we already have one up

>male human fighter 1/cleric x or half-orc cleric (depends on something I havent checked yet), is the bhaalspawn
>male dwarf fighter
>male elf ranger
>male halfling thief
>female halfelf bard (party leader)
>female gnome illusionist

I wanted to do no kits, single classes, two 18s with everything else kinda low or one 18 and two 16s for stats. A self-imposed rule that if a ranged character is engaged in melee, they cant run away to kite, they have to switch to melee and fight. SGS, tweaks, spell revisions, rogue rebalancing.

>>3986792
I saw an IWD thread, but no BG or IE one.

I am almost always a fan of exclusively playing cRPGs with custom parties and eschewing the “companions”, however I think BG2 is one of the few games that suffer for it. Probably one of the last cRPGs with likeable companions. You do miss some of the experience without them. I did this a few years ago (made a custom party of four and imported from bg1 through ToB) and it feels a bit empty.

>>3986797
thats about what I expected
the last time I played bg2 I picked all the companions I actually like (except korgan; no more room and he'd desert anyway), despite them not being very synergistic with each other, so I feel I can skip npcs this time without feeling bad about it
I intend on playing slowly to soak up the atmosphere; maybe that'll help as well

>>3986792
just lying for the sake of being annoying

I was just thinking today how retarded it is that some village days away sends a lone child to the big evil city to get help. How could such a retarded system ever survive a D&D world?

making your own party instead of using npcs takes away a ton of dialog and fun in return for making the game way easier. what is the point

>>3987116
Id say its only easier if you make better builds than the npcs; mine are going to be pretty tame

>>3987098
D&D games in particular are pretty bad about this. Devs apparently cant be bothered to think about the differences between the real world and one like this

>>3987116
>making your own party instead of using npcs takes away a ton of dialog and fun
Most modern cRPGs have shitty and obnoxious NPCs who actively detract from the experience with their presence.

>>3987130
he meant in bg2, in which case he`s got a point, but its already been brought up and responded to

>>3987126
kek, no shit
>party of adventurers cant walk five feet outside the city without a dangerous random encounter
>a small child somehow navigates/keeps himself fed/travels 200 miles without a scratch
not to mention the fact that the village should have some way of sending word, like a mounted messenger, carrier pidgeons, a mage with a spell, fucking something

>>3987098
>>3987231
Accepting that quest causes Minsc to pressure you to get it done, that's probably why they used a little boy. BG2's writing only cares about the vibe and not about role play. When you encounter the big dragon his dialogue is like 'You are small and insignificant in my eyes' and your character's follow up is 'You are toying with me like a cat with a mouse'. Basically just forcing the vibe all the time.

>>3986794
cleric: str 18/60ish, con 16, wis 16
or
str 18/60ish, wis 18
im undecided; I know the con route is objectively superior, but im kinda going for a theme here (everybody having a maxed main stat)
>morningstars *****, sling **, shields **, will use medium shields

dorf: str 18/90+, con 19
>axes *****, warhammers *****, maybe hammers **/dual ***, but I really prefer shields, will use large shields

elf: str 18/01-50, dex 19, wis 15
>longbow **, longsword **, shortbow **, mace **, staff ** (will use the mace of disruption and that golem-killer staff when appropriate), will use small shields
he'll be my scout earlier on, then later he'll wear ankheg plate and be a switch hitter as necessary

thief: str 16, dex 19, con 16
>will use bucklers (most of the time)
>locks/traps earlier on, then takes up scouting and backstabbing later, will level detect illusions asap in bg2, then traps after that I guess

bard: str 15 (for weapons), dex 16, int 16, cha 18
>xbow *, halberd *, greatsword *, two-handed *

gnome: dex 16, con 16, int 19
no hard choices here

>>3987269
Ugly stats. Then again, half the stats are broken, so what do?

>>3987292
can you try posting again more clearly?

>>3987269
Clerics don't get exceptional strength.

>>3987425
you didnt read my earlier post

File: 1613102576879.jpg (39.2 KB)

>>3986791
>play BG for the first time
>get EE
>play on normal because core sounds scary
>make cleric
>stepdad gets murdered
>run to friendly arm inn
>meet a strange guy
>he attacks my party of 4
>fears everyone but the dwarf
>kills the dwarf in one hit
>everybody is running around helpless
>kills me with one spell
>game over
i might have made a mistake

>>3987458
you were supposed to instagib crit him through his mirror image spell

I just got spoonfed a "Companion Tier List" gamer-chud (formerly known as munchkin) video for BG2. Do you enjoy playing like this? I'm not judging, it just never crossed my mind. I can't even remember if I ever played BG2 on the highest difficulty. I did complete it as a solo monk or sorcerer, but I don't think I played at higher than normal or whatever the default was. Apparently you need to also have "SCS" and other mods, whatever they mean, to get proper respect, because the highest difficulty alone doesn't cut it.

>>3987461
nobody plays for respect
you run scs for the challenge, so the game stays fun when you get too good for the vanilla game

>>3986791
Strongest character? Either Gnome Fighter/Illusionist or Half-Elf Fighter/Mage. Dual Fighter/Mage just doesn't compare. You have to use Transformation for full THAC0 and you don't get Fighter HLA's. Fighter/Mage Dual is really for people who want to play a mage that does transformation and goes into melee after he runs out of spells. The Gnome or Half-Elf is the true Gish.
>>3987458
>the dwarf
You mean Montaron? He's a Halfling and his stats make him a little fragile at the beginning. But that guy can be hard for a first level party.
>>>kills me with one spell
Your character? It's a good idea to pump CON as high as possible. Having 14 HP instead of 10 can help.
>>fear
Hard to deal with. If you have no clear as I suspect you have Imoen, Xzar, and Montaron you don't quite have the tools for the fight unless you were able to find a scroll of sleep to give to Xzar. If you did then make sure Xzar learned sleep and has it prepare and to cast it asap. If you go explore around instead and find a cleric companion then you should be able to use the spell command on him. If he's in the process of casting even better because command is faster than everything he casts and he immediately lies down losing the spell. Your guys then get free hits on him. The other option is to find a scroll of resist fear and cast it before the fight or if you're lucky have the cleric unaffected and cast remove fear on someone.

>>3987458
Use Imoen's wand of missile as the nage starts to cast his first spell. It will disrupt it and cause it to fail. You can also run, and let the FAI guards attack him once he goes hostile.

>>3987458
Poor design
>you're dead
>reload and try again now that you know what will happen
It's a RPG, am I supposed to roleplay a fucking clairvoyant

>>3987602
Yes.

>>3987461
>R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me

>>3987461
>highest difficulty
Just exploiting AI. Who cares?
>SCS
Just exploiting better AI. Who cares?
>respect
Falling for youtube video essayist drivel is unworthy of respect. Just play on something like core or normal and enjoy the game.

What's the best 'total experience' playthrough for the whole of the classic games at this point? Like, the original games did a shit job of letting you carry stuff forward from BG1 into 2, and putting 2's mechanics into 1 lets you break this (and screws up the fun of summoning dozens of skeletons).

>>3987554
I think gnome fighter/illusionist
however, I think elf is better than halfelf

>>3987602
youre not smart enough for a 1998 crpg

>>3987642
Heh, I bet you never even tried to obtain daddy Sawyer's respect by getting the Super Special Awesome Hardcore Mode cheevo in Pliers of Externality.

>>3987781
>Sawyer's
I always laugh when I read his name. Funny feller.

>>3987666
>the original games did a shit job of letting you carry stuff forward from BG1 into 2
how so?

>>3987666
With minimal spoilers, there's the 'canon party' which is supposedly....
BG1:
>MC
>Imoen
>Jaheira
>Khalid
>Minsc
>Dynaheir
And BG2:
>MC
>Yoshimo / Imoen (when Imoen is available)
>Jaheira
>Minsc
>Aerie
>Keldorn (Subbed out in Throne of Bhaal for a story-companion from ToB.)
Keldorn is the obvious choice if your MC isn't a Paladin because he gets along well with the others, and uses Greatswords, which allows someone in your party to use one of the best weapons in the game. The dude he is subbed out for is also a Greatsword user so you effectively have the same sort of melee character in that slot.
I think that Heir'dalis is also a contender for the 'canon' party in BG2 because Minsc is attached to Aerie, and Aerie w/ Heir'dalis will instigate a love triangle romance with a Male MC. I like denying feelings for Aerie to let those two weirdos have a (probably doomed) relationship.
Then of course there's the Jaheira romance, but some people
>But what about the MC?
Because (you) were raised in a temple/library, caster classes stick to your backstory very well. Especially Bard, as growing up hearing stories from your foster father is essentially the perfect backstory for a Bard. That said, Bards aren't exactly the best unless you want to play a very support based game plan in BG1. I think any Fighter/Cleric or Fighter/Mage would work, too.

>>3987896
>Yoshimo
>Keldorn (Subbed out in Throne of Bhaal for a story-companion from ToB.)
>Heir'dalis is also a contender for the 'canon' party in BG2
Cursed post

>>3987903
yoshimo is definitely intended to be used
I can see the logic with keldorn, but other than yoshimoen, jaheira, and minsc, I dont think any are meant to be "canon"

>>3987911
Only reason I considered Aerie was because she is a pretty big part of Minsc's story if she is in the party.
I also skipped evil NPCs, even if personally I prefer them.

I think im the only person who's noticed the easter egg in the trademeet daytime background noise. Its a reference to the movie Office Space. Ive only heard it once though; I dont know how often it cycles

>>3987896
There are NO canon parties, stop trying to force this shit. You have the choice to have no idea who any of the characters are from the first game in BG2, and BG2 itself has good reasons for any of the companions to be with your group.

>>3987896
I've already played through the games and am aware of this. The issue I'm getting at is that the base game assumes that you have a very specific party at the end of BG1, as opposed to having a variety of things happen at the start of BG2 depending on how you finished BG1, so the continuity is minimal and I was wondering if there were any mods that improved this aspect.

>>3987461
SCS means Sword Coast Strategist, referring to the fact that only the most brilliant strategists can beat this mod compilation on the hardest difficulty, which filters much of /vrpg/, because they don't have the strategical or tactical mind required to beat Baldur's Gate without affirmative action difficulty benefits.

>>3988188
there is no need to be upset

>>3988317
ive never heard of anything like that

>>3987269
The nice thing about a full party of single-classers is that you never have to agonize over who gets what item, or what item to use on a given character. You just load your thief up with the thief items, your fighter gets the best tank items, the mage gets the best wizard shit, etc.

>>3988188
There's a reason I said
>Supposedly
and
>'canon party'
With quotes. Some characters just fit the narrative for Good/Neutral party cuz of Gorion's advice or just the fact they are in the Irencius dungeon. From there I figure that NPCs that have interesting connections to them are just fun to have around.
I've never actually used such a party, fwiw.

>>3986791
>I really wish indie devs would give us more games like this that aren't fucking terrible
yes please
Id almost kill for a new one thats at least as good as the originals.

Ive had an idea for one for years now, but im too averse to fucking around with software to ever do it.

>>3988442
do it nigga, I need it

>>3986791
>I really wish indie devs would give us more games like this
Sigh how many more do you need to realize

do dwarfs really get no romance option?

>>3988951
>do dwarfs really get no romance option?
And people say video games are unrealistic

>>3988951
dwarves dont have sex
there are no female dwarves
they just pop out of the stone, already bearded

>>3988979
>>3988985
brutal dwarfcels btfo'd

>>3988329
>dude immersion breaking pre-buffing and HLAs from every single mid-game mage lmao

>>3987714
what else are you supposed to do?

>>3989054
think ahead
prepare for the unexpected

some people literally cant do it, if thats you, just forget it and play something else

>>3989025
mages are smart, they predicted the battles they were going to have with you

>>3989025
u know whats immersion breaking, every powerful mage not having Stone skin up 24/7 when that spell lasts 12h

>>3989215
I already beat BG1 and BG2 with constant reloading

>>3989252
yeah, because you cant think ahead or prepare for the unexpected

>>3986791
I really wish EE wasn't such a pile of shit.
The original Infinity Engine games had a neat launcher with an option panel where you could alter the framerate (the speed of the game is tied to it) so you could speed shit up by increasing the framerate.
EE is a slow shitty slog.

>>3989257
how would I know what comes next and what it does?

>>3989263
kek, I knew youd say that

>>3989260
the original bg1 was VERY slow, the bg2 engine in the EE has them walking a lot faster
that said, zoom zoom

>>3989263
You memorize every step of the game in the past 20 years of replaying the game, duh

>>3989263
use thief to scout or invisibility spell

>>3989276
use scout to see enemies which you don't know if you can beat as you can't see their stats.

>>3989300
>can't see their stats
Or strats

File: bg2 radar.jpg (967.1 KB)

>>3989300
u are supposed to know every enemy and their resistances by reading dnd rule book and manual, or use BGradar overlay
https://github.com/tapahob/BG2RadarOverlay

butthurt filtered pleb hour
it must suck being brown or white trash

>>3989305
wtf this changes everything

>>3989305
mos of the resistances are common sense

big metal dudes cannot be stabbed. skeletons and things with lots of holes cannot be pierced by arrows easily

people are just conditioned by games to not think of the game world as a world, but as some sort of adhd skinner box

>>3989504
The lich ones are not knowable

>>3989510
electricity immunity is kind of random, nothing else is unexpected

>>3987130
Good thing this is an infinity engine thread retard

>>3989816
>Good thing this is an infinity engine thread retard
I had previously posted in this thread >>3986797
recommending that OP use the NPCs because using BG2 is old enough to have decent companions, in contrast with modern games. I then separately played devils advocate and answered that other anons question in a more general sense, using “modern” as a modifier to make it clear that I wasn’t talking about BG1/2, dipshit-san.

>>3987461
>I just got spoonfed a "Companion Tier List" gamer-chud (formerly known as munchkin) video for BG2.
I also saw that video. The guy is very entertaining, I'll give him that. I wish I could have that kind of autistic passion about Bioware slop.

>>3987116
lmao Bioware introduced premade companions specifically to make their games easier and more accessible.

>>3989814
bruh

>>3990462
NTA but I think it’s more appropriate to say arbitrary rather than random. It’s some dumb pathfinder tabletop homebrew. Thematically I would expect them to resist fire more so than electricity.

File: 1730595915016218.jpg (32.5 KB)

So do you guys reroll your stats until you get a roll with a ton of points to spend, or do you consider that cheating? I don't wanna lame the mechanics, but the early levels are so brutal it feels the game WANTS me to have an 18 score in half my shit

>>3990537
Strictly roll 3d6 in order for your stats, then pick your class based on what you qualify. Then use Gatekeeper to set your stats to what you rolled, if needed.

>>3990543
Wtf?
>>3990537
For bg I go with 90+. Takes like 5 minutes or less. I did a 8 attribute run and ultimately it doesn't make much difference. The beginning was rng.

>>3990537
the stats barely do anything. consult the stat tables. you'll still die in one hit. you still wont hit anything. dex will make you get hit less often bbut you'll still die in one hit

>>3990537
I think most people max them stats. I do. I can't imagine playing a bard, thief whatever with mid stats on top of that.

I always thought the character creation roll thing was.. not good.

>>3990543
I have no idea why classic tabletop is so adamant about rng-ing what you will be. Like you make up a sophisticated play pretend system where you can be whatever you want and then you start gambling what you will spend your time with for the next fucking 50 hours if you want to or not and if you get really unlucky you will be shit at everything.

>>3990550
>I have no idea why classic tabletop is so adamant about rng-ing what you will be.
Roleplaying.
>Like you make up a sophisticated play pretend system where you can be whatever you want and then you start gambling what you will spend your time with for the next fucking 50 hours if you want to or not
Because then the focus become munchkin min-maxing optimizing, and not roleplaying. The mechanics are there to facilitate roleplaying, they're not there as the final end in themselves.
>and if you get really unlucky you will be shit at everything.
Some of the most interesting, memorable, and fun characters are flawed. A perfectly optimal blob of statistics is boring and uninteresting.
It is surreal to me that these things need to be stated on a board that is ostensibly about roleplaying games, but here we are.

>>3990552
I guess I'm not severly autistic enough to have the need for a tard wrangler that ensures I play the game in the "right way" instead of going full obsessive compulsion disorder on minmaxing whenever possible. Spergs really need external force to exist.

>>3990557
>tard wrangler
Please, anon. The term is “dungeon master”

File: izbelah.png (3.2 MB)

for me, it's IWDII

>>3990537
The only time I'll ever manually allocate points is INT on a mage. Every other character gets the better of two natural rolls. If that means I'm playing a Fighter with 16 WIS and 11 STR, so be it. Everything's eventually fixable with items anyway.

>>3990462
I can only assume youre retarded

>>3990469
ive always thought skellies should have high fire resistance

>>3990537
depends on how I feel like playing
in bg, for my main character, I want to have the stats I feel like I should have
that doesnt mean the highest roll possible, just good enough at what I care about
but sometimes I want to powergame king conan and have four 18s and two 10+s
but when Im making a whole party, I dont need particularly high stats on every character, just two or three good ones and the rest can be meh

File: I dont see the problem.png (3.0 MB)

>>3987458
skill issue

>>3987458
man, i wish i could have this experience again

>>3987462
scs just forces you to cheese encounters in a different way than you would unmodded

>>3990537
I'm playing the child of a god. I should have high ability scores.
If Sarevok can have 95 total points then I can too.

>>3990537
I seriously hope you guys aren't rolling a thousand times for each character instead of just opening the char file with NearInfinity and setting the stats how you want them.

>>3989271
>was very slow
NIGGER, I literally told you how to fix this by opening the fucking launcher options and up the FPS.
EE did away with that, and so remains SLOW as fuck.

>>3987602
You're supposed to not be a retard that walks into potentially hostile situations unprepared, unless you WANT to die or only survive by fool's luck.
I'm not going to claim save/reload isn't a thing you'll end up doing a big in infinity engine games, but when you pay attention to what you are told of a place, hear of a place, read of a place, and how the place looks, you can often anticipate encounters of difficulty before you encounter them.
I'll say it is harder to be well-prepared for the unknown in BG1, since it starts you off at lvl1, with spells and abilities being a slow process to gather. But even so, that's where ye olde rest button and taverns come in handy for memorization.

Again with BG1 there are some actually bullshit points that, if you go in blind, you couldn't have anticipated - most notably the cheeky faggot outside the friendly arm inn

>>3991289
It's still there, nigger, just in the settings file. You do know how to edit a text file, right?

>>3991292
>you couldn't have anticipated
but you could have

there were assassins in candlekeep who knew of you
there were killers outside candlekeep who knew of you and knew where to find you
so....since you planned on going to the inn, shouldnt you expect....?

>>3991260
Sarevok can hit for 250 damage, can you?

>>3991299
>having to navigate to directory and an ini file vs having the option given to you by the game
You're the nigger; you purchase a thing, and the proprietor tells you that you need to clean his store too, and you do this.

>>3991301
That is a fair point actually

>>3991308
Nta that's hardly the same

>>3991260
thats a damn good point
fuck sarevok
imoen has 87, which is about what I expect to have on a serious bhaalspawn
drizzt has 96
elminster (in the game) has 98
elminster (in canon) has 114

>>3991299
>>3991289
changing that setting was always retarded cause it fucked up everything else as well, sped up spell animations,attacks speed, how long turns and rounds lasted etc not just movement. There are mods (like tweaks anthology) which increase movement speed only out of combat so game plays like modern isometric CRPGs and this is what you should be using(together with spell alacrity out of combat). On top of it recent v1.0 EEex release framerate got detached from engine and now u can play at monitor refresh rate plus its other component called spell UI BG1/2 is basically a modern game.
https://github.com/Bubb13/EEex

>>3991507
>it fucked up everything else as well, sped up spell animations, attacks speed, how long turns and rounds lasted etc not just movement.
I don't get it. All of those are nice to have and the setting worked flawlessly since BG1. And why would monitor refresh rate make a difference in a game like this?

>>3991468
He read quite a few tomes.

I'm having more fun listening to autists talk about what the best and worst class and whatnot is than actually replaying the game

>>3991888
>best
Paladin (because this dungeon has a sense of… EVIL about it)
>worst
Bard (because they only get pickpocketing in this which I never use, and so I can’t use them as trap/lock skill monkeys to replace the thief)

if you are going to play BG with a customer party, make it a party of four so you can pick up one or two of the Bioware characters long enough to complete their side quests.

Even if you don't do that, a party of four is probably the optimum party size to have fun with. To complete the game without going to ridiculous lengths, you need thief skills, healing, a tank and a magic cannon. Anything over and above that is just padding.

>>3987903
Yoshimo is for the betrayal plotline and hence replaced by Imoen. Personally I disgree with KEKdorn and Haeryball'gobbler. Minsc is also just a joke character so he can be omitted. Arguably Jan Jansen (for the banter) and Edwin (for the Nether scroll, every party needs someone to bully) should take their places.
>>3987896
>>Aerie
She's only 109 years old you sick fuck. You fucking pedos just have to adventure with a child. Let me guess you romanced her too... You belong behind bars. Replace her with one of the adult clerics like Viconia or Anomen.

>>3991260
Just rush candlekeep dungeon a few times and pick up the tomes in BG3. You'll get to 150 in no time.

>>3991907
hot diggity damn, this feller plays on storymode diff

>>3992231
Bg3 has tomes?

Why do you like BG3 more than BG2?

>>3992344
>hot diggity damn, this feller plays on storymode diff
Baldur’s Gate does not have a “story mode” difficulty, which you would know if you had played the game, my broccoli-haired newfriend

>>3992365
>injured feelings zoomie projecting & grasping onto straws
story mode is every difficulty below Insane+SCS

>>3990557
nta, but rules for games exist to make it more fun. When you don't follow the rules, you get shit like Monopoly where no one actually knows how to play it, they settle on flawed rules and then think the game is boring.

>>3986791
Growing up is realizing Real-Time with Pause Combat is retarded. Go full turn based or action RPG but RTwP is gay and bad.

>>3986791
BG games? Fighter/Mage/Thief solo, sometimes I add my waifu (Viconia) if I feel lonely while playing, bust mostly solo, abusing the engine.

IWD? 2 Fighter/Mage/Thief + 1 Fighter/Cleric/Mage. Or 4 Fighter/Something party. Also abusing the engine.

>>3993399
Heh, you're a queer-

>>3993438
Let it go, unc. Turn based won.

>>3993400
Sounds boring. Played solo monk once. Easiest playthrough ever.
>>3993450
Nta, but consider getting help.

>>3993399
>Growing up is realizing Real-Time with Pause Combat is retarded. Go full turn based or action RPG but RTwP is gay and bad.
I’ve always had a pet theory that RTWP is only beloved by a certain subset of late millennials/early zoomers who were adolescents in the late 90s/early 2000s, but were too young to remember older turn-based RPGs, or the prime era of RTS’s popularity.

>>3993451
I like magic but I don't like faggy mages.

>>3993450
I think m-m-much clearer with rest! Might we ....stop?

>>3993487
No wonder. Can always make super duper shadow keeper character. Or just play as arkanis, the one hit wonder.

>>3993718
if I could play a pure fighter who spams only scrolls when needed, I would do it.

>>3987602
the protagonist knows Power Word, Reload which is the most OP ability in the entire rulebook; god-tier ability actually

>fighter 9 > mage x thac0: 12
>fighter 21 thac0: 0

am I even going to be able to hit shit with my sword in ToB if I play fighter mage dual

>>3995126
It’s THAC0, not MAGE0, chud

>>3995126
fighter/mages are better anyway

>>3995126
Tenser's Transformation would give you plenty. iirc you can still cast from sequencers while it's active.

>>3995126
SCS has completely busted summons if you have that installed. Modders always enforce the summoning meta. Otherwise start with Kensai if you can bare the shame.

>>3995553
>the summoning meta
Summoning is fucking gay. I just don’t use it.