Baldur's Gate The Baldur's Gate Series Thread

[ga♥]

It totally baffles me how some people regard Irenicus as a well written villain.

Name one better

Edit: I'm not saying he's the best, btw. Just a damn good one.

Spoiler

Well, tbqh Sarevok is simply better.

First of all, he's more credible. His motives in BG1 and his struggle to gain political power makes simply more sense.
The Iron Throne organization is also much more palatable.

Irenicus on the other hands, lacks consistency...
We don't have any background about him, exept that he's cursed and so powerful, fugg yeah.

As an example, why didn't he steal a soul of a random elf? Why doesn't he care when you slay Bodhi, not even a mention about it. What happened about his "friends" he put in a semi-life that you find in his dungeon at the beginning?

On another note BG2 story sucks to begin with, and its heavily railroaded so this didn't help.

P.S I like his voice acting though.

 

[Azarkon]

Sarevok was the better character, but Irenicus was better presented.

Sarevok was a missed opportunity, since his role as foil to the player character was only faintly observed throughout the original game - he simply didn't have enough game time.

Irenicus, even though a worse character, made himself felt, and was the star of every scene he was in - though this had a lot to do with the voice acting. Baldur's Gate 2 revolved around Irenicus much more than Baldur's Gate 1 revolved around Sarevok, and so Irenicus ended up being more memorable even though in theory, Sarevok was the better character.

Both were, however, much better than Melissan.

It is difficult to appreciate just how hard they dropped the ball with Melissan, simply because by this time in Throne of Bhaal, the story was more focused on the player character and his ascension than any traditional villain, which was fortunate for the developers.

 

[ga♥]

I agree on your points, Azarkon, especially BG2 being Irenicus-centric...though this worsen things up, it makes him memorable, but in a bad way.

You can't center the scene on one character, and then...develop it so poorly and leave so many inconsistencies around.

TOB writings = full decline mode ON, sadly.

P.S I just finished a bg1-bg2-tob run last week so I am pretty fresh on the plot.

 

[Alkarl]

You... have good points. I never thought about it like that. Irenicus is more personality than motive or function.

 

[pippin]

Don't confuse writing with voice acting

 

[Lilura]

A few recent BG-related posts:

Favorite BG series evil-aligned companion - ofc, Viconia and Edwin are neck and neck in the poll.

Farming in RPGs - see how many of the aspie trivia questions you can get right.

Aesthetic Appreciation of Baldur's Gate 2 - high res extractions of choice ARs.

 

[Lagole Gon]

Athkatla is still the best city in cRPGs. FACT!

It's a shame the series ended with a mediocre expansion.

 

[agris]

Personally, the biggest reason I've replayed BG2 so much is the sheer diversity of character builds and how that changes the challenging (usually boss) combat encounters (with SCS and some of the old tactics mods). The AD&D 2e ruleset creates a 'fun' logic puzzle w.r.t character development, and the itemization of BG2 lets you significantly change a givne character's play style with gear. Add in the item randomizer mod, and there's a lot of fights that force you to be creative to get through them because you can't count on X, Y or Z item giving you immunity/+X/free action, etc.

When that's taken in context of a moderately engaging storyline, the free-form quest structure and the wonderful art, it's simply a package that isn't matched elsewhere. Of course, without SCS (and Level1NPCs), I would never have replayed it as much as I have.

 

[octavius]

Different party combos with different group dynamics also helps the replayability of BG2.

 

[Lilura]

mb-wise, the tree-top elven city of Suldanessellar is one of the biggest TIS files in the Bhaalspawn Saga (5120x3184, 36.7mb). I've downsized and converted it to a more reasonable 1920p jpg for EZ viewing.

You can see the other ARs in that link I posted above. Currently going through Throne of Bhaal ARs.

 

[Urbanolo]

Why is BG1 so good?

Because it's an isometric hiking simulator. BG 2 unfortunately lost that feeling of freedom and exploration.

 

[octavius]

Why is BG1 so good?

Because it's so moddable. Just too bad that for every SCS there are ten romance mods...

 

[Lagole Gon]

Why is BG1 so good?

Because it's not a Computer Role-Playing Game. It's a computer adaptation of a Role Playing Game.



I think.

 

[buru5]

Why is BG1 so good?

Because it's an isometric hiking simulator. BG 2 unfortunately lost that feeling of freedom and exploration.

This. It's why I still prefer BG1's handle of exploration better than 2's. Although 2 has more character customization and more bad ass spells, BG1's exploration was much better than BG2's. If only 2 didn't have so many of those moments that completely take you out of the open world and make you follow a linear path to the goal.

 

[Dux]

That and the romances...

 

[McPlusle]

I've owned the BG series for well over a decade and got into the series by watching my dad play it, but I somehow, over all these years, never finished any of them. A couple days ago I installed the BGT mod with the intent of finally playing the whole thing (Currently on Chapter Three, recently left Nashkel Mines) and holy fuck I haven't enjoyed a video game this much in years. I do have a few questions, though:
-How much weight does my alignment have? (I'm playing a neutral evil character)
-Are any quests on a time limit?
-I got from the prologue all the way through the mines in what feels like only a few hours. Am I rushing/missing a ton of content?
-I'm playing the original releases, but if I were to theoretically ever play the EE's (and maybe Dragonspear), how insulted would I be by the new content?

 

[Lilura]

Ultimate BG series companion poll

 

[Mark Richard]

How much weight does my alignment have? (I'm playing a neutral evil character)

In dialogue? Virtually none. Alignment affects the items and abilities you can use. If good aligned characters grumble about your evil deeds, its due to the reputation mechanic, not alignment.

Are any quests on a time limit?

A few. Companions generally have something specific they want to do. For example the very first fellows you meet want to go to Nashkel, so if you say you're heading that way and instead bugger off on a month-long wilderness hike, they'll get antsy to say the least. There's also an avoidable side quest further down the line that can result in the party's death if not completed on time.

I got from the prologue all the way through the mines in what feels like only a few hours. Am I rushing/missing a ton of content?

There's a bunch of quests to pick up in Beregost and Nashkel.

I'm playing the original releases, but if I were to theoretically ever play the EE's (and maybe Dragonspear), how insulted would I be by the new content?

Who can say? I was insulted from the opening sequence when they edited out a key line from Serevok's victim.

 

[octavius]

I was insulted from the opening sequence when they edited out a key line from Serevok's victim.

What's that?

 

[Robespierre]

I was insulted from the opening sequence when they edited out a key line from Serevok's victim.

What's that?

Yeah, in the original sequence the victim said " No there are others ; I can show you". This line has been cut in the beamburk "enhanced" sequence.

 

[Lilura]

(and maybe Dragonspear), how insulted would I be by the new content?

If you're a basement-dwelling bigot you will get wounded to the core of your soul and cry yourself to sleep each night for the rest of your wretched life, but if you're just a normal, fairly well-adjusted human being who gets fresh air and sunshine on a regular basis, you'll probably enjoy the Siege of Dragonspear interquel.

 

[Robespierre]

If you don't care much about writing (pure garbage), you'll probably enjoy it. I believe that every BG lovers should play SOD for its pretty good encounter design. That's where the game shines imo.
Basically if you are a combatfag, and if you don't bear any grudge against RTwP-combats, you'll get some fun out of SoD. If not, don't even consider playing it.

 

[Lagole Gon]

Ultimate BG series companion poll

Current results are not really surprising. Mostly. Mazzy has some popularity, huh.
It seems that I'm one of two people who actually liked Cernd.

 

[Lilura]

Mazzy and Keldorn beat Aerie in the Neutral poll, when imo they shouldn't have come close to her.

Tiax was also hugely popular back in the day. Xzar and Monty were up there, too. Not so much these days.

 

[McPlusle]

What level should my party be by the time I enter Baldur's Gate? Everyone's around level 5 and I'm worried that I might be rushing through the game.