A barrell full of questions (I know u can ALL help with)

Groover · Post by **Groover** » Wed Jul 30, 2003 1:57 pm

thanks for the offer to find out what i have, but how do I know myself what is best for who?

cheers dude

Baked Goods · Post by **Baked Goods** » Wed Jul 30, 2003 11:19 pm

thanks for the offer to find out what i have, but how do I know myself what is best for who?

By this i meant simply telling my what you had found recently in your travels in Amn, such as the girdle of bluntness found in the dungeon and i could use that as a guide on equipment distribution between your party members.

First off, i initially had a tendency to be selfish

and give all the best gear to my PC (player character (you!) as opposed to NPC- non- playing character (Jaheira)). Distribution for the best party is the way to go-

I guess as your only concernd with rings and necklaces etc, you have probably sorted out the rest. Always read the discriptions in detail and the actual affects of the item.

In keeping with the Girdle of bluntness theme which im assuming you have, here is a basic example:

Girdle of Bluntness: 'Destroyer of the Hills'
Having lost friends and loved ones to a series of raids by hill giants, Garrar The Powerful made it his mission to cleanse his homeland of their presence. It is not known where he acquired this item, but with it he single handedly dispatched dozens of the creatures, all the while protected from the blows of their clubs. The remaining giants fled to neighboring lands, lands that lacked a similar champion and did not fare as well.

STATISTICS:

Armor Class Bonus: +4 vs. blunt weapons
Weight: 2
Not Usable By:
Wizard Slayer

So, this girdle protects from blunt weapons which are mostly going to be encountered by you tanks, therefore i check the stats of my tanks and give the girdle to the tank with the weakest resistance to blunt weapons.

Hope this helps, not sure if i'm on the right track, anyway fire away if you have any other queries.

Groover · Post by **Groover** » Sat Aug 02, 2003 4:40 am

Cheers again,

I dont appear to have the gurdle of bluntness??? should i go back and find it?

Most of my rings and necklases dont have any stats, just a simple description such as gold, and can be of any length...etc... not very revealing.

I have ring of human influence, which is self explanatry as there is a more detailed description of it... I take it then, that if there are no stats it is simply a 'fashion item' ?
I have gold, onyx and bloodstone rings too which seem pretty useless, should i sell them?

back to gurdle of bluntness....to be blunt (groan), i would like to get my hands on that, as it would be pretty good for my lower defense players. can i go back in the dungeons?

Also, I would like to try and play in turn based mode, just see if it helps to see all the action more. How do I do that?

thank you for your help.

fable · Post by **fable** » Sat Aug 02, 2003 7:35 am

If you need complete descriptions and stats on what every item in BG2 does, try Dan Simpson's Item List, here.

VonDondu · Post by **VonDondu** » Sat Aug 02, 2003 9:44 am

Originally posted by Groover
I dont appear to have the gurdle of bluntness??? should i go back and find it?

...to be blunt (groan), i would like to get my hands on that, as it would be pretty good for my lower defense players. can i go back in the dungeons?

No, you can't go back to Irenicus's dungeon. When you emerged in Waukeen's Promenade and saw Irenicus battling his assailants, the tunnel collapsed behind you. Now you know that it's best to thoroughly explore an area before you leave it (and that you should save your game so you can go back if the need arises).

As for the Girdle of Bluntness in particular, it's only helpful if an attacker inflicts blunt damage, which is relatively rare. Most monsters inflict slashing damage. As you might have guessed, there's a girdle that protects against slashing damage, and I consider it to be more useful on the whole than the Girdle of Bluntness.

Originally posted by Groover
I have ring of human influence, which is self explanatry as there is a more detailed description of it... I take it then, that if there are no stats it is simply a 'fashion item'? I have gold, onyx and bloodstone rings too which seem pretty useless, should i sell them?

Normally, if an item description does not describe any particular benefit in wearing an item, you can safely assume that it's just generic "treasure" and you should sell it for gold (or just leave it on the ground if it's only worth a few gold pieces). Your inventory will fill up with "junk" quite rapidly if you let it. If you're not sure whether an item might come in handy later and you're not yet ready to sell it, you can store it safely in most "containers" you see inside buildings and on the street. Just make sure that a container isn't guarded before you try to store something in it, or someone might think you're stealing when you try to retrieve your own items.

I'm going to repeat my previous suggestion and recommend that you play Baldur's Gate (the original) before you play BG2: Shadows of Amn. You can learn a lot about D&D by playing Baldur's Gate, whether you realize you're learning about D&D or not. Baldur's Gate more closely matches the progression of a pen-and-paper game than any of its successors. Plus it's a lot simpler. Even ordinary gems seem valuable (because treasure is so scarce). but when you find a really valuable, you KNOW it, and what's more, you APPRECIATE it. After playing BG2: Shadows of Amn, you might not realize how special it is to find a +1 weapon. Your skills as a player will also improve over time as you master spells and items and think up your own strategies, and BG1 is good preparation for playing BG2. Furthermore, BG1 is more "forgiving" in the sense that you have a lot more second chances than you do in BG2, and you can usually go back to areas you've visited before if you discover that you missed something.

I think it's alright to ask for a few hints, but personally, I don't like spoilers and walkthroughs (although I'm certainly willing to provide them to other players who ask for them). I like to discover things on my own and be surprised. That makes it easier to feel like I'm actually "there", and that's one the things that makes the game so fun.

Groover · Post by **Groover** » Sun Aug 03, 2003 1:13 pm

Thanks for the tips once again VonDondu, but I really am OK with SoA, I am not totaly new to the world of RPG, since about 15 years ago when I used to play Blood Bowl board/paper version, and have since loved all RPG on Spectrum, Mega drive and Playstation. I just a need a few pointers that will get me going, so please no more offers to "Cease my game" as its a bit dis-heartening as I am sooooo hooked on SoA already.

I do however appreciate your "Wizardly" knowedge and experience and tips you have already given me, and hope you continue to do so, but I shall not be defeated.....Tally ho! and soldier on........

VonDondu · Post by **VonDondu** » Sun Aug 03, 2003 3:20 pm

I'm sorry, it wasn't my intention to "discourage" you. I saw that you asked in another thread how many games there are in the Baldur's Gate series, so I thought perhaps you were considering playing them in order. However, if you want to finish playing your current game of Shadows of Amn before you start over or play a different game, I'm sure you can succeed. The game isn't so difficult to master that someone new (or fairly new) to RPGs can't play it for the first time and win the game.

However, I do think that your skills will improve dramatically the more you play (I know mine did), and I hope that you will replay the game or try playing the other games in the series. The same encounters will seem a lot different when you have some experience under your belt. Another benefit to replaying the game is that you can try a completely different character and a completely different party. That won't make the whole game seem completely different, but the roleplaying experience will seem a lot different. Plus if there was anything you missed before (and there probably will be, since no game is perfect), you can go back and see what you missed.

Whenever you get a chance, I do hope you'll play the original Baldur's Gate. When it first came out, I got hooked on it just like you got hooked on BG2: Shadows of Amn. (It goes without saying that I also got hooked on BG2.)

Besides, I think there are a lot of special things about BG1. First of all, playing a 1st Level character is a unique experience. Being small and fairly helpless creates the feeling that the outside world is huge and dangerous. That feeling simply isn't repeated in BG2, where you know you're ready (or you can get ready) for anything. BG1 also feels different because it feels like there's (literally) more to explore. BG2 usually points you where you need to go in a straightforward way (as long as you pay attention to obvious clues), and you don't have to wander around a lot to get to your destination. BG1, on the other hand, is full of huge wilderness areas, which makes it feel a lot more expansive. Again, this adds to the feeling that the outside world is huge and dangerous. I think some of that was deliberately scrapped in BG2 because too many players said they just wanted to follow a walk-through and get to where they needed to go without doing a lot of footwork. To be honest, BG2 has a much smoother flow, and you're less likely to feel that you might have missed something if you didn't comb every area with a finetooth comb. (BG1 has "easter eggs" which I think you were only supposed to find if you got really lucky, but now that everyone knows about them, everyone feels entitled to them, so having to look really hard to find them is annoying.)

And finally, I think the storyline in BG1 is interesting. If you haven't played BG2, then almost everything in BG1 seems like a mystery, and that makes the game appealing. There's also the feeling that you're always being chased by dangerous enemies, and that simply isn't repeated in BG2, where you do all of the chasing. Plus, if you play BG1, then BG2, then Throne of Bhaal, you'll see a lot of continuity--it's all one big saga, and it would be a shame to miss the first part of it.

So, even if you play BG2 first (and follow it up with Throne of Bhaal because, naturally, you want to finish the story), I hope you'll go back and play BG1. I went back and played BG1 after I finished BG2 and Throne of Bhaal. I have to say that BG1 seemed a lot easier than it did before since I had learned so many new tricks from playing BG2; but I'm happy to say that BG1 had lost none of its magic.

Groover · Post by **Groover** » Mon Aug 04, 2003 11:27 am

hehe, you really are a little diamond arnt ya!

I have only had my new puter a month or so, and to be honest, when i bought BG SoA, I thought it was the sequal to Dark Alliance, which I now know was purley made for the Playstation2 (thats what the other thread was for...to see where Dark Alliance fitted into the scene).

As I now know you are of the "female" variety......i can now happily say that i would love to kiss ya face off! (with full confidence!!)

Cheers again darlin for the tips, and I am sure we will banter again in the near future!

I bow to your admiral knowledge!

p.s. i would play BG1, but think after spending nearly £2k (thats about $3k over in USA) on a new G4 Mac and Cinema Display, i feel i cant justify spending anymore cash on my computer at all just yet!

Ill have to see what Santa brings me, as I think BG@ will keep me out of trouble till then.....

Thanks again VonDondu, catch ya laters!

carabel6 · Post by **carabel6** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 9:32 am

turn-based game question

I was reading some of your replies to turn-based playing and I didn't see anyone tell you this. You don't need to hit space bar every time (although that's one way of doing it). Just go into the options part before loading game to play. There are "autopause" options. Look at the various places you can make the game pause everytime. "At the end of a round", "when a player gets hit", when a player is critically wounded", these are just a few. I've found the best way to play, for me, is to hit space bar when I want to do something that takes a little time. Like casting a spell or using an item. Hit the space bar, set up your attacks and spells, then let it ride. Just keep in mind sometimes players won't move on to there next target after destroying one, and you might want to pause again to cast more spells. In general, if your not going to have your whole party just attack until everyones dead, you'll probably be better off using that pause button. GOOD LUCK!!

Hesperus · Post by **Hesperus** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 5:35 pm

With all due respect, especially in respect to VonDondu, shouldn't the male/female, "kiss ya face off," and "darlin" comments be avoided in the thread as such talk is disrespectful, irrelevant to the game, and is a borderline violation of forum rule 3?

Groover · Post by **Groover** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 7:27 am

I think you should take a chill pill!!!

Should I wish to use "terms of endeerment" in my chat, I will.....

fable · Post by **fable** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 6:43 pm

I think this entire thread is in danger of getting derailed. Everyone, please keep personal attacks out of it. If it continues into a flamewar, the thread will be closed down, and the site owner will get to decide if anybody loses their membership privleges. I would also suggest that the right place for flirting isn't here, but down in the SYM (Speak Your Mind) forum on GB, meant (in part) for spam; and only with members who have taken part and shown an active interest.

Carry on--but with less heat and more light.