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Baldur's Gate 2 questions


Darth Drabek

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Okay, so my first "real" RPG was KOTOR. I liked it a lot, so I started playing Fallout 2. I know, I know, popular consensus is I should be shot for playing the sequel first. After KOTOR 2, I wanted to try one of the Baldur's Gate games. When people talk about great RPGs, they seem to be the gold standard (except on these boards where Fallout seems to reign supreme).

 

Anyway, I downloaded the demo of BG 2: Shadows of Amn and I had a few questions. First, some lines are spoken and others are just text (which is cool, I have nothing against reading). Is every line voice acted in the full version? I just was wondering if some of the audio files were cut for space in the demo.

 

Also, I'm not so good on my D&D. I "learned" it from KOTOR's feedback, and I know that system like the back of my hand. But I just don't have the knowledge about some of these things. It seems the lower the Armor class, the harder you are to hit. Then do you subtract your DEX modifer from your AC or what? Or does DEX not modify defense in this game? Do you still only get your modifier if the stat is an even number?

 

See, I just don't know things like that. Is there an online resource for D&D "noobs" (God, how I hate that word)? Combat seems to go reeeeally fast in BG 2 and I can't even see the attack rolls in the little dialog box to know how I'm doing... is there a full feedback feature in the game that I haven't found yet, with damage, to hit, saving throws and all that good stuff?

 

Thanks in advance for your helpful, non-condescending replies! :D

baby, take off your beret

everyone's a critic and most people are DJs

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In these forums, I might be the only one to hate the Fallout series and love the Infinity Engine games (BG1&2, IWD1&2). Moreover, BG2 is my favourite RPG of all time!!!

 

To answer your questions:

*only some of the lines are voice acted (those that are significant for the plot, those said by important characters in the game). This doesn't annoy me, even though I would have liked to see every line voice acted. The problem is that there is a lot of text in BG2. However, all the actors are great and I haven't been disappointed a single time (even with Minsc). Wait until you get the sentient sword: it has the ability to talk and is rather funny...

*Indeed, the more your AC diminishes, the better it get... If you have something like -6 to AC, you should be ok.

*If you are looking for an explanation of the AD&D rules, check Dan Simpson's FAQ and explanatory notice at:

www.gamefaqs.com

 

Cheers.

 

PS: Buy this game, you won't regret it!

"Ooo, squirrels, Boo! I know I saw them! Quick, throw nuts!" -Minsc

"I am a well-known racist in the Realms! Elves? Dwarves? Ha! Kill'em all! Humans rule! -Me

 

Volourn will never grow up, he's like the Black Peter Pan, here to tell you that it might be great to always be a child, but everybody around is gonna hate it. :p
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Then do you subtract your DEX modifer from your AC or what? Or does DEX not modify defense in this game? Do you still only get your modifier if the stat is an even number?

oops... citing 3E rules... in 2E, you get -1 AC adjustment at DEX = 15, -2 at DEX = 16, etc... negative is better.

 

Is there an online resource for D&D "noobs" (God, how I hate that word)?
try WotC. of course, that's mostly 3.5E rules, not 2E like baldur's gate 1/2. the best resource for BG info is here.

 

Combat seems to go reeeeally fast in BG 2 and I can't even see the attack rolls in the little dialog box to know how I'm doing... is there a full feedback feature in the game that I haven't found yet, with damage, to hit, saving throws and all that good stuff?

somewhere in the game options you can set the auto-pause feature. the easiest way is to pause after each round, however, you'll quickly discover the drawbacks with such methods. i prefer to let my tanks go off and use their AI (can be toggled on/off) and just pause (spacebar) after each spellcaster does his thing. of course, i've played the BG and IWD series over 20 times (each game except ToB), so combat is 2nd nature to me...

 

taks

comrade taks... just because.

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Thanks you guys... these boards rock. I ventured over to the BIO boards, but it was like I was trying to read Swahili. This place is much less intimidating and more laid back, like your favorite coffeeshop or pub. :D

baby, take off your beret

everyone's a critic and most people are DJs

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Wait until you get the sentient sword: it has the ability to talk and is rather funny...

That thing is so repetitive with such a sneering voice - how the hell can u like it? You don't even get a decent price on it

 

Seriously though getting into BG and BG2 requires no previous knowledge of D&D rules. I've completed all 5 of the BGs IWDs and PS:T and still know **** all about the various editions of D&D rules. The only thing you need to realise is that you should max out the attributes most important to you. Keep rerolling until you get a good score then max out strength if you are a fighter or intelligence, charisma or wisdom (whichever is applicable to your class if you are a casters) personally I then bung anything else in dexterity and constitution (only exceptions really being charisma if you are a paladin, or dexterity followed by strength then con for a thief or charisma & dex followed by strength and con for a bard). The monk is similar to a fighter with a wisdom bonus if I remember correctly. Anyway just read the descriptions and you should be able to work out the most important attributes for your character.

 

Knowledge of spells and spell selection can be gleaned from their descriptions listed on the scrolls or book or just by observing how the enemy use them. Just experiment - everything can be learnt through trial and error!

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Thanks for the answers, everybody. Since you brought up character attributes, are there repercussions to having low INT or CHA like in Fallout or KOTOR 2?

 

For instance, am I going to have severely limited dialogue options or a smaller possible party size if I have low INT or CHA?

baby, take off your beret

everyone's a critic and most people are DJs

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Thanks for the answers, everybody. Since you brought up character attributes, are there repercussions to having low INT or CHA like in Fallout or KOTOR 2?

 

For instance, am I going to have severely limited dialogue options or a smaller possible party size if I have low INT or CHA?

 

Well.... Yes and no. For your main character, if he/she is a mage, then you should pump intelligence. If your main character is a sorcerer/ress, then pump charisma. Dialog choices have very little to do with it, as you'll evetually have 6 characters in your party, and you can talk to most NPC's with any one of them. So if you have very low intelligence and even lower charisma, just let someone else in your party who's not a drooling moron afflicted with mental retardation do all the talking.

 

As for auto-pause: if you're not familiar with the rules, you might want to set the auto-pause settinsg all the way up. Consider this to be a set of training wheels or a guiding hand. Once you get the hang of things, you can turn the auto-pause options off and camp your spacebar, and pause when your intuition and experience tells you to.

 

In regards to voice-acting: SOME of the dialogue underwent voice acting, but the majority did not and show up as plain text. The reason being: data compression at the time was not as advanced as they are today, and BGII has a TON of dialogue, that if fully voice acted, would probaby come on 7 or 8 DVD's. Don't let this deter you from enjoying the game for what it is, however, and just read the well written dialogue and enjoy it.

 

Good luck! BG II is one of my favorite RPG's of all time, right up there with Planescape:Torment.

Word economics

To express my vast wisdom

I speak in haiku's.

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Thanks for the answers, everybody. Since you brought up character attributes, are there repercussions to having low INT or CHA like in Fallout or KOTOR 2?

 

For instance, am I going to have severely limited dialogue options or a smaller possible party size if I have low INT or CHA?

 

If your main character is a sorcerer/ress, then pump charisma.

 

If I remember well, in BG2, a sorcerer's prime stat is INT. It's with the 3E rules that they changed it to CHA.

"Ooo, squirrels, Boo! I know I saw them! Quick, throw nuts!" -Minsc

"I am a well-known racist in the Realms! Elves? Dwarves? Ha! Kill'em all! Humans rule! -Me

 

Volourn will never grow up, he's like the Black Peter Pan, here to tell you that it might be great to always be a child, but everybody around is gonna hate it. :p
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Baldurs Gate isnt the gold standard for rpgs. It is Torment.

 

 

 

...AMEN, Brother Messiah... :blink:

 

 

...WHO LUVS YA, BABY!!...

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A long, long time ago, but I can still remember,
How the Trolling used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance, I could egg on a few Trolls to "dance",
And maybe we'd be happy for a while.
But then Krackhead left and so did Klown;
Volo and Turnip were banned, Mystake got run out o' town.
Bad news on the Front Page,
BIOweenia said goodbye in a heated rage.
I can't remember if I cried
When I heard that TORN was recently fried,
But sadness touched me deep inside,
The day...Black Isle died.


For tarna, Visc, an' the rest o' the ol' Islanders that fell along the way

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Dialog choices have very little to do with it, as you'll evetually have 6 characters in your party, and you can talk to most NPC's with any one of them. So if you have very low intelligence and even lower charisma, just let someone else in your party who's not a drooling moron afflicted with mental retardation do all the talking.

well, actually, they do make a difference, however, the Infinity Engine mechanics chose to use the stats of the best in your party... in other words, you don't have to switch every time you need a different effect. at least, that's how i remember it (try it by trading out different charisma people in a shop... check the prices).

 

taks

comrade taks... just because.

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Sure it
  • Like 1

A long, long time ago, but I can still remember,
How the Trolling used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance, I could egg on a few Trolls to "dance",
And maybe we'd be happy for a while.
But then Krackhead left and so did Klown;
Volo and Turnip were banned, Mystake got run out o' town.
Bad news on the Front Page,
BIOweenia said goodbye in a heated rage.
I can't remember if I cried
When I heard that TORN was recently fried,
But sadness touched me deep inside,
The day...Black Isle died.


For tarna, Visc, an' the rest o' the ol' Islanders that fell along the way

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...most over-rated, anyways... o:)

 

 

...WHO LUVS YA, BABY!!...

Close - actually that title belongs to Torment! :-

 

 

 

...yea; let's take ubermunchkinz & phat 1007 o'er an actually engrossing plot/storyline & incredibly rich dialogue an' NPCs...good call, Corky... :ermm:

 

 

...WHO LUVS YA, BABY!!...

  • Like 1

A long, long time ago, but I can still remember,
How the Trolling used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance, I could egg on a few Trolls to "dance",
And maybe we'd be happy for a while.
But then Krackhead left and so did Klown;
Volo and Turnip were banned, Mystake got run out o' town.
Bad news on the Front Page,
BIOweenia said goodbye in a heated rage.
I can't remember if I cried
When I heard that TORN was recently fried,
But sadness touched me deep inside,
The day...Black Isle died.


For tarna, Visc, an' the rest o' the ol' Islanders that fell along the way

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"yea; let's take ubermunchkinz & phat 1007 o'er an actually engrossing plot/storyline & incredibly rich dialogue an' NPCs...good call, Corky..."

 

Torment is more about ubermunchkinism that the Bgs eries. Afterall, you have to have intelligence/wisdom/charisma of 1 mil+ to get the juicer titles. And, it's all about the phat loot like the talking skull artfiact you recieve right at the start.

DWARVES IN PROJECT ETERNITY = VOLOURN HAS PLEDGED $250.

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...yea; let's take ubermunchkinz & phat 1007 o'er an actually engrossing plot/storyline & incredibly rich dialogue an' NPCs...good call, Corky... :ermm:

These things are all subjective as are your evaluations.

 

Lets leave it at this: Neither of them are great, you're wrong and have crap taste!

 

 

Vote HL2 for rpg of the year! Hell it gives almost nothing away and it's also a great FPS! o:)

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Torment is more about ubermunchkinism that the Bgs eries. Afterall, you have to have intelligence/wisdom/charisma of 1 mil+ to get the juicer titles. And, it's all about the phat loot like the talking skull artfiact you recieve right at the start.

 

 

 

...dwarf, it must be damn hard fer ye ta e'en see yer monitor, much make posts, wit' yer head soo firmly wedged up yer own arse all the time...a miracle o' the Modern Day, ye is... :)

 

 

...WHO LUVS YA, BABY!!...

  • Like 1

A long, long time ago, but I can still remember,
How the Trolling used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance, I could egg on a few Trolls to "dance",
And maybe we'd be happy for a while.
But then Krackhead left and so did Klown;
Volo and Turnip were banned, Mystake got run out o' town.
Bad news on the Front Page,
BIOweenia said goodbye in a heated rage.
I can't remember if I cried
When I heard that TORN was recently fried,
But sadness touched me deep inside,
The day...Black Isle died.


For tarna, Visc, an' the rest o' the ol' Islanders that fell along the way

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Yet Volourn is right ...

 

PS:T is one of the worst RPGs I ever played despite being a good game.

 

 

 

...an' there it is, folks; the whole damn world's gone loopey...'tis a sad day, indeed...:shakeshead:

 

 

...WHO LUVS YA, BABY!!...

  • Like 1

A long, long time ago, but I can still remember,
How the Trolling used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance, I could egg on a few Trolls to "dance",
And maybe we'd be happy for a while.
But then Krackhead left and so did Klown;
Volo and Turnip were banned, Mystake got run out o' town.
Bad news on the Front Page,
BIOweenia said goodbye in a heated rage.
I can't remember if I cried
When I heard that TORN was recently fried,
But sadness touched me deep inside,
The day...Black Isle died.


For tarna, Visc, an' the rest o' the ol' Islanders that fell along the way

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