Next run through

[CliffordTheBRD]

I am planning my next run through the BG series. I have always played as a paladin, sometimes with a full party sometimes solo. I was thinking this time I might try a caster of some sort and go with just Imoen in BG then Imoen and Servok in BGII. I was thinking a pure Cleric or maybe a Cleric/Ranger. Or maybe even a pure caster like a mage/cleric? What do you think? Would this be terribly difficult? Too easy? I don't want to just blow through the game hackin and slashin like I usually do. I just want to have a good overall experience with the game. Any advice/tips is much appreciated!

Thanks
Cliff

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Ranger/Cleric is a good choice but if you're used to Paladins it might seem like more of the same.
If you're after a change of pace, I'd go for a Wild Mage, mage/cleric or a Fighter/Mage/Thief.

Alternately, try an evil run.

[QuenGalad]

And now for something completely different...?

If you're looking for a change, an 'evil' run is quite a good idea. There's not exactly a huge difference in the playthrough, but it has it's good sides. I mean, bad. Oh, you know what i mean. Have you played a rogue yet? It needs a much different tactics than a 'tank' type, especially since the game's over when your pc dies.

If you're determined to do a caster type, Ode has a point. Ranger/cleric is quite similar to the paladin class, in the overall impression. Mage/cleric can be fun, but it can also get boring after a while. If you're not into rigorous micromanaging, chances are you'll prefer one of those classes and let the other slip. That's what happened to my mage/cleric pc - she ended up a mage who could heal.

Wild mages are just that - wild and unpredictable, so who knows? And a sorcerer is a very powerfull and "comfortable" caster (no meddling with slots) but to play it with satysfying results, you have to know your own playstyle and the spells you use most.

But if you're after a good, overall experience of the game, then i'd say party composition is the key. Take npc's who interact with each other, or who you find likeable.

[kmonster]

Try a gnome cleric/thief multiclass. In BG1 have Imoen invest into stealth (so you can both sneak around) and keep her pure or dualclass at level 4-6 to illusionist.
Another pure class thief, changed to assassin in BG2 for building a stealthy duo with Imoen.

If you have Tutu you can try a sorcerer, spontaneous casting is extremely fun and powerful.

[RPGguy]

I am playing a cleric/ranger right now and can assure you that for the purpose of BG1, it's all hack'n'slash...just like a paladin.

The lower level cleric spells are primarily just buffs and cures. It won't be until you are substantially into SoA that you get some other spells that allow for some interesting variation. Although the Call Woodland Being druid spell is extremely fun to have. Those little wenches wreak some nice havoc in BG1

For what it is worth, I would play as a specialist mage (conjurer) on my next tour. Yes, you will be incredibly vulnerable in the wild but every class is pretty vulnerable. BG1 seemed overly-generous with wands so stock up and rely on them to supplement your pathetically poor spellbook until you can get rolling. Use summons to keep foes off your frail little self.

That will definitely take you away from any hack'n'slash type experience and having a pure conjurer will free you from the immense pressure of taking Edwin (and his extreme awesomeness) in the sequel. Since you are typically a fan of the paladin class, I will assume that you are not a big fan of 'evil'

Just a suggestion.

[Stworca]

If you're looking for a change, an 'evil' run is quite a good idea..

Just dont go berserk in the middle of city (in BG1), unless You're ready for never-ending waves of enemies teleporting to kill you.

[CliffordTheBRD]

I have thought about trying a pure mage as well. but with only me and Imoen it seems like it would be very dificult in the beginning, so actually maybe thats what I am looking for. I have never used spells much, even when I had a full party my mages just used slings. Basically I have almost never used many spells. I really want to learn this aspect of the game. I rushed through BG1 once just o get to SoA with a Bard. Seemed kinda lame to just cast a ton of summons and let them do their thing. Never did finish that game. Thanks for all the ideas, keep them coming, I still have a day or two to go before I can even roll up a character.

Cliff

[RPGguy]

oh dear lord, you have no idea what you have been missing. :speech:

I understand how daunting learning the spells can be. There are so many and they don't always work the same for every encounter. But were you not curious as to what your foes have been using against you all this time? Or why you couldn't even scratch that enemy mage with his protections up?

The magic system in BG2 is especially wonderful. It's complex, diverse and adds many, many layers to the experience.

But since we are focusing on BG1 here, and because you are just getting started with it...I would suggest the following:

1. Definitely use a pure, specialist mage. You will get an extra spell slot per level and your castings are more powerful, so long as you stick to your school (i.e. better chance of the spell effecting your foe).

2. Since you don't like the idea of simply throwing summons out there, then skip the conjurer and try an enchanter instead. Most of the enemies in BG1 are humanoid and so they will be susceptible. Not to mention enchantment spells are very helpful during the early stages of the game since they totally incapacitate you foes.

3. remember to memorize ENCHANTMENT spells. Fill your spellbook with em. You can deal your evocation damage from wands.

4. you will need someone better than imoen to go up and whack your helpless (i.e. enchanted) foes to death. Highly recommend Ajantis but I understand if you're are sick of characters like that

Keep in mind though that I am not as confident with playing as an Enchanter in BG2. It would certainly be a challenge though!

Good luck

[CliffordTheBRD]

Thanks again, good info there. I did always wonder about those mages I was going up against. But I soon didn't care and just hacked therm to pieces!! (sometimes) I think I will try the pure mage. Any tips on weapons and gear? Or even stats? Sure do appreciate all the help, especially for such an old, but great game.

Thanks again!
Cliff

[RPGguy]

Thanks again, good info there. I did always wonder about those mages I was going up against. But I soon didn't care and just hacked therm to pieces!! (sometimes) I think I will try the pure mage. Any tips on weapons and gear? Or even stats? Sure do appreciate all the help, especially for such an old, but great game.

Thanks again!
Cliff

For a mage, make sure your INT is maxed. That is the absolute top priority. It effects the chance (%) that you will successfully memorize scrolls into your spellbook. It effects the number of spells per level you can add to your spellbook. It has other minor benefits such as your lore score.

Personally, I would drain WIS and CHA to 9. If you go lower than 9 then you will incur a -1 penalty for certain skill checks. With your remaining points, I would then max DEX as it reduces your AC and you need that innate 'armor' since you can only wear robes. After that, I would jack CON for more hit points and hit points per level when leveling up.

As for equipment, the Boots of Speed are going to be key to your survival. The Ring of Wizardry in BG1 doubles the number of LVL 1 spells. Get it! It was nerfed for BG2. For your other ring, I would recommend the Ring of Protection + 2 which will take your AC down 2 more points and reduce your saves across the board by 2 as well. Bracers of AC (whatever) will probably be one of your few choices there.

I think the best robes in the game are the Robe of the Good/Neutral/Evil Magi. My last playthru of BG1 i didn't have any arcane ability so my memory is not great in relation to robes, cloaks and belts for spellcasters. Maybe someone else can chime in to fill in the blanks.

As a spell caster in BG1, the last thing you should be contemplating is any sort of physical combat. So de-emphasize concerns about staffs and slings. If you find a staff that is especially damaging, great! You should only be swing the thing against immobilized or helpless foes however. Avoid melee entirely.

Slings and throwing darts only when you are desperate. If your mage dies, make sure he goes down because his entre spell book has been drained dry. Dying otherwise is a waste IMO

[RPGguy]

And one more important thing!!!

Potions of Invisibility are not plentiful in BG1. They are pretty scarce. Make sure they all go to your mage and always keep them stacked in one of your quick slots for quick escapes.

There is little-to-no Divination magic used by your enemies (True sight, Oracle etc..) and I can't remember more than one or two enemies that can inherently see through invisibility.

[Pellinore]

Girdle of Piercing gives +4 AC vs. missile weapons. You need this for a caster of any sort.

[CliffordTheBRD]

Well I started a new game. I have a Pure Elf Mage. I am really having fun too. Finding new ways to deal with the bad guys is great, no more runnin in swords blazin, little more strategy involved. I am currently a Level 5 with 27 HP. I have the ring of wizardry, ring of prot +1, girdle of piercing, darts of wounding, darts of stunning, sling +1, dagger +1, and algernons cloak. I am about 3,000 gold shy of getting the good archmagi robe from high hedge, soon as I get that i will head off to the mines. I have only died twice, tarnesh at the friendly arm and a siren over on the coast. I am going solo by the way. I also started another game with a paladin and imoen, gonna duel imoen and just keep that party until BGII where it will be me, imoen, and servok. I do have a few questions though. How does a solo mage go about dealing with things like a battle horror? the fights in durlags tower, the four little dudes, chess board fight? the demon in ulgoths beard? any tips on these fights will be much appreciated. I really want to keep this run solo if at all possible. Also, should I install a cap remover or will i be able to get the high level spells due to being solo?

thanks!!!
Cliff

[RPGguy]

It's cool you came back to let us know what you were doing with all the suggestions. Even cooler you are having fun.

What school did you specialize in?

Definitely remove the XP cap remover!!!

When you tell me what kid of Mage you are, I will offer some suggestions for some of the tougher encounters.

[CliffordTheBRD]

No specialty, just a plain old mage. I was going to do a specialization but I don't know the opposite schools and such and didn't want to end up having not been able to use a certain a spell or something. Right now I am using alot of magic missiles, sleep, armor, blur, mirror image and now I have one level three spell. I have only learned hold person, skull trap, and flame arrow so far. Yeah it sure is fun, I actually had to melee with that fool inside the red Sheaf Inn, but I had a potion of defense and blurr. My AC was -8, he couldn't touch me, so I just wailed on him with a staff, it only took one critical and he dropped. I am gonna go run around for a while now and try to gain the rest of my gold to get that robe. Any more tips on the harder fights is much appreciated!!

Thanks
Cliff

[RPGguy]

I shouldn't assume. Do you have tutu installed?

[CliffordTheBRD]

no just BG and the official patch. I did install a cap remover however there was nothing that said it worked. I got my money and my robe, on my way to the mines now.

Cliff

[CliffordTheBRD]

Sorry, I have TotSC installed too.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

How does a solo mage go about dealing with things like a battle horror? the fights in durlags tower, the four little dudes, chess board fight? the demon in ulgoths beard? any tips on these fights will be much appreciated. I really want to keep this run solo if at all possible.

Also, should I install a cap remover or will i be able to get the high level spells due to being solo?

If you mean HLA spells like Time Stop etc, you'll only get them with Tutu or BGTrilogy. As for higher-level normal spells like Horrid Wilting, they probably won't be available in the vanilla BG/TotSC game files and even if they are I didn't find any scrolls above level 5.
So to answer both your questions at once: install EasyTutu (and whatever addons you want, I only used the NPC Project and level 1 NPCs), CLUAConsole in scrolls for higher-level spells as/when you need them, solo as much of the game as you can so as to boost your XP as much as possible, and from there it should just be a matter of patience, planning, serious strategy and luck. I have no idea how a solo mage from vanilla BG could beat some of the big nasties, though I'm sure someone here will have done it.

Seriously, I cannot stress enough the benefits of Tutuing BG1/TotSC - the faster walking speed, the better level advancement, the kits and extra classes...I just can't handle vanilla BG after being used to the BG2 engine.

[RPGguy]

ya, it's going to be very tough for you for certain encounters. You may have to grab some NPCs for certain areas...just to have them run around as decoys while you pelt away with spells/wands.

I have no idea how you will get through certain aspects of Durlag's without some at least some help. When you get to a specific encounter you can't handle, give us a shout-out here and we can brainstorm.

Solo'ing, you'll probably hit LVL 20+ but without the associated spells and HLAs, you may have to envoke some of that especially heinous spell: Eliminster's Fromage :laugh: