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I've tried stuff like no reloads before. It's a lot of fun!

Somebody suggested on the Bioware website a "minimum stats" game. I'm trying this now with a self made party of 4 characters, and I'm having a blast! When was the last time you found a good use for Mauler's Arm?

I'm playing with the following party:

Elf Stalker
HalfElf Cleric/Ranger
Gnome Thief/Illusionist
Elf Sorcerer (protagonist)

It's a lot of fun restricting yourself. Has anybody else done anything similar?

I've just started recently it's painfull.............. but ............. I've restricted the use of mages to 0 (I usually roll with at least 2 full mages not including any multiclasses) slight spoilers ahead

Spoiler

The problem is Imoen. I can't imagine forsaking all roleplay elements and leaving her at spellhold I might turn her into a swashbuckler

I played a sorcerer with minimum stats recently, mainly because I was trying to test wise_grimwald's wrapping idea. And wow, she ended up stronger than a normal sorcerer due to my discovery with familiars and Tenser's Transformation. It was hellish at first, but after I got Shapechange it was smooth sailing. I played a few years back with a monk, but restricted myself by using only weapons, no fists as well. It was... interesting.

I got bored of mages. After you solo, it's hard to get back to partying. XD

Well, I always restrict myself from using all kind of cheese and exploits, like taking multiple assassination with fighter/thieves or trigging summons with spell cont, and the spell Spell Immunity: Divination, because frankly, it's the only non-cheating way of going Godmode.

I've played through without a tank a couple of times. Tried without a pure mage, but gave in finally,love a good mage..:laugh:
and of course the no cheesy items....

I've found after playing through many times the most enjoyable for me, are the solo or small party attempts...

BlueSky wrote:I've played through without a tank a couple of times. Tried without a pure mage, but gave in finally,love a good mage..:laugh:
and of course the no cheesy items....

I'm not sure this actually counts as a restriction, but I once went through with an all mage/sorc party. No healers, no tanks, no thieves... just lots and lots of fireballs and horrid wilting spells. It was...er... a blast

I'm not sure it counts as a serious restriction, *spoiler* but I don't change into the Slayer. Ever. Well, apart from those first two times when it happens without me having any control over it.

Huh... I always thought it to be more of a disadvantage than an advantage...

Well, the form isn't quite as funny the tenth time you play through the game, but it did have it's advantages in the first run. But I mean, come on, it's still the most powerful shapeshange in the game that doesn't waste a level 9 mage slot and that you get quite early on. ;]

Doesn't have the same edge in ToB that it had in SoA though.

That's true although I still say that the slot is worth it for the shapechange as it does give you access to two of the best "weapons" in the game and buffing yourself makes it all the better.

I've never really put strange restrictions on myself. But one restriction you could try is soloing as a mage or sorcerer and not using level 9 mage spells, see how low you can restrict the level of spells you can cast and still beat the game.

Or maybe in a mage/sorcerer solo limit yourself to something like 20 mage spells, 10 defense and 10 offense (with spells not technically either allow yourself to replace either a defense or offense spell with it). And don't allow yourself to use the TOB spells you gain automatically eventually unless you chose to use one of them as one of your 20 spells.

Hmm, now that I've said that it sounds like fun, when I'm not so busy in real life maybe I should try that 20 spell challenge.

This happened unintentionally, in my current game of BG where I'm soloing a bard, but I have yet to use a healing potion...

I allowed my dudes to rest only once a day, and only at night. Well, for the most part, anyways.

Being able to reload spells, items, and abilities only once a day added some tactical challenge.

Plus, recognizing the day- and night-time hours seemed to enhance the atmosphere a bit. Being caught outdoors in the city at night in Chapter 2 felt spoooky.

Also, I formed a weird habit of never using potions, wands, casting from scrolls, or using any other consumable items. Ever. The one and only time I played through the whole Saga, the whole way I kept thinking "save them for the really really hard parts". Then I'd forget about them. Then the game was over.

About a year ago, another player said he wanted to play a "minimal experience" game, which he called "The XP-Free BGII Challenge". I was fascinated by the idea, so I tried it myself and posted my results. Unfortunately, I think I pissed off the original poster, so I've been a little hesitant to share my results in this thread.

My own game was more of an experiment than a real game. As a result, I didn't keep track of everything, and I probably got more experience than the minimum. I mainly wanted to see what would happen in certain situations. I also wanted to play the game in my own style, which meant getting as much treasure as I could and helping as many people as I could. A couple of observations: 1) the infinite trap cheese exploit WORKS, and I abused it as much as possible; and 2) you end up getting tons of experience no matter how hard you try to avoid it.

I quit playing when I reached the Underdark. The guy who suggested the idea never finished posting his own results (perhaps he abandoned his own game, too), I wasn't getting any feedback, and I foresaw a linear path which would result in experience points for every single one of my actions, so I didn't see any point in continuing. But you can read about what happened in my game on the second page of that message thread.