively making Western-style RPGs, and their latest series of games have ranged from mediocre (Dragon Age 2) to extremely inconsistent in quality (Mass Effect 3 and The Old Republic). Credit where it is due, Beamdog seems to be doing a valiant job with what they've got (romances with vampires-we-swear-are-vampires-in-name-only aside), but the genre just isn't what it used to be.
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Nov 30, 2013 14:21
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2 Track EP posted:did BG originally have these weird dual/multiclassing restrictions? I don't remember them. It did. BG1 was straight 2E DnD, which is where the dual/multiclass stuff comes from, then BG2 moved into 2.5E by adding the barbarian, monk, and sorcerer classes, plus the class kits.
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Nov 30, 2013 14:57
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verybad posted:This honestly feels like how the game is meant to be played. Of course, that's not really true -- the game is way too willing to inflict horrible bullshit on you just for kicks for that to be the intended design, and it's not really possible to do a clean run as a first timer, aaand it's a really long game too. I'm fairly certain that that is the intended design, actually. There's a reason there are so many NPCs you can recruit, after all, and this was before Bioware settled into the character-focused mindset. You're playing a Dungeons and Dragons game, and DMs inflicting horrible bullshit on players just for kicks is both normal and expected.
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Nov 30, 2013 16:27
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Rookersh posted:Last I checked, back in BG1/2 Wild Mages would have been extremely rare, and extremely powerful, entirely because the Weave was still intact. No, it was not. Wild magic was introduced in 2E when Mystra (mk. 1) died, creating wild magic and dead magic zones across Faerun that the churches of Mystra and Torm were only slowly healing. The Spellplague, as I understand it (I've paid little attention to 4E) just dramatically expanded and accelerated the damage and deterioration already present.
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Nov 30, 2013 16:36
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RoadCrewWorker posted:So i have BG1+2 from GOG, and just discovered some old messed up "Big World" install on some old harddrive that weighs in at 20+ GB and (if i remember correctly) took at least 18 hours to install years back. Apparently is also includes BG1 and expansions into the BG2 engine? I've heard it's generally pretty awful though. The Big World Project installs virtually every mod ever made for the Baldur's Gate games. Some of them are good. Many are average. Many are bad, and some are downright lovely. And in terms of technical stability, it makes a house of cards look like the pyramids. There is no mod pack for the series. Get your choice of Tutu or Trilogy, the fix pack, then any other mods you want. Opinions among players on what the "must have" mods are versus the "hardcore or crappy self fanfic inserts" mods are sharply divided. Some people love the Saerileth, Tsujatha, and Chloe mods. Others (most) hate them. Take your pick.
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Nov 30, 2013 17:09
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Lemon Curdistan posted:Why would anyone involved even want to do this? Putting aside the fact that 3.5 is terrible, it was outdated years before Beamdog even existed. Let's not start edition wars. I happen to like 3.5E and how it was implemented in IWD2 and NWN2. Had the Enhanced Editions brought the series into 3.5E rules, I likely would have bought them. They did not. quote:It really isn't. Gygaxian DMing hasn't been the norm for decades. You do realize how old these games are and what BG1 in particular was meant to evoke, right? Both for DnD and CRPGs at that time, blindsiding players and making them think carefully about how to approach something were par for the course. quote:Thank you for the suggestions, that sounds like it'll give me much less headaches in the short and likely long run. You're welcome. Mods are very much down to individual taste for the most part.
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Nov 30, 2013 17:20
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Emong posted:The biggest problem with 3.5e is that it was designed with intentional pitfalls for newer players to fall into. The Toughness feat is probably the most obvious one of those. 2E has its share of pitfalls - which I rather doubt are any more intentional than 3.5's - for new players. The wonky mechanics of dual-classing, for example. It's all down to personal taste. There are adherents of every edition and rules variation that's ever been made.
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Nov 30, 2013 17:51
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Emong posted:No, I mean 3.5e was designed specifically to not explain the uses of feats, which is where all its pitfalls come from. Congratulations. You found a dumb design decision in a DnD rule change/variation/update. Can we stop the edition bitching now?
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Nov 30, 2013 18:11
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Can we stop the loving edition arguments? The BG series and NWN2 are different games that use different systems. If you want to chat about NWN2's system, I'm sure there's a thread for that series hanging around somewhere.
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Dec 1, 2013 18:52
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Captain Oblivious posted:I don't blame the playtesters on that one. Killing off Imoen after all that would have felt pretty loving womeninrefrigerators.txt Odd. The version I heard was that the original plan was for Imoen to transform into the Slayer in Suldanessellar and you'd be forced to kill her.
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Dec 1, 2013 22:06
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TjyvTompa posted:I noticed Aerie seems to be unable to learn level 9 spells, can I fix this with EEKeeper somehow? Bump up her Int and Wis. Not that it's really a good idea for balance purposes - Aerie is already a monster and a half.
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Dec 7, 2013 01:32
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Mahasamatman posted:I know a Blade is pretty much a better option all around but I hate not being able to open locks and disarm traps. Can a party get by without a thief? You can, but some traps are pretty nasty and you'll miss out on some loot. However, any of the NPC thieves can do the job - Imoen is all you need, Yoshimo is more than fine until then, Jan can do it perfectly well, and Nalia can do it with the odd potion of master thievery.
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Dec 7, 2013 01:52
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oswald ownenstein posted:It seems like they didn't introduce any alignment fights with new characters to maximize uptake but I could be wrong. Several characters fight with Hexxat or just leave if she's in the party, as I understand it, and I believe Anomen leaves if you recruit Dorn.
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Dec 7, 2013 22:50
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Basic Chunnel posted:I wonder if the community will eventually mod out those conflicts for the tweakpack Probably. Lots of folks like using Keldorn and to a lesser degree Aerie even in otherwise all-evil parties due to how powerful they are, and don't like that those two characters get into fights with evil NPCs.
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Dec 7, 2013 22:57
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MrTheDevious posted:Dorn I've not had any issues with at all, but I didn't use him in BG2 on my good playthrough. He's drat happy in my evil party. Almost too happy... His quest owns though Personally? I think Dorn and Hexxat were added specifically for evil players due to the dearth of evil-aligned characters in the base game. You've got Korgan, Viconia, and Edwin. True, they're the only single-classed examples of their classes in the game and they're very strong as a result, but that's still only three. Dorn adds an evil Keldorn-equivalent, and Hexxat is the best thief in the game, I believe. With BG2EE, you can now have a complete party of evil characters. quote:vvv That's probably true since Keldorn happily murders basically every NPC that isn't ponies and rainbows level of good He attacks Edwin (a possibly rogue representative of the Red Wizards), Viconia (an unrepentant drow and priestess of one of the FR's primary evil deities), Hexxat (an undead monster), and Dorn (a blackguard). He doesn't attack Korgan or Haer'Dalis, much less any other neutral or good characters. CN Anomen will pick a fight with him, but Keldorn doesn't start that one. Cythereal fucked around with this message at 23:04 on Dec 7, 2013 |
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Dec 7, 2013 23:02
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Factor_VIII posted:By the way, what's the best Racial Enemy for Baldur's Gate 2? In my hardcore run of BG1 I had Spiders since they're both numerous and more dangerous than the other options. For 2 I was thinking of going with Dragons, though perhaps Demonic/Fell could be a good choice as well. Demons are my pick for BG2. They're fairly common and run the gamut from wimps to serious fights. There are very few dragons in the game, and while Racial Enemy helps a bit against them, they're not common enough to justify it in my opinion.
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Dec 9, 2013 01:29
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Decrepus posted:Is there any way to keep a Ranger from falling? I want to try playing a game where I shooting everyone I want and being a bandit for once and an Archer would be perfect for it. Keep your reputation above 4 or so. 2E rangers are Aragorn.
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Dec 12, 2013 23:26
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Factor_VIII posted:I don't think so. I had imported a character wearing a belt of masculinity/femininity in the original BG2 which got removed and then the Jaheira romance proceeded normally. See also the Big World Project LP. Due to wild surge shenanigans, the player was able to complete the Branwen romance (for men), the Xan romance (for women), and part of the Shar-Teel romance (for men). It does seem to be set when you first meet the NPC.
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Dec 13, 2013 17:05
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Thaddius the Large posted:I just assumed this was one of the mods in action, making every character bisexual seems exactly like what a bad modder would come up with. There is a mod that does that - it's one component of the Tweak Pack - but only for BG2. In the LP's case, though, it was gender-flipping wild surges monkeying with things. Cythereal fucked around with this message at 22:05 on Dec 13, 2013 |
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Dec 13, 2013 21:43
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Behold the kind of mentality that gets the creepy mods made. Whether it's done ironically or not really doesn't matter.
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Dec 14, 2013 03:09
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Factor_VIII posted:Yes. Note however that an evenly split Fighter/Mage multiclass won't be very good in 3E, since you'll never be as good at hitting things or taking damage as a pure fighter or able to cast high level spells. The tabletop game tried to compensate for that with prestige classes, but that isn't an option in IWD2. Another IWD1/2 note: bards and druids are seriously good in these games as opposed to their generally underwhelming performance in the Baldur's Gate series (yes, I know blades can be ridiculous when used right).
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Dec 18, 2013 17:02
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kingcom posted:It's always seemed to me that multiclassing is where you go once you've figured the system out a bit and know how to stack character combinations wells (along with being able to see the long term effects of a given class). My IWD2 party only has the paladin having a bit of a multiclass into fighter with everyone else going pure class. From what I read the fighter is going to be in a bit of trouble (I've basically hit the point where I'm running out of feats I want) but other than that having a pure wizard, cleric, sorceror, thief seems to be doing alright. Classes that get most of their strength out of abilities that improve with every (or close to every) level they have get the most out of remaining pure-classes. Spellcasters and monks are the classic examples. Other classes, like fighters, paladins, rangers, and arguably thieves, find their useful level-based abilities petering out past a certain point, which is where picking up levels in other classes comes into play.
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Dec 19, 2013 00:05
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kingcom posted:Sure thats my point though, the biggest difficulty with D&D 3.x is you dont know the consequences of taking certain levels until long after you've made that decision. I mean my fighter is level 12 now and its only just at this point im realising that its a worse decision than mixing it up. Alternatively I have a 6 fighter/6 paladin and hes basically getting a pretty solid curve on feats and advancements. On the other hand, you have the freedom to go fighter 12 or fighter 6/paladin 6 as you please. Character optimization isn't necessary unless you're playing a difficulty level where thorough knowledge of the game is both assumed and mandatory. In which case your party probably consists of one tank and five spellcasters.
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Dec 19, 2013 00:30
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Rascyc posted:Neera is so goddamn broken late game too because of all the bonuses they give her through her quest. There's definitely some pet character nonsense going on there when they designed her. Like all the other EE NPCs, you mean? They all get pretty ridiculous.
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Dec 22, 2013 19:10
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A bit late, but the restriction on clerics not being able to use bladed weapons was originally a reference to real-life history when the Catholic church forbade priests to use weapons that drew blood - piercing and bladed weapons. So they used blunt weapons instead.
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Dec 23, 2013 13:07
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peak debt posted:Is there a writeup anywhere of how the 18/xx scores work in the weird-rear end D&D rules that Baldurs Gate uses? The manual has an explanation.
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Dec 23, 2013 14:26
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TehGherkin posted:That still doesn't make any loving sense though, I mean if you smash someone in the head with a warhammer, that's going to draw a little blood. It's the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages. Making sense to modern eyes was rarely on their agenda. See also: banning use of the crossbow against Catholics because it was inhumane (read: allowed peasants with a week of training to kill wealthy knights with decades of training). Dungeons and Dragons picked it up and ran with it for clerics.
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Dec 23, 2013 15:21
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