GameBanshee Forums

Hey guys.

I bought BG2 Gold (or whatever it is, anyways it comes with ToB) from GoG, and want to play it now. Thing is, I don't really have time to play BG1 as well (good possibility I won't be gaming at all in a couple months), and also I've heard BG1 is more Elders Scrollsish (i.e. less strong narrative, more "exploration"). I'm really not into that style of RPGing so I thought I'd go ahead and skip it. Is that blasphemy ? Does anyone know of some good summaries I can read of BG1's story? The wiki is really short.

I dont know what the wiki states but you are correct in your estimations, so there isnt much to write about. The story is quite good though, has a "the sixth sense" effect, i was quite amazed. But chances are if you read the wiki your are already spoiled. Skipping BG1 is okay. Both games are not really connected. At the end of bg1 events the party is stunned, stripped of equipment, and moved into other location, a clean start. Bg2 has some recurring characters but most are marked as such and with according dialog options. like "i think i killed you some time ago" is a dead giveaway, heh.

difficult question, one i can not simply answer with a yes or no

the structure of BG1 is looser, there's more exploration, that is true. But I think calling it elder scrollish is maybe a bit exaggerated. Sure there are many areas you could skip, and those zones have quests that have no direct ties to the main quest, but it still isn't very open world. BG2 also has many quests in chapter 2 which don't directly relate to your main story, but there they give a very believable reason to do them. In BG1 the reason is less compelling, but it doesn't hinder, imo. In BG1 you basically leave Candlekeep and are faced with several mysteries (deliberately being vague), and you investigate them by exploring the world and looking for clues and explanations. Many of the zones you come across will not help you in your investigation, but are still nice to do.

Storywise there is a strong link between the games, and there also isn't. The story of BG1 is wrapped up in BG1, but it is part of a greater saga, an overarcing storyline. Some of your discoveries in BG1 will lead to the events that cause the main storyline in BG2, and will ultimately climax in ToB, the expansion of BG2

Gameplaywise (is that even a word?) there is a difference too. The game engine in BG2 has been improved and many small changes were made to improve the quality (hurray for gem bags and scroll cases, and bigger arrow stacks, and ...). That is to be expected of course, they had time and feedback to improve the gameplay. While BG2 is, imo, the superior game in terms of gameplay, BG1 is still very solid and good. It's like comparing Terminator 1 to Terminator 2. T1 is good, very good even, but you can't beat T2.

Another difference is the "level of tactics", for a lack of better description. In BG1 you start as a level one. You have poor THACO (hit chance), and low HP. A single wolf could literally kill you if you are alone and poorly equiped. Survival is an issue early in BG1 and it gives a good (and fun) sense of danger. As you find more party members, better gear and level up, the danger is less of course. In BG2 you have a lower risk of dying, there the tactics are less a matter of pure survival, but more a way to deal with more complex enemies. You have more spells, certain items have special abilities, etc.

Personally I would advice you to not skip BG1. Even if only for the story. And the fun of importing your BG1 character into BG2 You'll grow attached to your little guy, seeing him grow from the weak level one to a BADASS high level (depends on class and other things)
You say you have little time the next few months, but what after that? What if you look at things in the long term? I'd say it's worth the time investment
When I started playing I skipped BG1 because I only had BG2, and later I regretted that.

Honestly, my introduction to the series was BG2, and it was only afterwards that I moved on to the first. I'd actually recommend you do the same. BG2 really a much better game than its predecessor in both gameplay and story. BG1 can be a great game if you are willing to play it on its own terms, but no, I can personally confirm that you'll be missing no important information without playing it, and BG2 is completely playable on its own terms. If you fall in love with the series and want to move to the first (as I did) that's great, but don't feel bad about playing the superior game first.

Honestly, I didn't feel like the story of BG1 was anything special. Sure, it had it's highlights, but it was more "loose" whereas BG2's story is more focused... The highlight for me of BG1 was the freedom to go where I wanted, combined with all the amazing characters and character interactions. And there are much more of that in BG2, anyway... so... I personally don't really see any reason for you to play through Bg1 as you won't really miss anything. Everything that happens in BG1 is explained from the start in BG2, and the most interesting characters from BG1 are still there in BG2.

Story aside I believe that a character from Baldur's Gate 1 imported into Baldur's Gate 2 could be stronger then a brand new character created in Baldur's Gate 2 though importing a character will I think restricts your class selection. The reason for the character being stronger is that there a books that can increase your attributes permanently which are kept when importing your character. I think that you might also start with high experience.

yes the bonuses of the tomes you find in BG1 are permanent and carry over to BG2, making it posible to start with higher stats than a freshly rolled character

Without the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion of BG1, the exp cap is 89.000
with the expansion the cap is 161.000
A newly rolled character in BG2 starts with 89.000 exp
A character imported from BG1 to BG2 starts with as much exp he had at the end of BG1. So an imported character can start from a slightly higher level

When you import a character your class is fixed, a druid can not become a thief for example, but you CAN choose a sub-class if you desire. So the druid could become an avenger or whatever. Stat restrictions on the sub-class are disregarded, for example an avenger has -2 CON, so if you roll one your max is 16, but if you had 18 in BG1 and used a tome you could have 19 in BG2 and still be an avenger

Thomas Brorsson wrote:Honestly, I didn't feel like the story of BG1 was anything special. Sure, it had it's highlights, but it was more "loose" whereas BG2's story is more focused...

It's the other way around. BG2 is all about the side quests and the main quest is pretty short.

BG1 is much better game in my opinion.