Moira

The hotfixes are on GOG now (both in one patch)

There's a mod for that in the Nexus, if you'd rather have the old text than the new (the tombstone wasn't removed, it just moved to a different place when the text was changed).

When entering combat the rogue can start with a Sneak Attack during the first seconds. Forget Backstab. During the combat rogue can Sneak Attack enemies that are blinded, dazed etc. Your wizard is particularly capable of rendering them thus. I recommend rogue use powerful ranged weapon for the first attack and then engage in melee after the tank(s). Dual wield with light armor is fun. And once more, you don't need the Backstab skill.

Ooh, the Moon Godlike teaser looks awesome! Very much looking forward to seeing it ready <3

I was trying to find some portraits from an old favorite of mine, but turns out they disappeared when NWN Vault went down But. I did find some fantastic portrait pics in the Baldur's Gate EE forums. Particularly these two pages contain many truly excellent pics with variety, personality and ethnic variety - and artists are given credit, too. http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/5339/alternate-npc-and-pc-portraits-just-because-p/p51 (scroll down for collections of MiLeah's art Edit: and last but not least a bunch of Isandir's work!) http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/5339/alternate-npc-and-pc-portraits-just-because-p/p49 (portraits by MiLeah, Enkida, Phaere, Wycked) Some of the pics are .bmp but can easily be converted to .png or .jpg in Paint, for example. And then cropped PoE-compatibly with this handy tool.

I don't really like it ^ I hate it. But I like it that I'm not the only one

The intro is fast to run through, nothing like Irenicus' dungeon.

Two fists, two blunt weapons. My monk isn't on high level yet so I haven't needed to decide between unarmed and enchanted weapons so far, and I'm just enjoying the heck out of the crazy speed of her fists :D

Those stats are exactly what I try to avoid when building a character, it might be the wrong term, but that's exactly what I'd call min-maxing. On every character I create, I try to RP as much as possible, so that build wouldn't suit me. I don't lower any stat below 10, and probably won't end up with a stat higher than 16. Then put Might and Resolve at 16, and Con and Int at 10, and any leftover points where your roleplaying calls them At least on Normal difficulty the stats aren't so crucial that the difference between 16 and 18,19 would be the gamebreaker. I doubt that would be the case on hard difficulty either as long as you play your party wisely.

On easy difficulty you don't need to micromanage the whole party (preferably 6 members!) constantly. Have a tank and make sure they go in first well equipped. Arm everyone with ranged weapons. When necessary, tale down an enemy spellcaster with the opening volley. Swap ranged set to melee weapon when necessary, always swap them back after the combat ends. Know the few key special attacks (spells, abilities) you go to most, when you need the extra effort. Maybe this sounds like much? I found it quite doable, and after learning the basics swapped to normal difficulty. Hard gets a bit too slow for me (for life reasons). My first char was a rogue and on easy I mostly managed only her - to move into melee after the tank - and the wizard - to cc the mob so rogue can use Sneak Attacks.

Thanks for this! Now, is there some manual or such where these things are taught? Cause I'd need to go and read it...

I find it weirdly satisfying whenever I find one of those hidden stashes, so I like this mechanic. I understand it feeling unnecessary or annoying to some, but I don't get the complaint about it breaking immersion. I guess I just interpret the stealth mode as "loitering around kinda suspiciously while searching" when the party scouts in full view.

Ace that GOG could share the patch during Easter time! Unless you're using hired help for lockpicking, you don't need to worry about the hotfix.

I like it that we're free to pick whatever portrait for a chatacter, regardless of race or gender. Why limit it? The portrait selection is offered prioritized by the selected race and we see the available sprite colors etc. before choosing the portrait so I don't see the problem.

Note about wizard, their passive Blast works with wands, rods and scepters only if I recall correctly - check the description on the char sheet.

"Backstab" should be "Sneak Attack" but other than that small detail... This. Rogue and Wizard team up very nicely, especially with Blind now changed into Foe AoE. So much of these convos are comparing classes/abilities to others without addressing collaboration potential at all.

I so love GOG. Uploading patches during Easter holidays is just one reason more.

I honestly hadn't considered having two priests in a party until reading this, and now I need to go and try it out!

It may not be the best choice for the first playthrough, if the game mechanics are new to you, but when I wanted to create a high Intelligence character (to get all Int conversation choices), I went with Cipher. Max Int, high Might and Dex. So far it's been a really interesting class to play, even if I'm generally not that into mage type characters. If not for Cipher, I would have rolled a Chanter - also with high Int. I decided against it this time since I didn't want my CHARNAME in a tanking role. Chanter is a fab class to have in the party, though. My very first character was a Rogue, but I'd go for high(ish) Perc instead of high(ish) Int with that class. Then again, Int is hardly the only stat affecting conversation options. Depending on your playing style, almost any of the attributes can be useful. Just make sure you have some stat(s) pretty high. If you want to be persuasive with words, Int or Perception may be good ones, and if you'd like to be more "physical" about it, Might may get it done. Plus there are other stats (developed during playing) that affect the conversation options as well.

Does anyone have a "clothing collection" pic like this for male looks?

There are actually two different (by appearance; the name is the same) sets of Dyrwoodan Clothing in the game. I can't remember where I picked these up, unfortunately, but I'm guessing somewhere in Defiance Bay.

Wow, all three portraits are of (sub-)races that are among my least favorite in the game, and every single one of them makes me want to roll a character for using the portrait! I'm sad to see the (weird) controversy and that it has (understandably) put you off Wespenfresser, but I'm very happy you posted your portraits here so I could find my way to your DA and FB accounts. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of your work, and hopefully you'll also post it here, continuing to inspire the community.