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I just (10 minutes ago) finished my first SoA/ToB game. I can't believe I slept on this product for over 6 years. Better late than never I suppose. Absolutely the most complete gaming experience of my career. Never felt more satisfied (and spent).

I ran with an elf sorcerer and almost no AD&D experience. 128 deaths later, Mo'us Fo'us (i.e. Mo-fo in 'Realm'-speakenese) assumed the throne of Bhaal at level 28.

I ran with Edwin (level 27). Me and him lit up the screen with destructive magic. What a fireworks show. Obviously, he specialized in summoning fodder while I zapped stuff. I kept Imoen and developed/focused her mage skillz on anti-magic (i.e. True Seeing, Breaching, Piercing Magic, Khelben's, Spell Striking etc...). She played an essential role, especially in ToB obviously. I got her up to level Mage level 26 before the end.

My tanks were Korgan (LVL 35), Sarevok (LVL 31) and Anomen (LVL 39). Pretty much evil in constitution. Anomen's constant biotch'ing about the quality of his company was irritating but god bless his TURN UNDEAD and high-level priest spellz so I put up with it.

I also want to extend special thanks to the following:

-Korgan,...my god damn personal hero!
-those lovely Wands of Spell Striking
-Crom Faeyr
-Ravenger +6
-The XYZ Spell Reference site
-this site of course!

I'm proud to say I got through the game without any cheats or walk-thru's although I admit I had to research what the hell to do with Kangaax in Demi-lich form. I had no idea what was happening to my doods with the Imprisonment spells and (of course) figuring out why nothing I threw at him was hitting. I also had to research those Ulithid (Mind Flayer) things cause that brain-eating gig messed me up bad the first time I encountered it. Surprisingly, everything else I was able to figure out independently with a little trial and error.

And now? Well now I can plow through these forums without fear of accidentally reading a spoiler...and with some semblance of what the hell you all are talking about. No more selective clicking!!!

Thanks for indulging this ridiculous post!

PS. What's with the Bronze tighty-whities you get from the newb party in the caves of Abazigal's Lair???

Congratulations

I've been following your posts and it's nice to hear that you got through the game and that you find the game as extraordinarily good as most of the members of this forum.

The Bronze Pantalettes........are the final component of one of the imho most well thought out easter eggs ever, known as "The Pantaloons Enigma". There is a very well written article on the subject here on Gamebanshee. Happy reading - and once again congratulations:

http://www.gamebanshee.com/baldursgatei ... enigma.php

Henry Gondorff wrote: The Bronze Pantalettes........are the final component of one of the imho most well thought out easter eggs ever, known as "The Pantaloons Enigma". There is a very well written article on the subject here on Gamebanshee. Happy reading - and once again congratulations:

http://www.gamebanshee.com/baldursgatei ... enigma.php

w00t! Now that was clever. Anyone got a screenshot of their inventory equipped with the 'big metal unit' or whatever?

Where to go from here

RPG Guy (sorta) wrote:Anyone got a screenshot of their inventory equipped with the 'big metal unit' or whatever?

I don't have a screen shot, but both the Big Metal Unit & Rod are in the equipment database. Check out the top two items:
http://www.gamebanshee.com/baldursgatei ... s.php#null

RPG Guy (sorta) wrote:Absolutely the most complete gaming experience of my career. Never felt more satisfied (and spent).

Very well said, couldn't agree more. The day I was done with my run through the game, my sentiments were the exact same as yours are today. Then came the day after...

The problem with the great games is that they are rare, and they make every other game pale in comparison. "Half-life" did it with me and the First-Person Shooter genre. For many years after "Half-life", that genre lost it's luster with me, because for a long time nothing came close to the "being in a movie" escapism that "Half-life" executed so well.

Many on this forum have been more or less disappointed with RPG titles that have come post-BG2. It's not really fair to compare the BG Saga to other games such as "Knights of the Old Republic", "Jade Empire", and especially "Neverwinter Nights", because they were each designed with a different emphasis in mind.

But fair or not, they just ain't Baldur's Gate.

So I would guess that at some point tomorrow, you'll wonder where to go from here. A few thoughts:

If you consider that the BG Saga has a 50/50 mix of story and action, then consider the other two games that use the same game engine: "Planescape: Torment" which has about an 80/20 mix of story/action, and "Icewind Dale" (with HoW & TotLM expansions) which has about a 20/80 mix of story/action. (Torment's story is the best Anything period.)

"Icewind Dale 2" also uses a bastardized version of the BG/IWD game engine, which uses the D&D Third Edition rules.

BG2 has great replay value. Pick a different class & NPC's, and it becomes a different experience (at least, more so than most other RPG games). Peruse the forums, as you mentioned, and you'll see what you missed, what would have happened if you did this instead of that, and various general nuances of this rather intricate game.

And when BG2 is no longer different, check out the BG2 mod sites. They add new quests, banter, areas, items, joinable NPC's, new ending to ToB... the list goes on and on. There have been too many positive opinions, in particular about mods that add joinable NPC's, to not give them a look. One could truly make a career playing the BG Saga.

And finally, the closest thing to BG2 is, well, BG1.

If you got any questions about any games mentioned (they all have their own forums here), then ask away!

: "Planescape: Torment" which has about an 80/20 mix of story/action,

Not quite true. While this is getting a bit off topic, PS:T can really hit you with some epic battles if you only configure your character for a fighter, and forget about such niceties as intelligence and wisdom. You'll miss out on a lot of dialog options that let you just float by.

For the rest, RPG Guy (sorta), congrats on your first run through. These are truly great games, made by a small company whose four owners were physicians that loved roleplaying. That Bioware no longer exists. Several of the owners left, the staff grew huge, formula set in, and now they strictly pay homage to The Bottom Line. But there was a time when they didn't; and the BG series was the result.

Many thanks CFM/fable, for the links and especially the tips.

Having played this game practically 8 hours per day for over a month, I need to take a break from gaming. But when I get the RPG itch again, I'll know where to go.

There is, however, a little matter of God of War 2 I have to settle first. I believe some button mashing is in order. Again, thanks for the replies and the quality of your effort in particular CFM. Planescape seems to be a must-play so, as usual, I'll do what I must.

RPG Guy (sorta) wrote:Planescape seems to be a must-play so, as usual, I'll do what I must.

Oh, it is. That game is, if anything, a must-play. Personally I view it as a Baldur's Gate that lacks balance - the gameplay isn't close to that of BGs (but again, nothing is), which get rids of most actiontwits pretty fast, but what it lacks in fights it makes up for in characters/storyline. It excels so much in that area, it's scary.

And yeah, I'd say 80/20 is about right for that game, if Baldur's Gate is 40/60.

Thrifalas wrote:Oh, it is. That game is, if anything, a must-play. Personally I view it as a Baldur's Gate that lacks balance - the gameplay isn't close to that of BGs (but again, nothing is), which get rids of most actiontwits pretty fast, but what it lacks in fights it makes up for in characters/storyline. It excels so much in that area, it's scary.

And yeah, I'd say 80/20 is about right for that game, if Baldur's Gate is 40/60.

I actually really hated my main character in PS:T, It was brilliant. I didn't play it until a year or so ago. Or maybe two... The more I found out about what the Nameless One had done before, the more I disliked the person he used to be, and the more I wanted him to make amends. I've never gotten that emotionally involved in a game before or since. Not in that way at least.

But back on topic: Congrats on the victory. I don't think I actually got all the way through more than, at most, a handful of times. I've gotten quite far a lot... Somehow I seem to have trouble finishing...