So after ploughing through the expansion, and experiencing a massively epic tale that involved killing lots of things, people waving their arms around a lot, and liberal usage of the word "destiny", I've decided to restart BG2 with a new character.

Those who've journeyed on through, what do you suggest I create for my stalwart little hero? I finished as a chaotic-good half-elf ranger. I'm thinking about either a Wild Mage of some sort, a monk, or a kensai who might possibly duel into some sort of mage.

So, yea verily, indulge my BG2 geekery if you will. I want to create another mighty hero who shall shake the earth and make lesser peoples quiver in a mix of fear and wonder. What shall he, or she be?

-Scooteris

A good challenge is to play a Mage. The Sorceror class is particularly useful in that you don't memorize spells. You have a truncated list but you get to choose your spells on the fly.

Find Familiar is also a fun bonus, but damn if it isn't hard to keep the little bastard from getting killed.

-Andrew

Or...
since you've played through it before...
start a solo-multiplayer game. Create as many characters as you want. 3 or 4.
Leave a couple slots so you can still do NPC quests as you like. Then cut n' paste the multi save game into the solo save folder and you can play the game experimenting with the Monk, Kensei and Wild Mage.

-Andrew

I've not played all the way through so my opinion may not be highly valued but I am playing a fighter/thief and have claimed the thieves' guild. I think it would make for an interesting game to play through as a swashbuckler or assassin of lower alignment.

Also, I think because of the vast number of spells that a mage or sorcerer would be fun to play.

Heh, Thierry, that's the same basic character that I'm playing through with. (Quite fun, with the exception of the fact the you get such a crappy "stronghold.") I think my next character is likely to be either a sorcerer or a mage/thief. For one thing, I'm really eager to see what a mage's stronghold is like...Plus, it just seems like a cool combination. But maybe that's just me.

Somebody had a good idea about starting a character in Baldur's Gate as a fighter, dual-classing him into a mage, and then importing him into BGII and (if I'm not mistaken, you can choose a kit for your first class at that point, right?) choosing the kensai kit, since they can't wear armor, and have a mage with an unusually-low AC. Sounds intriguing...

"A good challenge is to play a Mage. The Sorceror class is particularly useful in that you don't memorize spells. You have a truncated list but you get to choose your spells on the fly."

For work purposes, I made a female neutral evil wild mage. I decided if I was gonna get all magickal and whatnot, I might as well be the gambling mage class.

"start a solo-multiplayer game. Create as many characters as you want. 3 or 4."

I'm not into that kinda thing. If I wanted to have a bunch of dweebs that I made, I usually go to Icewind Dale or Might & Magic or Pool of Radiance or something. Half of (or, perhaps to further quantify my "fun", 43%) my enjoyment for BG2 lies in choosing who to use in my party, and see how everyone works out.

"I've not played all the way through so my opinion may not be highly valued but I am playing a fighter/thief and have claimed the thieves' guild. I think it would make for an interesting game to play through as a swashbuckler or assassin of lower alignment."

I use thieves, but I hate playing them. The Assassin does sound interesting though. I may do a run as an Assassin, down the line, mostly because I like the word "Assassin." But I prefer either hulky fellows hitting things, or wily peeps waving their arms and spellslinging when it comes to main characters. All that sneaking and backstabbing isn't so hot for me.

I am making whatever characters I use lower alignments, though.

"Heh, Thierry, that's the same basic character that I'm playing through with. (Quite fun, with the exception of the fact the you get such a crappy "stronghold.")"

I think Clerics get a goofier stronghold. It's like, a confessional room or something. Paladins have a craptacular physical stronghold (a room, and it doesn't even have chests in it! At least the Ranger cabin has oodles of shelves!), but they get Carsomyr.

I don't mind the Ranger Cabin. It's a safe place to sleep, and has lots of storage space. Sure, it has no taxes or servants, but my ranger is an uncharismatic man of the wood. Er, right. Anyhow, I think the Moon Dog figurine is pretty cool. It's actually been a real helpful buddy in a tight pinch.

"For one thing, I'm really eager to see what a mage's stronghold is like...Plus, it just seems like a cool combination. But maybe that's just me."

From what I saw, mages have one of the better strongholds in the game.

BTW, the strongholds are completely moot in Throne Of Bhaal. Just warning ya.

Last night, I ended up creating two new goobers. A lawful evil human monk guy (Pontifico) and a neutral evil wild mage gal (Rajalahara). I'll see which one I like playing more.

-Thierry

"I'm not into that kinda thing. If I wanted to have a bunch of dweebs that I made, I usually go to Icewind Dale or Might & Magic or Pool of Radiance or something."

I agree, I did it in a limited fashion because I wanted the best of both worlds for the purposes of review (for Gamecenter, back in "the day"). I wanted to continue with my BG1 Paladin, but I wanted to try a new kit as well (and I wanted to try Find Familiar). So I built a new Sorceror (Malzabar) as my main character and imported the Paladin (Anais) as his trusted ally. I sort of did it wrong though... my BG1 Paladin is now no longer a child of Bhaal, as a result. The Sorceror is.

Que sera sera...

-Andrew

I'm dying to know how the whole Sorceror class works. Can anyone fill me in? My next character will likely be a sorceror, but I'd like a better understanding first...

Murph, Sorcerors don't have to memorize spells before using them. They can cast any spell they've learned. The tradeoff is that they don't learn as many spells as other mages.

Scooteris, from what I hear, I haven't started TOB yet, the wild mage is a lot of fun to play. Spells may backfire, and some of the conversation scripts are supposed to be pretty good.

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The tradeoff is that they don't learn as many spells as other mages.

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"Does it just give them 'x' number of spells per level, and keep track?"

Yes.

"or is it just a smaller number per level that can be inscribed into their spellbook?"

Bingo.

You get to choose the spells you want as you gain levels. Since I tend to overuse a handful of spells per level, this isn't really a detriment. I'm not sure of the right numbers offhand but, as an example, my Sorceror knows only 5 1st level spells, but he can cast all five six times per day as he sees fit. A regular mage gets, lets say 10 choices, and can memorize any six beforehand. Less choices/more flexibility vs. more choices/less flexibility.

So, I can blow all my first levels on Identify or Magic Missile as the situation warrants.

"And, for those that have played as both, is the sorcerer as superior to the mage as it sounds to me?"

If you're generally lazy about remembering to memorize spells before you rest, or you tend to overuse key spells (Magic Missile, Acid Arrow, Fireball, Cloudkill ad nauseum)... then, yes, most definitely.

-Andrew

Cool. Thanx Andrew. That's pretty much what I thought, but I was looking for someone to verify. Just wanted to make sure that I knew what I was getting into, before I rolled up the character. Sounds pretty good for me -- yeah, I pretty much stick to a couple spells per level, so it sounds like just the thing for me.

I think I just had gay sex in Baldur's Gate 2 without realizing it. I was in the Drow city, minding my own business, when I stumbled into the lust chambers. Before I knew what had happened, I had "rested" with a male and come out sort of glowing and relaxed. Unfortunately, my dexterity did not increase, and I did not "level up" as a result of my exertions.

So ... does this mean I'm bi? Not that there's anything wrong with that.

"So, I can blow all my first levels on Identify or Magic Missile as the situation warrants."

A very minor spoiler here...
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There is a pair of spectacles available for purchase in the game that makes the identify spell unnecessary. Very handy, especially when spell slots are at a premium.

[Spoiler Response]
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I assume you mean that ones that Jan Jansen has. There's a pair available for purchase as well? Cool.

"There's a pair available for purchase as well? Cool."

I'm pretty sure the thief you run into in Chapter 2 (names are fuzzy to me right now, it's been a while, but if you ask about ToB, that stuff is right fresh in my noggin!), when you go to his house, his buddy upstairs sells one of those goggles.

-Thierry

Thierry - Yep. You can get a second pair from limited wish.

"So, I can blow all my first levels on Identify or Magic Missile as the situation warrants."

I cast Magic Missile.. at the DARKNESS.

Man, that was a funny skit. Major props to Volition for coming up with the video to go with it.

http://www.planetmirror.com/pub/trailers/summonergeeks/

"I'm pretty sure the thief you run into in Chapter 2 (names are fuzzy to me right now, it's been a while, but if you ask about ToB, that stuff is right fresh in my noggin!), when you go to his house, his buddy upstairs sells one of those goggles."

Yep, I'm fuzzy on the name too. Gaellen or something like that, but it's the guy who tells you to raise $20,000 rescue Imoen. His buddy who sells the spectacles is upstairs in the same house.

Aahh, Gaelyn Boyle. (Okay, spelling looks funny...that might not be right. But I'm pretty sure that it's GAY-lin.)

Thanks for letting me know. I'm gonna have to go pick those up...

Gaelan Bayle. The specs aren't the same as the ones Jan uses (bonus to thief skills, only usable by Jan). I guess I'm spoiled since my main character is a bard, so I essentially get ID for free.

- Alan

Yeah, that's him.

Thanks Alan.

Finally finished the main game. Let's see, I got it for Christmas, so it only took me 7 months. Not exactly review speed. =) Not sure that I'm up for ToB right away. Think I'll give it a rest for awhile.

Who was your winning party? I initially won with myself (Half-Elf CG Ranger), Minsc, Anomen, Jaheira, Aerie, and Imoen. Yes, me and my goody-two-shoes par-tay. Wheeee.

-Thierry

Sounds like who I'm using, except substituting Nalia for Anomen. It could change a little by the time I win, though. I'm just finishing up chapter 4.

Is there any penalty for adding characters late in the game -- I'm in chapter 6 and just ran into Jan Jensen.

Nope. Any character that you meet will start with approximately the same number of experience points as the rest of your group has. Kinda like when Imoen was taken, she was about level eight or nine, but when you get her back she's at 11 -- to keep up with the rest of the party. Works the same way for new characters.

Cool. Thanks for the info. The only reason I wanted Jan is for the Minsc stuff I keep reading about.

One annoying thing: After that dude attacks you outside the Adventurer's Mart after the Underdark chapter, looking for that silver sword, and you attack and kill him, all of a sudden Imoen keeps saying "this isn't us" ... and "i'll leave soon if you don't start behaving differently" ... hello?!?!? he attacked US ...

My party was the same as Thierry's, except my PC was a half-orc fighter--a true tank--and substitute Keldorn for Anomen. I wanted that Holy Avenger.

John, what probably happened with Imoen was that some civilians got killed (probably by area effect spells) in that fight. Your reputation drops like a rock real fast; the more civilians that get hurt, the worse it is.

Yeah, that happened to me in Ulgoth's Beard in the first expansion. I couldn't figure out what was going on. These assassins attacked us, and then, all of a sudden, my reputation dropped about eight points, and I lost my ranger class...

Turns out, one of my fireballs had taken out three or four innocents. It really hosed me.

-> John, what probably happened with Imoen was that some civilians got killed (probably by area effect spells) in that fight. Your
reputation drops like a rock real fast; the more civilians that get hurt, the worse it is. <-

Yikes! Will she actually leave, or will she stop whining eventually? Can I go help an old wizard across the street or something to restore my reputation?!?!?

If you have as much cash as I've had for the whole game, go make some donations at the temple.

I don't think she'll actually leave, but I'm not certain. Also, might want to check Minsc and make sure that he's still a ranger, and not a fallen ranger. If your rep falls below 6, rangers and paladins lose their classes. That would probably merit a re-load.

"Sounds like who I'm using, except substituting Nalia for Anomen."

I felt that I needed another guy who can run around and hit things, and with him, Jaheira, and Aerie, I was well-prepared when it came to clerical matters.

"The only reason I wanted Jan is for the Minsc stuff I keep reading about."

I'll probably use Jan in my next party, because he's the only NPC besides Yoshimo who could develop his thief skills further. ToB made thieves extremely powerful, but I still don't like playing them as a central character.

"and substitute Keldorn for Anomen. I wanted that Holy Avenger."

I thought about having Keldorn in my initial party, because the Bioware guys keep on raving about Holy Avenger. But paladins are just characters I really really hate. The only class worse than a paladin is a bard. For me, anyhow. But Holy Avenger is a worthy thing to take into ToB, so since I'll never find myself playing a paladin, I'll probably get Keldorn.

For my next party, I'm planning:
Pontifico (lawful evil human monk)
Viconia
Keldorn (heh! what a pair!)
Edwin
Cernd
Jan

I haven't decided yet on who to use for my Wild Mage's party yet.

-Thierry

"Viconia, Keldorn (heh! what a pair!)"

What a pair, indeed. Fair warning: Don't keep them next to each other in the party or Keldorn will put that Holy Avenger to a use you might not like. =)

However, I like Keldorn in my party for more than just the Holy Avenger. The Inquisitor kit is really high-powered, especially its ability to cast dispell magic at twice the character's level and multiple true sight spells. Boost Keldorn's strenght with the Girdle of Hill Giant Strength and his Dex with the Gauntlets of Dexterity and turn him loose on enemy mages.

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The only class worse than a paladin is a bard.

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I was flirting with the yummy Viconia, and I was being slightly abusive with her (which I was told she likes) but she's complaining a lot lately. Maybe I'm just too much the good guy...

Anyway, any tips on getting Viconia with "the program" here?

PS: I couldn't play a Bard either. I keep thinking of Brave Sir Robin...

"And then they ate the minstrals and there was much rejoicing"
"yay"

"As for Jan, I ended up ditching him at the beginning of ToB "

Ah but Jan is the colorful character I like! His quest is actually the most "touching" in the game. It has a homey, weepy eyed, feel to it. I like it. That alone made me keep Jan over any other thief in BG2... take THAT fer roleplaying!

BTW, I think Jaheira is pretty yummy as well. She will teach you the "ways". Viconia is grade - A SnM. And Aerie is a tease. And actually I would have loved to "try" Mazzy. She has that throaty sexy voice. BG2 adult version... now thats an idea! Harhar!!

etc