What is a Stronghold?

Thomas77 · Post by **Thomas77** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 1:52 pm

I've searched all over this forum and I haven't found any straight answer's to this. I've seen threads on how to obtain one or other small info, but nothing about what it actually is.
I've played BGII all the way to the Underdark but never heard or saw anything about a Stronghold.
Soooo, what is a Stronghold and what would it do for you?

FireLighter · Post by **FireLighter** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 2:09 pm

Strongholds depend on what character you are. If you are a bard, after rescuing haer'dalis and saving them from the astral prison, raelis gives you the deed to the play house which triggers the thunderburp barkeep to come down and he tells you about a manager that has been around and out of work and who will make you prosperous. There are more strongholds and Im not gonna go into detail about which ones are there and how to get them as they are mentioned in the gamebanshee walkthrough of bg2 SoA. Anyways they basically give you exp, as some small quests come with each one and can be don in a number of ways. After a little bit, you will begin to earn money depending on what you tell the spokesperson for yourself at your stronghold. Basically a stronghold is like an acquired base and a place you can go to chill or whatever. I prefer to leave my stuff I need and cant carry in my stronghold as it is more roleplayish of your character to do. Hope this helps you at least a little.

Phantom Lord · Post by **Phantom Lord** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 2:33 pm

To put it as simple as possible:

A stronghold is a home for your party and with it comes some specific business, i.e. you have to decide some things. No big issues though. You may earn some coin or items and some XP, but nothing spectacular. You have to earn the place first, typically by freeing the place from its former "owner" in one of the quests you already know.

The type of the stronghold depends on the class of the PC (multiclass can chose between different options). It's your own castle (fighter) / guild (thief) / temple (cleric) and so on. Examples on strongholds and how to get them:

Castle: Nalia's Keep (remove trolls on request from Nalia)
Guild: Mae'Vars Guild (remove Mae'Var on request from Renal Bloodscalp)
Wizard Lab: Planar Sphere (clean up & remove Lavok on request from Valgyar)

One big warning: Do NOT store any items in the place before it becomes your stronghold, the areas will be reset and all items stored there will be gone (especially nasty if they're quest items).

Thomas77 · Post by **Thomas77** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 3:47 pm

So really the Stronghold doesn't serve much purpose, other than to just add another angle to the game. It's not really part of the story then....

Phantom Lord · Post by **Phantom Lord** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 4:24 pm

Yup, it's not fundamental for your success in the game.

But I certainly loved the idea when BG2 was released (and still do). It simply adds something special to the game to have your own, personal place in the game world. Sure you can store your stuff in some keg in a back alley too, technically, but getting back "home" and minding your own business from time to time, say after slaughtering another dragon for coin or cause, is just great.

Narlen Darkwalk · Post by **Narlen Darkwalk** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 4:40 pm

[QUOTE=Thomas77]So really the Stronghold doesn't serve much purpose, other than to just add another angle to the game. It's not really part of the story then....[/QUOTE]

No, but you would do well to get your stronghold as the quests give lots of good experience/items. Every time I play, I at least do the quests for the paladin, fighter, cleric, bard and mage strongholds (thief as well if I'm an evil character). Of course, you only get the stronghold that fits your class and the quests that come with the acquisition of that stronghold, but all the extra experience/items is well worth it. You also meet a few very good party members that you wouldn't ordinarily meet by just following the main storyline.

dj_venom · Post by **dj_venom** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 6:52 pm

Strongholds add to the reply ability factor. You play through as a fighter, and you get the specific quests. Next time, you might play as a ranger, and you get completley different quests, and different items.

Hybrid · Post by **Hybrid** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 7:16 am

What if I'm a multiclassed char? Can I have two strongholds then?

Thrain · Post by **Thrain** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 7:51 am

in the original version of the game, it was possible but only if you were a fighter type multiclass (fighter/thief, fighter/mage etc.)

the patches eliminated it though

fable · Post by **fable** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 8:12 am

There's a "stronghold fix" that was released several years ago by a player that lets you get all the strongholds. However, it's buggy, and I would not suggest running it. You could easily get stuck in areas with no exit. I tried it once, and ended up in the fighter stronghold with the drawbridge raised, unable to leave.

Thomas77 · Post by **Thomas77** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 4:11 pm

Right on, thanks guy's!

Thog · Post by **Thog** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 4:23 pm

Do you know

if they may have fixed it or released another one??