Languish.org

Made by Larian, the guys behind the Divinity series:

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/06/06/baldurs-gate-3-announced-from-the-creators-of-divinity-original-sin/

I guess I have to finish BG1 and play 2 at some point, then.

BG2 was amazing. Probably still is pretty good, though eclipsed.

I look forward to more of this.

pants = diary factory

It doesn't sound like you will need to play the previous games as it will not really be a direct sequel.

Color me intrigued.

Well I'm excited.

Will it be called "The Gates of Baldur's Gate"?

Both predecessors were amazingly good games. Hope this lives up to its name.

Well, Larian at least has a good track record. They're also working with Google to get this optimized for Stadia, as well, but it will be on other shops too.

Quote from: Syt on June 06, 2019, 02:07:51 PM
Well, Larian at least has a good track record.

There is something about their games that were just a little off for me. I cannot really put my finger on it. The writing and the plots never really grabbed me. But I certainly cannot deny they are good games.

Quote from: Syt on June 06, 2019, 02:07:51 PM
Well, Larian at least has a good track record. They're also working with Google to get this optimized for Stadia, as well, but it will be on other shops too.

It's already announced on GoG.

Quote from: ValmyThere is something about their games that were just a little off for me. I cannot really put my finger on it. The writing and the plots never really grabbed me. But I certainly cannot deny they are good games.

Same for me. I think it's tone. Sometimes it's super hammy. Sometimes it has ambitions of grandeur. It wants to tell an epic tale, but sometimes, not really. It looked like the stories were written by a team of very different people, with no clear overall vision.

Apparently their latest game was much better on that regard (?) but I haven't played it. My laptop is no longer game-friendly.

The gameplay was superb, the story not so much. For DOS1 and 2 I mean, not BG.

I've still never finished BG2.
Same problem I always have with elder scrolls games. I end up being a completionist for quests and hoarder of stuff.

(https://thumbs.gfycat.com/AnnualDistinctCormorant-max-1mb.gif)

Interesting. And I agree with Valmy and Oex about the tone of Larian RPG's.

I was/am kickstarter backer for DOS2, I am obviously in for this BG3.

For those who need to play BG1 & BG2, Modern consoles versions are coming.

Quote from: Grey Fox on June 07, 2019, 07:16:42 AM
I was/am kickstarter backer for DOS2, I am obviously in for this BG3.

For those who need to play BG1 & BG2, Modern consoles versions are coming.

Man, I got so much gameplay out of the BG2 discs you gave me.

IMO, the best parts of BG1 and 2 was the middle sandbox. I usually lost interest in finishing the story arc and at a certain point would restart and try a different character and a different party. Got a lot of replay that way. Thousands of hours.

Trailer with the mind flayer looks cool. It's unlikely I will play because I don't want to make the time to do it right.

Quote from: Grey Fox on June 07, 2019, 07:16:42 AM
I was/am kickstarter backer for DOS2, I am obviously in for this BG3.

For those who need to play BG1 & BG2, Modern consoles versions are coming.

Both are already available on ipad.

There's also modernized versions on Steam, GOG, etc.

...with really mediocre "updated" content.

BG3 will be out as "Early Access" tomorrow. I will wait for the full game before making a decision.

I recently played through Baldur's gate on on anticipation of this game coming out.  The tone and voice acting is all over the place, but this was some of the early days for PC game voice acting.  I don't think they hired anyone specially for writing and the plot was written out by some of the programmers.

I loved Baldurs Gate. Life changing. Icewind Dale was fun, Baldurs gate 2 was okay. Neverwinter Nights left me cold. Ive watched a bit of Baldurs 3, it looks impressive. I'll wait and see.

Unusually, the release date for this has been pulled forward to August 3rd. :hmm: Following Larian's previous successes with Divinity: Original Sin 1&2 and an I guess positive Early Access period, this is getting a lot of positive pre-release buzz. :unsure:

Meanwhile, after nearly 25 years I've finally beaten Baldur's Gate. Yes, the first one. :P

I bought the original (German release) at launch. The game came on 5 disks, and while you could define the size of the cache for the game's files, I had to swap disks because my HD at the time was only 1GB in size. :D

(https://i.redd.it/sffguznry9251.jpg)

The screen for swapping disks.

(https://i.imgur.com/eCuGMUa.png)

(Looking up the original box contents I remember that there was a paper map of the city of BG itself which would have been useful in my playthrough.)

Anyways, at the time I got really into the game. I cleared out the entire map except Baldur's Gate itself. At the time I read that there'd be an expansion coming soon that would raise the level cap (that I was brushing up against). So I waited. For some reason the shops in my town took forever to get the expansion in, and by the time I bought it, I loaded up my old save and ... was entirely lost. The journal wasn't nearly as useful then as it is now in the enhanced edition. I made a few abortive attempts to start over but never even got near as far as my original playthrough.

I started a full play through of the game "recently." (I thought it was recently, but looking at my achievements in Steam, I did that in 2020 ... what even is time anymore? :ph34r: ) I had paused again at the entrance of Baldur's Gate, but these last couple of days I made the push to finally get through this. I enjoyed this final stretch more than I expected, though I ran into a few foibles of the game:

- House entrances on the "back" of the building (i.e. doors not on the visible parts of buildings in towns, so you have to mouse over the art to see if the cursor switches to an "enter building" symbol ... )
- Enhanced Edition is much better at tracking quests and its journal is improved a lot, but you can get so used to the automatic quest updates that if in one quest they don't show up you run around wondering what you missed before returning to the quest giver and realizing you were already done.
- Similarly, some quest steps can be done out of order, and generally the game is good about it and not getting confused. Still, in a few instances I had technically finished a quest, but still had to go through some previous steps to trigger the resolution.

On the plus side, pausing while in the inventory screen is a godsend (hated that about original release), and so are the gem pouch and the box for storing scrolls. The Tales of the Sword Coast expansion was fine. Durlag's Tower was fun, and I'm kinda happy to get through it without wakthrough, even though some mechanics/interactions are a bit opaque. ("Oh, there's a random item I can interact with to advance. Gotcha.") At first the Tower confused me. I went all the way up, and there was not much special. Then I realized there was a downstairs area.  :ph34r:

I didn't play the Dragonspear expansion, because I read it has some spoilers for BG2 which I still have to play.

So yeah, BG1 finally finished, almost a quarter century after I first launched the game.

Did I play it on Easy/Story Mode difficulty. Hell yeah. :P

Do I feel guilty about it?

(https://media.tenor.com/L506kLtGqQwAAAAC/ted-lasso-roy-kent.gif)

Looking back, it seems I did one late game encounter quite differently from the "default." In Candlekeep library I'm meeting "Koveras" ( :rolleyes: ) who normally would talk you into killing the Iron Throne leaders in the library (and you have all kinds of reason to) and then have you arrested for the deed.

But because I wanted to explore still, I brushed him off right away before talking anything substantial. I thought I could talk to him later, but he walks off.

I run into the Iron Throne leaders, and I have Yeslick with me.
https://baldursgate.fandom.com/wiki/Yeslick_Orothiar

QuoteThere is an additional dialog between Yeslick and Rieltar Anchev if Yeslick is taken to Candlekeep in Chapter Six. Rieltar does not recognize Yeslick and the latter's justified desire for vengeance, the player can prevent Yeslick from taking violent vengeance or go along with his rage and slay Rieltar and his fellow Iron Throne leaders.

So I talked him down, letting them live (for now), and kept going upstairs. Where I run into a guard who tells me that Rieltar and the others were killed and I'm under arrest.

To be honest, I felt really blindsided by this (I didn't know the endgame content at all), but also felt rightfully indignant, considering I knew I hadn't killed them. (If I had, it would have been a different feeling of having been duped, I assume.) Rather nicely done by the game.

I just started Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition for my first playthrough of any of the games. It was that or Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Edition. So far BG1EE is... ok? Is it worth playing other than for nostalgia which I lack? Should I skip to 2? NWN? I made a half-orc full cleric of Tyr because... it seemed like a good idea at the time?  :lol:

BG2 is a direct continuation of the story as far as I know. I think if you engage the game's narrative and (aging) mechanics, make it to, say, Friendly Arm Inn or Beregost and decide you're not enjoying it, I would bail. The game's main fun is IMHO not so much following the main story but exploring the world and its side content. Its huge, massive piles of side content. I think there's few games with as many little stories (often with multiple ways to resolve them) as BG1. (Haven't played BG2 yet)

Oh also, the combat can be quite hard. :P

I've been meaning to play through BG 1 and 2 Enhanced Editions some time.
I did finish the  first one though have never seen the expansions.
The second...my typical game of getting lost trying to do EVERYTHING. Several times over the years.

Quote from: Sophie Scholl on July 12, 2023, 05:10:23 AMI just started Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition for my first playthrough of any of the games. It was that or Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Edition. So far BG1EE is... ok? Is it worth playing other than for nostalgia which I lack? Should I skip to 2? NWN? I made a half-orc full cleric of Tyr because... it seemed like a good idea at the time?  :lol:

Sophie! :hug:

For some reason I thought you left us.

BG1EE is a little unbalanced from using the the BG2 engine but otherwise still really great IMO. If you want the experience of exploring a world with a team of adventurers and don't mind not finding anything of interest a large amount of the time. And low level adventures have a certain charm BG2 doesn't have IMO.

But I also LOVED BG1 when it came out. I won it six times the first year I had it  :blush:

BG2 is a quite different than BG1 as there is less focus on exploration and just on lots of action all the time. Plus if there is a monster you like in Dungeons and Dragons 2nd edition it shows up in BG2 or BG2:ToB someplace. Even obscure Dark Sun and Planescape stuff.

My main annoyance with BG1 to BG2 is that BG2 just assumes you had a certain party of adventurers with you in BG1 and does weird things with the other BG1 companions.

BG1 is definitely "check each map for any weird stuff you run into." And there's plenty weird stuff and small encounters/quests all over - but also plenty "empty" bits of map - but the maps still look very pretty IMHO.

Quote from: Syt on July 12, 2023, 12:21:33 PMBG1 is definitely "check each map for any weird stuff you run into." And there's plenty weird stuff and small encounters/quests all over - but also plenty "empty" bits of map - but the maps still look very pretty IMHO.

I remember the sinking feeling I had when I realized I had missed out on a large part of the game by failing to poke about.

Quote from: Valmy on July 12, 2023, 11:18:35 AMSophie! :hug:

For some reason I thought you left us.

I took some time off and will be limiting where and how often I engage, but the Gaming HQ is a (relatively) friendly and safe spot. So... we'll see how things go!

I appreciate all of the answers to my question, too! I'll probably play a bit more and see how it feels. I don't mind the graphics, but ooof the slooooow movement is a bit rough. Especially with a lot of back and forth. And this was just in Candledeep!  :lol:

I've also got a ton of new content in WoW to work through, LotRO, and Diablo IV, so we'll see which game I end up playing and latching onto for the next while.

BG2 is much better than BG1. Definitely worth playing if you never played it.

Its not really a direct continuation as the segue between the two story lines is a bit far fetched and assumes a certain party setup in BG1.

Quote from: Zanza on July 12, 2023, 04:56:49 PMBG2 is much better than BG1. Definitely worth playing if you never played it.

They are very different despite being in a very similar engine. I strongly disagree BG2 is better.

QuoteIts not really a direct continuation as the segue between the two story lines is a bit far fetched and assumes a certain party setup in BG1.

Yes. Definitely an annoyance.

Quote from: Zanza on July 12, 2023, 04:56:49 PMBG2 is much better than BG1. Definitely worth playing if you never played it.

Its not really a direct continuation as the segue between the two story lines is a bit far fetched and assumes a certain party setup in BG1.

I was surprised that the canon party was my party in BG 1.  Siege of Dragonspear is suppose to play out the segue between the two games.

Quote from: Valmy on July 12, 2023, 06:58:44 PM

Quote from: Zanza on July 12, 2023, 04:56:49 PMBG2 is much better than BG1. Definitely worth playing if you never played it.

They are very different despite being in a very similar engine. I strongly disagree BG2 is better.

Fair enough, it is a matter of taste. Anyway, if you like BG1, you should at least play BG2 once to see if you also like it.

These isometric RPGs are something I have really wanted to like but always seem to burn out on them far before I can finish them. I wonder why that is.

Quote from: Tamas on July 13, 2023, 04:53:17 AMThese isometric RPGs are something I have really wanted to like but always seem to burn out on them far before I can finish them. I wonder why that is.

A lot of them are really long since they are relatively simple to make content for. I would like to recommend the Heart of Winter expansion for IWD since it is such a short and exciting adventure...but it is also hard as shit so not really a good intro adventure.

Quote from: Zanza on July 12, 2023, 11:01:13 PM

Quote from: Valmy on July 12, 2023, 06:58:44 PM

Quote from: Zanza on July 12, 2023, 04:56:49 PMBG2 is much better than BG1. Definitely worth playing if you never played it.

They are very different despite being in a very similar engine. I strongly disagree BG2 is better.

Fair enough, it is a matter of taste. Anyway, if you like BG1, you should at least play BG2 once to see if you also like it.

I agree. They are both really good but despite being in mostly the same engine with the same characters and the same rules they are very different.

I slightly prefer BG1 because holy shit BG2 is hard and has a very long (if exciting and cool) linear part in the middle of the game. And there is something almost evil about Throne of Bhaal (granted it literally takes place in the lower planes and all...) about how ruthlessly it stretches the AD&D 2nd Ed rules for a super highly level game.

Yeah, if you want to do all optional quests in BG2, it will take a while. And yes, the middle chapter, as well as Throne of Bhaal, is fairly linear, but before and after that you can explore a very nice world.

Quote from: Valmy on July 12, 2023, 11:18:35 AM

Quote from: Sophie Scholl on July 12, 2023, 05:10:23 AMI just started Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition for my first playthrough of any of the games. It was that or Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Edition. So far BG1EE is... ok? Is it worth playing other than for nostalgia which I lack? Should I skip to 2? NWN? I made a half-orc full cleric of Tyr because... it seemed like a good idea at the time?  :lol:

Sophie! :hug:

For some reason I thought you left us.

BG1EE is a little unbalanced from using the the BG2 engine but otherwise still really great IMO. If you want the experience of exploring a world with a team of adventurers and don't mind not finding anything of interest a large amount of the time. And low level adventures have a certain charm BG2 doesn't have IMO.

But I also LOVED BG1 when it came out. I won it six times the first year I had it  :blush:

BG2 is a quite different than BG1 as there is less focus on exploration and just on lots of action all the time. Plus if there is a monster you like in Dungeons and Dragons 2nd edition it shows up in BG2 or BG2:ToB someplace. Even obscure Dark Sun and Planescape stuff.

My main annoyance with BG1 to BG2 is that BG2 just assumes you had a certain party of adventurers with you in BG1 and does weird things with the other BG1 companions.

Agreed.
BG1 is much better.
BG2 begins to lean a bit much into power gaming and combat. Which is not the strongest part of the game.

Though minsc, imoen, and jaheira were from my bg1 party. I guess they are the most typical straight forward good aligned party.
Kind of a shitty transition between the games though yes.
Surprised modders haven't done something with that (or maybe they have. I haven't checked)

There's a whole game that deals with the transition.

I've started BG2, about 12 hours in (yes, in Story Mode ... feeling lazy :P ). (No spoilers, pls!)

It indeed starts off a lot more in medias res than the 1st one. And it seems you can't walk five feet without running into a new quest. I feel every time I finish one quest, two new ones are added to the journal. The quests are fun, but I kinda miss the chill exploration of the first game. "Ok, let's finally deal with ... " - "Oh adventurer, I need your help!" :D

Still in Chapter 2. I haven't even been to all city districts yet, and only a few non-city locations.

Also, Minsc is getting a bit annoying with his enthusiasm. And that's me, playing lawful good. :lol:

Oh, and: David Warner. :wub:

No one talking about the bear here? :unsure:

I mentioned it in the misc. thread, but not even Brain replied. <_<

I've been playing Solasta a bit, while this has been gestating, as the former was recently discounted.  Also uses the 5E ruleset although with its own custom subclasses.  Nice tactical feel and one of the first such games I've played where the "light" spell is essential.

Quote from: jimmy olsen on July 16, 2023, 06:44:13 PMNo one talking about the bear here? :unsure:

Bear? :unsure:

Quote from: Syt on July 17, 2023, 06:43:40 AMI mentioned it in the misc. thread, but not even Brain replied. <_<

I feel like when a brand so wants to be edgy and the topic of conversation, I don't want to reward them.  :sleep:

Quote from: garbon on July 17, 2023, 09:18:14 AMI feel like when a brand so wants to be edgy and the topic of conversation, I don't want to reward them.  :sleep:

It's more round and furry then edgy.

Quote from: Valmy on July 17, 2023, 08:43:35 AM

Quote from: jimmy olsen on July 16, 2023, 06:44:13 PMNo one talking about the bear here? :unsure:

Bear? :unsure:

It was a weird trending news story last week that theres a sex scene with a druid who turns into a bear

Quote from: garbon on July 17, 2023, 09:18:14 AMI feel like when a brand so wants to be edgy and the topic of conversation, I don't want to reward them.  :sleep:

Yeah... I don't have an issue with folks who are into furry stuff, but it's not my thing at all so I don't have anything to say about it.

Well, they seem to offer you choice:

https://gizmodo.com/baldurs-gate-3-druid-bear-sex-scene-d-d-larian-1850615741

QuoteThe other meanwhile, saw one of the playable party members gamers can pick instead of a custom character, Astarion (a High Elf Vampire), escape the city for a nighttime forest encounter with the party member Halsin, a Wood Elf druid. Much to the delight of the watching live audience, the scene quickly saw both men undress for a moment of intimacy... before, while being overcome with lust, Halsin lost control of his druidic abilties and briefly wildshaped into a bear.

Being a Dungeons & Dragons game, and therefore being about letting you make any choice you want, the scene could've played out multiple ways—the player can back out, scared off by Halsin's lack of control; they can comfort him and continue their romantic encounter; or they can... ask him to turn back into a bear. What do you think the audience picked? "Have you ever considered the joys and pleasures of sexual congress with a wildshaped Druid?" Adam Smith, a lead writer on Baldur's Gate 3, said in a statement sent via press release. "Because at Larian, we have, and ultimately landed on the side of giving the people what they want: tender, consensual romance with a man temporarily transformed into a grizzly bear."

Quote from: jimmy olsen on July 16, 2023, 06:44:13 PMNo one talking about the bear here? :unsure:

Surely the TV/Movies thread has some discussion?

Those of you who've played BG3 in early access - how much of your party can be custom made vs how many premade PCs (or GMPCs) do you need to have in your group?

Haven't played the beta (or Divinity Original Sin 2), but one of the complaints about D:OS2 was apparently that if you picked a pre-made character they had pretty well written character stories and quests for each one, but if you created your own ones that was largely missing. It seems that in BG3 they made it that you create your character but can then select a "backstory" that will have ongoing influence on your gameplay (kinda like Dragon Age: Origins, I guess?).

RPS has more here: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/baldurs-gate-3-is-about-choices-but-when-the-dark-urge-takes-over-you-can-only-react

Quote from: Josquius on July 17, 2023, 11:29:00 AM

Quote from: Valmy on July 17, 2023, 08:43:35 AM

Quote from: jimmy olsen on July 16, 2023, 06:44:13 PMNo one talking about the bear here? :unsure:

Bear? :unsure:

It was a weird trending news story last week that theres a sex scene with a druid who turns into a bear

You know maybe it was better in BG2 when this kind of thing could only be done in text.

Quote from: Valmy on July 17, 2023, 02:43:32 PM

Quote from: Josquius on July 17, 2023, 11:29:00 AM

Quote from: Valmy on July 17, 2023, 08:43:35 AM

Quote from: jimmy olsen on July 16, 2023, 06:44:13 PMNo one talking about the bear here? :unsure:

Bear? :unsure:

It was a weird trending news story last week that theres a sex scene with a druid who turns into a bear

You know maybe it was better in BG2 when this kind of thing could only be done in text.

The internet disagrees. Sales on steam rose 70 spots to number 3 after that demo.

Quote from: Jacob on July 17, 2023, 12:54:51 PMThose of you who've played BG3 in early access - how much of your party can be custom made vs how many premade PCs (or GMPCs) do you need to have in your group?

You can play as one of the act 1 companions in place of the PC and change their appearance and crunch during character creation.

I'm so excited for this game! I've been tempted to get the early access version, but I think I'm going to hold off so I can go in fresh at launch. I'm debating between a cleric and a paladin. Probably Half-Orc. I'm thinking I'll try to romance Karlach the Tiefling Barbarian. I really hope there is a story mode level of difficulty as I'm significantly more invested in the story, roleplaying, immersion, and adventure aspects of it over strategy, grind, and puzzling.

Quote from: Sophie Scholl on July 27, 2023, 04:59:20 AMI really hope there is a story mode level of difficulty as I'm significantly more invested in the story, roleplaying, immersion, and adventure aspects of it over strategy, grind, and puzzling.

Well that's just not in the spirit of Baldur's Gate at all  :lol:

More power to you Sophie.

I am always core rules all the way. Let Bioware Larian kill me in the way TSR WOTC intended.

Quote from: Valmy on July 27, 2023, 12:10:27 PMI am always core rules all the way. Let Bioware Larian kill me in the way TSR WOTC intended.

Bah "core" rules are for wussies.  You can get hit by fireballs all day long and never have to check for damage to your travelling spell books. And not a single 10 ft pole or 50 ft of rope in sight.

Kids these days ...

Quote from: The Minsky Moment on July 27, 2023, 07:00:52 PMBah "core" rules are for wussies.  You can get hit by fireballs all day long and never have to check for damage to your travelling spell books. And not a single 10 ft pole or 50 ft of rope in sight.

Kids these days ...

 :wub:

Quote from: The Minsky Moment on July 27, 2023, 07:00:52 PM

Quote from: Valmy on July 27, 2023, 12:10:27 PMI am always core rules all the way. Let Bioware Larian kill me in the way TSR WOTC intended.

Bah "core" rules are for wussies.  You can get hit by fireballs all day long and never have to check for damage to your travelling spell books. And not a single 10 ft pole or 50 ft of rope in sight.

Kids these days ...

Ah 1970s D&D.

"You see the entrance to the dungeon"

"We bravely enter yelling our battle cry"

"You all fall down a 100 foot pit and die"

Sounds like you played with a crap DM :nerd:

Quote from: Jacob on July 27, 2023, 08:41:19 PMSounds like you played with a crap DM :nerd:

Just making a reference to a very specific adventure  :P

(https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tombofhorrors.jpg)

And it wasn't the DMs fault, he was just playing it as written!

Quote from: Valmy on July 27, 2023, 07:54:00 PMAh 1970s D&D.

"You see the entrance to the dungeon"

"We bravely enter yelling our battle cry"

"You all fall down a 100 foot pit and die"

 :lol: That's great. I guess I never read up on the madness of the original too much. My introduction was via the old computer/NES games, the Dragonlance books, and the boxed starter set with the red dragon on the cover.

I cannot overstate the effect the original Dragonlance trilogy had on me and my couple of friends who read my copies (well I had the Hungarian translations of it of course).

We were RPGing already using a Hungarian system which was our first exposure to the whole idea and I had one or two of the Fighting Fantasy books already, but this was the first fantasy epic I read and right away something meant to fit into AD&D. We ended up naming our first AD&D characters after characters from the book.  :D (we were 13, in our defense).

I think I read the trilogy 6 times during my teenage years.

A favorite old school rule was the requirement to spend weeks of training and studying time (plus gobs of money) before advancing in level.  Definitely up there in the hierarchy of most ignored AD&D rule.  Love to see the player reaction if that rule was properly implemented in a cRPG ("wait where's the level up button for my cleric?   2000 gp on vestments?  WTF?")

Quote from: Valmy on July 27, 2023, 07:54:00 PMAh 1970s D&D.

"You see the entrance to the dungeon"

"We bravely enter yelling our battle cry"

"You all fall down a 100 foot pit and die"

See now that would never happen to proper 70s era players.  It would some poor hirelings and henchmen that would be the first to go.

Better boost that CHA on your fighter - going to need some more henchmen.

Quote from: Valmy on July 27, 2023, 09:46:01 PMJust making a reference to a very specific adventure  :P

And it wasn't the DMs fault, he was just playing it as written!

Yeah okay if your DM selects a tournament module and runs it as written, then yeah that's what you're going to get. Still is the DM's responsibility.

Quote from: Jacob on July 28, 2023, 12:04:33 PM

Quote from: Valmy on July 27, 2023, 09:46:01 PMJust making a reference to a very specific adventure  :P

And it wasn't the DMs fault, he was just playing it as written!

Yeah okay if your DM selects a tournament module and runs it as written, then yeah that's what you're going to get. Still is the DM's responsibility.

Ok I never actually played D&D in the 1970s, I was born in 1977, and I never actually ran this module. I was just making a joke and a nerdy reference.

Two by Fours was an awful module.

Quote from: Valmy on July 28, 2023, 02:31:25 PMOk I never actually played D&D in the 1970s, I was born in 1977, and I never actually ran this module. I was just making a joke and a nerdy reference.
[/quote

I was just engaging in nerdy banter  :hug: :nerd:

... and I didn't start until the 80s either.

Quote from: Tamas on July 28, 2023, 09:10:11 AMI cannot overstate the effect the original Dragonlance trilogy had on me and my couple of friends who read my copies (well I had the Hungarian translations of it of course).

We were RPGing already using a Hungarian system which was our first exposure to the whole idea and I had one or two of the Fighting Fantasy books already, but this was the first fantasy epic I read and right away something meant to fit into AD&D. We ended up naming our first AD&D characters after characters from the book.  :D (we were 13, in our defense).

I think I read the trilogy 6 times during my teenage years.

I actually started with The Legend of Huma followed by its sequel, Kaz the Minotaur. For whatever reason, those were the ones that jumped out to me over the Dragons trilogy. It was wild reading them eventually and seeing Sturm, the "modern" Knights of Solamnia, and seeing so many, to me, reoccurring little bits of lore from Huma pop up. Huma and Kaz were absolute game changers though in terms of my love of fantasy in general and knights and knighthood in particular. I think I'm on my... like 5th copy of Huma and 3rd of Kaz? I've read Huma well over a dozen times. Probably more than twenty over the years if I really tried to do a full reckoning. I honestly couldn't even tell you if it is remotely a good book, because I have zero objectivity on the subject. It is possibly even more of a comfort book for me than the LotR trilogy. I have a feeling I might need to do a re-read as soon as I finish my current primary read. For many reasons.

BG3 final info: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1086940/view/3655285307835439472

Download will be 122GB (no pre-load, apparently not possible if the game was in early access), unlocking 3rd August at the below times. Some more info about the game in general (voice actors, mind flayer skill progression, etc.). There's also some info on 4K requirements.

QuoteWith a good CPU and a GeForce 3060, you can play at 1440p at 60fps. Native 4K will require double fill rate, so we recommend using a top-end GeForce 4080/4090 or AMD equivalent. And of course, with DLSS, you can reach 4K with lower requirements, thanks to the wizards at Nvidia.

(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//35190511/aaa5c1f644decb86342d4674a41d7d3a8a55833d.jpg)

I'm nearing completion of BG2 - Throne of Bhaal. I may be able to finish by Thursday late afternoon, and I will probably have thoughts about it afterwards that I will post around here somewhere. :P

Throne of Bhaal is not as good as the main game. The story is way too linear and the power gaming is absurd. By the end, your characters could probably single-handedly take the top enemies from the base game.

Quote from: Zanza on August 01, 2023, 01:47:00 AMThrone of Bhaal is not as good as the main game. The story is way too linear and the power gaming is absurd. By the end, your characters could probably single-handedly take the top enemies from the base game.

That's what it feels like so far. Even in Story Mode, some of the fights and what's getting thrown at you is a bit brutal. I do appreciate, though, that by this point any ranged characters will have weapons/accessories that don't require restocking of ammo anymore. And I was incredibly happy when I finally found a bag of holding in the main campaign. :P

The only problem is that the Bag of Holding can become full. :P

Quote from: Solmyr on August 01, 2023, 03:29:54 AMThe only problem is that the Bag of Holding can become full. :P

So I noticed. -_-

Quote from: Solmyr on August 01, 2023, 03:29:54 AMThe only problem is that the Bag of Holding can become full. :P

Literally unplayable.

In the base game, you can keep all the clutter in your class holdout, no? Can't remember if you have something similar in ToB. The Pocket Plane or so?

Quote from: Zanza on August 01, 2023, 04:28:12 AMIn the base game, you can keep all the clutter in your class holdout, no? Can't remember if you have something similar in ToB. The Pocket Plane or so?

Technically yes, but I didn't acquire the class holdout till quite late.

Quote from: Valmy on July 28, 2023, 02:31:25 PM

Quote from: Jacob on July 28, 2023, 12:04:33 PM

Quote from: Valmy on July 27, 2023, 09:46:01 PMJust making a reference to a very specific adventure  :P

And it wasn't the DMs fault, he was just playing it as written!

Yeah okay if your DM selects a tournament module and runs it as written, then yeah that's what you're going to get. Still is the DM's responsibility.

Ok I never actually played D&D in the 1970s, I was born in 1977, and I never actually ran this module. I was just making a joke and a nerdy reference.

'We' played D&D in the late 70s, the Giants, the D series incl. Kuo-Toa and some of the S1 series episodes stand out; I don't recall much about Tomb of Horrors, probably wasn't that good.

Quote from: Syt on August 01, 2023, 01:23:55 AMBG3 final info: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1086940/view/3655285307835439472

Download will be 122GB (no pre-load, apparently not possible if the game was in early access), unlocking 3rd August at the below times. Some more info about the game in general (voice actors, mind flayer skill progression, etc.). There's also some info on 4K requirements.

QuoteWith a good CPU and a GeForce 3060, you can play at 1440p at 60fps. Native 4K will require double fill rate, so we recommend using a top-end GeForce 4080/4090 or AMD equivalent. And of course, with DLSS, you can reach 4K with lower requirements, thanks to the wizards at Nvidia.

OK but what we really want to know is well it runs on Steam Deck.

We played Tomb of Horrors with my high school DND group. It was a pure dungeon crawler, and a pretty memorable one I'd say, but really thin on the story part of the experience. But we didn't care much for that at that age :p

Steam says BG3 has LAN and Online Co-op. Do any of you know how that feels? Is it really good? Kind of shitty?

... and presumably it requires two copies of the game?

I'm seeing online references to split screen being available on Xbox and PS5, but haven't seen it mentioned on PC. Do any of you know if it's possible?

Quote from: The Minsky Moment on August 01, 2023, 09:45:59 AM

Quote from: Syt on August 01, 2023, 01:23:55 AMBG3 final info: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1086940/view/3655285307835439472

Download will be 122GB (no pre-load, apparently not possible if the game was in early access), unlocking 3rd August at the below times. Some more info about the game in general (voice actors, mind flayer skill progression, etc.). There's also some info on 4K requirements.

QuoteWith a good CPU and a GeForce 3060, you can play at 1440p at 60fps. Native 4K will require double fill rate, so we recommend using a top-end GeForce 4080/4090 or AMD equivalent. And of course, with DLSS, you can reach 4K with lower requirements, thanks to the wizards at Nvidia.

OK but what we really want to know is well it runs on Steam Deck.

Yeah. Once I read that I bought it  :lol:

I will get it next weekend. Not sure if it runs on my machine though.

It would have been cool if they allowed at least partial pre-downloading of assets.  :glare:

Started the game on Steam Deck and can confirm it works. Default settings are medium, running at 30fps. Even has controller support.   :bowler:

Storymode is... not very easy. Ooof. I honestly think it might be broken. I don't see any of the differences between it and normal.

Quote from: Zanza on August 03, 2023, 12:19:55 PMI will get it next weekend. Not sure if it runs on my machine though.

A friend is running it on his PC built in 2014, so it's apparently quite lenient. You may have to adjust some settings down.

On my Intel Core i5 10600K and 32GB (or is it 24, can't remember right now) RAM with a GeForce 1660 it runs very smoothly in Ultra, although in 1080p only.

What's everybody first impression? 

So far very positive (been a while that intro cinematics blew me away, for example), but I have just entered the "here's this town-like area go around talking to random people if you don't want to miss side quests" phase which wears me down in these kind of games eventually. I am feeling motivated to continue, though.

That part sounds like the most fun.  :P

Roughly 2 and a half hours in. Mostly just messing with character creation and getting through the tutorial.

Very positive vibe so far. I haven't played a CRPG in a long time but this feels like getting back on a bike after a long time away. I like it.

I'm playing this on a Steam Deck on the Ultra preset with a few settings turned down to Low and FSR on. It's running a solid 30fps and it looks spectacular on the small screen. It's honestly incredibly I'm playing a game that looks and feels this good on a handheld. And the controller scheme is very intuitive.

Can someone with the PC version confirm whether or not split-screen coop is possible? My internet searching has turned up conflicting information.

... the question is now academic for me, as I just bought it and am waiting for the ~120 GB download to finish. So I guess I'll see  for myself  :lol:

On vacation. I will try it next week sometime and let you guys know what I think.

This is probably the best review out for the game right now. The guy is a CRPG fanatic.

I should really search for an authentic Ad&D 1st Edition experience, any suggestion which games do conform to those rules or at least something in the spirit of the game from way back then?

Quote from: Zanza on August 04, 2023, 10:40:36 AMWhat's everybody first impression? 

It's a really well-executed D&D CRPG. It seems faithful to the 5E rules, faithful to the Forgotten Realms setting, and well executed in terms of mechanics, graphics, and story (so far as I've gotten, which isn't very).

Turns out that's not what I want to play right now, but it did motivate me to go back and troubleshoot my otherwise abandoned Skyrim modlist.

The opening cinematic does a great job setting the stakes and providing a call to action. That said, my personal philosophy is that video-game cutscenes should focus on interpersonal interactions that add emotional heft to gameplay rather than high action sequences not achievable in gameplay. So the bits with the little larvae thingies was great. I found all the flying and smashing and high action stuff a bit tedious. It does look really good, though, and it's nicely executed.

Quote from: mongers on August 04, 2023, 06:44:53 PMI should really search for an authentic Ad&D 1st Edition experience, any suggestion which games do conform to those rules or at least something in the spirit of the game from way back then?

The Goldbox games are available on Steam if you are willing to accept late 80s graphics.
The original Baldur's Gate used 2e rules but 2nd edition isn't really THAT different. 

Quote from: The Minsky Moment on August 04, 2023, 08:58:57 PM

Quote from: mongers on August 04, 2023, 06:44:53 PMI should really search for an authentic Ad&D 1st Edition experience, any suggestion which games do conform to those rules or at least something in the spirit of the game from way back then?

The Goldbox games are available on Steam if you are willing to accept late 80s graphics.
The original Baldur's Gate used 2e rules but 2nd edition isn't really THAT different. 

Also on GOG. Keep in mind that you probably want to have the pdf manuals open for those as the games often refer to "tavern rumor no. X" or "journal entry no. Y" that you need to read up in it. They also contain all the tables for weapons, spells etc. IIRC the games are more dungeon crawling and combat focused, less story driven. Oh, and there's some quality of life tools frkm the community these days, e.g. automatically drawing a map as you explore.

Character creation and ruleset are quite smooth. Made me want to play D&D 5e. :lol:

I'm amazed they're onto 5th edition. 2nd edition lasted forever, seemed to be one of those things that just always was and would be there. I remember when 3rd came along but totally overlooked 4 and 5.
A quick read about BG3 and all the changes confuse me. So many new classes.
I shall play this some day. I guess no need to play 1 and 2 again first? Sounds only vaguely related.

3rd edition was the last tabletop version I played. I felt like I had fun despite the system. 5th edition feels much smoother but maybe its just that it is on a computer.

I'm 4 hours in this game and I'm still exploring the initial zone that is immediately after the tutorial  :lol:

That zone is act 1

Quote from: FunkMonk on August 05, 2023, 10:02:21 AMI'm 4 hours in this game and I'm still exploring the initial zone that is immediately after the tutorial  :lol:

30 hours into the game and same.

Quote from: Tamas on August 05, 2023, 05:40:02 AM3rd edition was the last tabletop version I played. I felt like I had fun despite the system. 5th edition feels much smoother but maybe its just that it is on a computer.

I DMed 3/3.5 to my then-RPG group quite heavily, though we started with AD&D 2e in the 90s. Forgotten Realms was actually the world we had the most campaigns in. So it holds a special place in my heart. I've played 5e in an online campaign last year, and the ruleset seems to be fairly robust. Definitely a lot easier to keep track of modifiers than it was in 3e!

Quote from: The Minsky Moment on August 04, 2023, 08:58:57 PM

Quote from: mongers on August 04, 2023, 06:44:53 PMI should really search for an authentic Ad&D 1st Edition experience, any suggestion which games do conform to those rules or at least something in the spirit of the game from way back then?

The Goldbox games are available on Steam if you are willing to accept late 80s graphics.
The original Baldur's Gate used 2e rules but 2nd edition isn't really THAT different. 

Thanks MM Ill check them out.

Quote from: chipwich on August 05, 2023, 10:30:50 AMThat zone is act 1

Woah

Sadly I've shelved it for now. I play mouse and keyboard from the couch, and the TV is my monitor. It's impossible to make tooltips and the UI in general bigger. Apparently that has been a constant complaint for 3 years on the Larian forums.

Going to wait for a mod to address that hopefully.

I find this situation pretty ridiculous for a AAA game in 2023. You can bet the console version will have a bigger UI. Not sure why PC is always a fucking afterthought.

Important note: Be sure to turn off karmic dice. It not only affects the player, it affects npc's, too. I was wondering why I they never missed and always did solid damage. I turned it off and the results were faaaaaar more reasonable.  :)

Quote from: mongers on August 05, 2023, 12:23:08 PM

Quote from: The Minsky Moment on August 04, 2023, 08:58:57 PM

Quote from: mongers on August 04, 2023, 06:44:53 PMI should really search for an authentic Ad&D 1st Edition experience, any suggestion which games do conform to those rules or at least something in the spirit of the game from way back then?

The Goldbox games are available on Steam if you are willing to accept late 80s graphics.
The original Baldur's Gate used 2e rules but 2nd edition isn't really THAT different. 

Thanks MM Ill check them out.

I haven't played on the table in over 30 years so understand that preference.  However, the 5e ruleset is pretty good. Definitely more tactical options then 1e/2e and more immersive and useful ones than 3e.  It's the first rules edition that makes playing a fighter an interesting option with 2 excellent subclasses.  Casters are stronger than 1e/2e at lower levels but not quite as overpowered at high levels (fewer high level spell slots and many spells require constant concentration to maintain).  It still has the wacky no holds barred multiclassing rules from 3e that funnel players to focusing efforts on "builds" rather than playing the damn character.  But you can just ignore it - most of the classes do very well as a single class.

Quote from: Zoupa on August 05, 2023, 07:15:01 PMSadly I've shelved it for now. I play mouse and keyboard from the couch, and the TV is my monitor. It's impossible to make tooltips and the UI in general bigger. Apparently that has been a constant complaint for 3 years on the Larian forums.

Going to wait for a mod to address that hopefully.

I find this situation pretty ridiculous for a AAA game in 2023. You can bet the console version will have a bigger UI. Not sure why PC is always a fucking afterthought.

Hmm. I will also play it on my TV screen connected to a PC. Let's see if it is readable. Had that issue with other games too. Currently downloading, will play tonight.

I'm so tempted... but I wanted to devote this summer holidays to going to the beach and writing a "one for me" script that I've always wanted to finish, and BG3 would send my productivity to hell in a handbasket  :lol:

Quote from: Zoupa on August 05, 2023, 07:15:01 PMSadly I've shelved it for now. I play mouse and keyboard from the couch, and the TV is my monitor. It's impossible to make tooltips and the UI in general bigger. Apparently that has been a constant complaint for 3 years on the Larian forums.

Going to wait for a mod to address that hopefully.

I find this situation pretty ridiculous for a AAA game in 2023. You can bet the console version will have a bigger UI. Not sure why PC is always a fucking afterthought.

When will they learn. I've been finding this problem is common in games for the past decade.
Even when they too put in a UI scaler it's usually broken, blowing up the entire UI to silly levels rather than just putting the text up a few points.

Did you start with a custom character or with one of the predefined origins?

Quote from: Zanza on August 06, 2023, 01:30:56 PMDid you start with a custom character or with one of the predefined origins?

I think the devs' recommendation was to play a custom character on your first playthrough to make it your own and not having to worry if any decision "makes" sense in the context of the predefined char's backstory. Also, you can pick them up as party members in game and follow their story lines, so you're not losing out on narrative.

I like how that advice assumes multiple playthroughs as a given  :lol:

https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/603

Bigger fonts mod. Just tested it now, works fine :) I suggest you create your character first, head into the game, save then exit the game. Install the mod in:

\AppData\Local\Larian Studios\Baldur's Gate 3\Mods

then relaunch.

I did not expect myself getting so hooked on this. Played over 20 hours during the weekend.  :Embarrass:

After a very early restart, I am just now entering the Underdark. I think this is the last of the "Act I" territory.

I learned from playing Act I that there's always more territory than you think in Act I. :P

Quote from: Tamas on August 07, 2023, 06:43:01 AMI did not expect myself getting so hooked on this. Played over 20 hours during the weekend.  :Embarrass:

After a very early restart, I am just now entering the Underdark. I think this is the last of the "Act I" territory.

What level is this game?
Sounds like you're starting pretty high.

Quote from: Josquius on August 07, 2023, 08:17:30 AM

Quote from: Tamas on August 07, 2023, 06:43:01 AMI did not expect myself getting so hooked on this. Played over 20 hours during the weekend.  :Embarrass:

After a very early restart, I am just now entering the Underdark. I think this is the last of the "Act I" territory.

What level is this game?
Sounds like you're starting pretty high.

No. You start level 1. I am now at level 5.

Suggestions for a starting character.  You guys made me buy it  :D

I went with the custom character and picked a human Paladin, hardly the most creative choice. Played like one and half hours so far. Not yet a fan of the UX, but the game itself seems solid enough. All the cutscenes interrupt the flow a lot though.

I went with Wyll on the theory of having a high CHA principal with good communication skills.  And warlocks can do range, some melee, some spell stuff without being bogged down with huge spell lists.  So can try out various aspects of the game without having to stress over whether I learned the right spells. And went with a premade because the whole idea of the warlock is a pact with a dangerous being and only the origin character will have that interaction scripted out.

Quote from: crazy canuck on August 07, 2023, 10:56:17 AMSuggestions for a starting character.  You guys made me buy it  :D

Fairly soon into the game you get the ability to completely respec into a different class (and the same for any companions you get), so you can experiment later if you want to try something different without a full restart.

Quote from: Jacob on August 06, 2023, 06:16:04 PMI like how that advice assumes multiple playthroughs as a given  :lol:

The game definitely seems made for replaying with a different character build (and even moreso roleplaying a different personality). At the very least you'll want to play the Dark Urge at some point, because it apparently makes the game very different.

I was playing a paladin and decided to give bard a shot. Bard, so far, is absolutely amazing. They have everything you need as a primary character, plus they fill the role of Astarion if you're not keen on him being in the party. I plan on having Shadowheart for heals, Karlach for melee fighting, and.... Wyll or Gale for spells maybe?

I just went with a mod that let you have 16 companions in your party. :P I hate missing content because you didn't bring a specific character.

I restarted with a sorcerer to play with Lae'zal, Shadowheart and Astarion. That should be a reasonably balanced party. Let's see. But the game looks interesting enough to replay.

This game is fucking amazing. I have only had time to play a few hours but it definitely has my attention. I love the shit out of it.

Though I was kind of amused that you start the game on a wrecked Mind Flayer Ship in freaking Avernus yet somehow it is easier than just walking around Candlekeep in BG1 since you aren't potentially being ambushed by level 1 thief assassins when you don't have any gear. But it was certainly very cool.

I think the feature that most intrigues me is how you can play as one of the Companions. That is really cool and creative and really separates this game from the Bioware titles. I didn't realize that was what was going on at first and created a character and was like "hey wait these companions I keep finding are the premades I could play at the beginning..." that blew me away. I couldn't wait to restart and play as one of them and have a whole personal story (presumably anyway...) to play out in the game. It is kind of like BG and Planescape Torment combined.

Also since my character was a Paladin and the the first three companions I was meeting were obviously evil I needed another way to go. I do kind of wish alignments were a thing in this game because it would give me some guidance on how to play the mage guy Gale, since all it gives you is the roughest of outlines of his backstory. If I am going to play a character somebody else made I need as much information as possible, unless I am an amnesiac like in PS:T of course.

Anyway I enjoyed the combat system (I prefer RT with pause but this is fun) though holy shit PCs are much more powerful in 5th edition than they were in 2nd. Everybody has a basket of powers even at level 1. I enjoy the writing and the exploration. I never felt like Divinity Orignal Sin took itself very seriously (even compared to Bioware) and I am glad to see that isn't a problem so far. My main whine is that you only get four characters in your party at once. Like holy shit, that's only enough to cover the four basic archetypes. I wish it was six like in the original BG.

If I wasn't super busy and had a full life full of purpose I would be playing the shit out of this thing. 18 years ago I would be doing nothing but. Ah well, thus is the price of getting what you wanted in your life.

I look forward to getting to know all the companions and playing them in future run throughs. But it will be very slow going as I only get a few hours to play if I am lucky.

I think if you play as one of the premade companions, you are free to take them into whatever direction you want, alignment-wise. Don't think there's anything set in stone regarding that. My personal speculation of their alignments based on their personalities would be as follows:

Lae'zel - Lawful Evil like all githyanki, she's very much into authority and doesn't tolerate weakness
Shadowheart - True Neutral; she worships Shar (a NE goddess), but actually appreciates not being a dick to people, so she's not evil
Karlach - obviously Chaotic Good
Astarion - probably Neutral Evil, he's pretty selfish and vain and doesn't like heroics
Wyll - some variety of Good, probably Lawful Good based on his pact with a devil
Gale - also some variety of Good since he generally likes being nice to people; probably Neutral Good
Halsin - a druid of Silvanus so most likely True Neutral

This is a real pleasure to play.  And I love that they have incorporated a DM of sorts.

Went with a half orc Paladin.  Already thinking about a Bard or Sorcerer next.  Although the pre-made warlock would also be interesting.

Now that I know I am going to be seeing my character in a lot of cut scenes I would have taken a bit more time designing their appearance.   :D

https://www.pcgamer.com/i-broke-baldurs-gate-3-by-playing-as-a-party-of-bears/?

 :lol:

Quote from: Solmyr on August 07, 2023, 06:35:25 PMI think if you play as one of the premade companions, you are free to take them into whatever direction you want, alignment-wise. Don't think there's anything set in stone regarding that. My personal speculation of their alignments based on their personalities would be as follows:

Oh you think that about Gale? That's cool, that is typically my favorite alignment.

Though I am skeptical a Priestess of Shar, who is the purest form of evil, would not be evil I am willing to give her a shot...especially since she is the only cleric I have found so far.

Planescape:Torment definitely made me a Githzerai fan, so tolerating having a Gith of the other sky is tough.

Regarding Shadowheart, she definitely does not like Selunites, but otherwise is not into hurting people and actually approves when you resolve things peacefully and help others. She can't be Good based on official cleric alignment rules, but TN is one step from NE, so she can be that.

Quote from: Solmyr on August 07, 2023, 03:56:17 PMI just went with a mod that let you have 16 companions in your party. :P I hate missing content because you didn't bring a specific character.

 :lol:

Great game. I am trying to stick with "good guy" choices -although not exclusively- to keep content for a future "bad guy" playthrough. Although I am not sure how blurred those lines are/will remain in the game.

Also I am trying not to save scum for dialog rolls, except when failure in one would result in an absolutely unwinnable fight. :P

Between having a Friends cantrip from my main enchanter wizard, a Guidance cantrip from someone else, and occasional use of Inspiration points, I don't think I've ever failed a dialog roll. Granted, if you have a lower Charisma and no access to the above, you might fail more often.

Quote from: Solmyr on August 08, 2023, 11:57:51 AMBetween having a Friends cantrip from my main enchanter wizard, a Guidance cantrip from someone else, and occasional use of Inspiration points, I don't think I've ever failed a dialog roll. Granted, if you have a lower Charisma and no access to the above, you might fail more often.

Have you: turned off karmic dice? :P

So I started a game playing the Gith companion and wow the tutorial area was a lot different, they even added a whole new Gith character. I fucking love the reactivity.

I wanted to buy this. Then I remembered that I've had Divinity: Original Sin for years sitting in the library.

So I'm playing those first.

I'm enjoying it as well. Main is a warlock. :thumbsup:

I am wondering if I was playing the NPC warlock wrong in my first try. My PC was a wizard (also is in my current play) and I actually missed recruiting the lizard lady, meaning warlock guy was my melee guy and he... did not work great for that. Then again in my current game I of course have lizard lady but having a wizard as well in the team I fail to see what good the warlock would do. In fact I have a very classic line up of wizard-fighter-rogue-cleric and it is working quite well, giving me very AD&D feels. The fighter is great DPS now on level 5 hitting twice in a turn but also has the armor and HP to soak up damage when the enemies don't ignore her to come around hitting the other guys. The rogue is also good DPS but that mostly comes out at range, to be honest without that if it wasn't for lockpicking I'd probably have the barbarian instead. The cleric is well, the cleric, she can do decent damage as a secondar role especially if this nuke-at-touch spell (forgot the name) actually hits.

Quote from: Tamas on August 08, 2023, 03:37:26 PM

Quote from: Solmyr on August 08, 2023, 11:57:51 AMBetween having a Friends cantrip from my main enchanter wizard, a Guidance cantrip from someone else, and occasional use of Inspiration points, I don't think I've ever failed a dialog roll. Granted, if you have a lower Charisma and no access to the above, you might fail more often.

Have you: turned off karmic dice? :P

Yes? When you have a +10 modifier and advantage, you don't need karmic dice.

Quote from: Solmyr on August 09, 2023, 04:54:51 AM

Quote from: Tamas on August 08, 2023, 03:37:26 PM

Quote from: Solmyr on August 08, 2023, 11:57:51 AMBetween having a Friends cantrip from my main enchanter wizard, a Guidance cantrip from someone else, and occasional use of Inspiration points, I don't think I've ever failed a dialog roll. Granted, if you have a lower Charisma and no access to the above, you might fail more often.

Have you: turned off karmic dice? :P

Yes? When you have a +10 modifier and advantage, you don't need karmic dice.

Fair. I don't have that much on Charisma-related stuff, it's the arcane/wizardry related checks when I can sport those numbers. :) Plus the [retracted] rogue guy is an absolute beast for picking locks.

Quote from: Tamas on August 09, 2023, 04:02:00 AMI am wondering if I was playing the NPC warlock wrong in my first try. My PC was a wizard (also is in my current play) and I actually missed recruiting the lizard lady, meaning warlock guy was my melee guy and he... did not work great for that. 

Warlock can select Pact of the Blade which gives them a second melee attack at Level 5.  Combined with combat oriented spells and invocations they can be effective.  But they are still probably stronger using eldritch blast at range.

As a human Wyll can also use polearms and feat into polearm and great weapon master which will do lots of damage.  With Pact of Blade he will use CHA as combat modifier.

I have been playing too and it's fantastic, but I loved the Divinity games so I expected Larian would not disappoint.

I created a custom character, a female drow warlock Lolth-worshipper, and was kind of a little disappointed when I encountered Minthara, because I expected a lot of dialogue about our shared drowness and Lolthiness, but I guess that's a reflection of how high Larian set the bar with this game.

Switch Astarion to the Thief subclass.  The extra bonus action is just vicious.  On the same turn he can hide (bonus) and unleash two sneak attacks if dual wielding.  Or hide, sneak attack and then disengage to safety.

Quote from: The Minsky Moment on August 11, 2023, 08:23:35 AMSwitch Astarion to the Thief subclass.  The extra bonus action is just vicious.  On the same turn he can hide (bonus) and unleash two sneak attacks if dual wielding.  Or hide, sneak attack and then disengage to safety.

Yes, he is one of my favourite things about the game. 

I am trying a tankless party, with a Soceror main, Asterion, Blackheart and Gale.  It's loads of fun, partly because I need to think about tactics more than I did when I had a Paladin.  But most battles now end a lot quicker.

There really is no such thing as a tank in this game. Armor steps are limited, and it is very easy for casters to access armor and shield options, plus the shield spell gives them a unique defensive boost.  The closest thing to a tank is the bear heart barbarian that gets resistance on all physical damage forms while raging. But even there opponents can just ignore or go around it. 

yeah there's no real way to aggro opponents that I have found, so no real tank-tank.

Battlemaster fighters get goading strikes which give enemies a disadvantage when attacking anyone else than them. Also bear druids apparently have some sort of hard taunt, but I haven't looked at it yet.

The Bard (https://www.instagram.com/reel/CueuwXlgi2s/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)

Quote from: Tamas on August 12, 2023, 03:36:22 PMyeah there's no real way to aggro opponents that I have found, so no real tank-tank.

There are a few ways actually.  Paladins get a bonus action spell which forces an opponent to attack them.  Simply being located near an opponent forces them to attack so that they don't incur an attack of opportunity.

Fighters have similar mechanics.

Quote from: The Minsky Moment on August 12, 2023, 02:44:02 PMThere really is no such thing as a tank in this game. Armor steps are limited, and it is very easy for casters to access armor and shield options, plus the shield spell gives them a unique defensive boost.  The closest thing to a tank is the bear heart barbarian that gets resistance on all physical damage forms while raging. But even there opponents can just ignore or go around it. 

Not of you are using the skills of the tank classes properly.  For example, Paladins have passive and active abilities that improves their armour class.  Also, see above, can force opponents to target them.

The game difficulty is reduced having a Paladin as the player character, which I suppose is why it was the number one pick.

On my second play through I surprised how much content I missed on my first trip through.  I thought I had been careful not to miss things :Embarrass:

Love how aggressively horny the companions are toward the MC.  :lol:

Quote from: Tamas on August 12, 2023, 03:36:22 PMyeah there's no real way to aggro opponents that I have found, so no real tank-tank.

Quote from: crazy canuck on August 13, 2023, 12:17:01 PMPaladins get a bonus action spell which forces an opponent to attack them.  Simply being located near an opponent forces them to attack so that they don't incur an attack of opportunity.

The battle master goading strike affects one opponent for one turn only.  It doesn't really work for a true "tank" build.  Also the stronger defensive build is eldritch knight which gets the shield spell; the BM fighter is likely not to be the strongest defensive character on the team.  Overall, IMO there are better maneuver options.

The Paladin spell also affects only one opponent.  It does last longer, but it also uses a crucial spell slot that could otherwise be used to power divine smite, so the opportunity cost is high in terms of foregone offense for a short-term single target taunt.

I haven't tried the druid bear taunt - at least as described it should affect multiple opponents. The bear has crappy AC though so that will only work at lower levels where opposition damage output won't swamp the bear HP.  It's a tank like the Pz II - good enough against weak opposition, but a danger to itself against stronger opponents.

You certainly could try to create a tank like build by using one of the above options, possibly with barbarian for the resistances, and pick the sentinel feat and big pole arms to lock down opponents.  (Although that means foregoing a shield--> lowering AC and thus in part defeating the point).  Just seems suboptimal to me.

Every character class in BG3 can deploy good defensive abilities in some way, whether based on high AC, resistances, movement, stealth etc.  Better to take advantage of particular strengths of each team member rather than force a tank role on one them that doesn't fit comfortably into this rule set.

This isn't an MMO.  Just because there is not the sort of aggro mechanic that is found in games like WoW, doesn't mean there isn't a tank class in this game.

There is, it's just that you need to be a bit smarter about it than in an MMO where holding aggro is the only job of a tank class character.

I agree that there are better ways to craft a party but that does not detract from the point that if a player choose to, it is possible to create a tank type character.  I just think that is not the best use of one of the four slots.

I originally started playing when the game came out, but stopped after the initial combat tutorial (fighting the imps) and decided to finish BG2 first since I was close to the end (see Syt plays thread for some hot takes :P ).

I restarted fresh yesterday and consequently spent an hour in character creation only to settle on my default character from BG1 and 2 (redhead female human paladin). :blush:

Anyways, played as far as I made it before last night (i.e. end of first combat with imps) and I notice the cutscenes are smoother, but I encountered glitches I hadn't before, despite the patches:
- in the encounter with the "open brain guy" his character model was now missing, so I was interacting with "air"
- in the combat tutorial, after switching characters the actions menu disappeared (it reappeared when I went back to the other character), forcing me to reload a quicksave (fortunately I quicksave often, anways ... hooray for 50 quicksave slots :D ) which sorted it out

The intro cinematic is a good reminder that living the life of an average Joe in the D&D setting must be an existential horror where powerful beings can step into your life at any point and kill you, maim you, or consign you to a myriad fates worse than death. Kinda makes you wonder if there's a The Boyz kind of take on this. :hmm:

And coming from BG2 I'm of course "overjoyed" to see Ilithids again so soon. <_< (Though obviosly a lot more gross than could be presented with BG2's capabilities.)

Quote from: Syt on August 16, 2023, 12:59:24 AM- in the encounter with the "open brain guy" his character model was now missing, so I was interacting with "air"
- in the combat tutorial, after switching characters the actions menu disappeared (it reappeared when I went back to the other character), forcing me to reload a quicksave (fortunately I quicksave often, anways ... hooray for 50 quicksave slots :D ) which sorted it out

The disappearing UI bug is apparently unique to Lae'zel, happened to me a couple of times too. Quicksave/quickload fixes it. It also usually fixes the disappearing model bug.

I'm still in chapter 1, just discovered the Underdark. I swear half my time is spent clicking on containers.  :weep:

Well, PC Gamer, who in general tends to be not overly inflationary with their scores compared to others gives the game 97%:
https://www.pcgamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-review/

QuoteAfter spending 160 hours unravelling conspiracies, setting fire to monsters and finding increasingly fancy hats for my Bard, I can now confidently say that Baldur's Gate 3 is the greatest RPG I've ever played. If I wasn't writing this review, I'd be rolling a brand new character and jumping in for another hundred hours. I've got it bad.

It's my dream game: the best parts of Ultima, Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment, Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura and Divinity: Original Sin. But it also does so much more than tap into the RPG Greatest Hits, finding a way to unite disparate philosophies like cinematic storytelling, unhinged sandbox mayhem and tabletop-style roleplaying. Yes, it says, you can have your cake and eat it too.

And boy is it absolutely massive, as deep as it is wide. Each of the three acts could be their own epic RPG, jam-packed with elaborate dungeons, strikingly memorable quests and unique stakes, supported by systems that offer a truly intimidating amount of player freedom. It is a game overflowing with crossroads, with every step conjuring up yet more paths trying to seduce you off the beaten track.

Meanwhile, the game had 850,000 concurrent players on Steam on its second weekend (it actually went up compared to launch day weekend). :wacko:

I am over 70 hours in, now in early/mid stages of Act 3, but talking to a friend of mine, I realised I didn't even clear Act 1, even though I thought I did! I am 100% certain I did not clear Act 2.

Actually, without spoilering too much, the start of Act 3 was my first disappointment, the so far excellent pacing seem to be going off the rocks with entering the usual problem of "I must save the city/region/world but first let me do this menial quest most people wouldn't bother with even if they were not in an emergency". However, that was a fairly brief thing and now things are back to a state where it feels justified to take your time from a main story point of view.

I can't really stress enough how rare it is that I persevere with this kind of a game for this long, and actually having fun throughout the way not just grudging on due to a sense of pride. I am already planning out my next run once I complete the main story in this one.

There are manny areas in earlish Chapter 1 that I did not find on the first character.

I didn't understand what to look for until I had a few hours under my belt.  Paying attention to the environment turns out to be important, I had spent too much time with Diablo where it's really just pretty art work.

I'm having a blast. Just started chapter 2.

BG3 DM voice outtakes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YG0Fd63_70

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAjwwubCygo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g5VvEPFucE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGcHyn6PycI

Don't normally enjoy games in this genre, but everyone keeps saying how good it is so I gave it a go. Enjoyable so far.  My lack of DnD knowledge means my build is going to be less than ideal. Let's see how that goes.

What are you playing?

And don't worry, the game seems designed to be more enjoyable if you don't min/max just  like the table top version actually  :)

Quote from: HVC on August 20, 2023, 06:06:59 PMDon't normally enjoy games in this genre, but everyone keeps saying how good it is so I gave it a go. Enjoyable so far.  My lack of DnD knowledge means my build is going to be less than ideal. Let's see how that goes.

You can play DnD for years and still not know what the good builds are. You have to sit down and get crunchy to determine that and only a certain sort of player does that.

Quote from: crazy canuck on August 20, 2023, 08:23:39 PMWhat are you playing?

And don't worry, the game seems designed to be more enjoyable if you don't min/max just  like the table top version actually  :)

Playing a human wizard with evocation because I want to blow stuff up from a distance :D

Quote from: HVC on August 20, 2023, 08:38:59 PM

Quote from: crazy canuck on August 20, 2023, 08:23:39 PMWhat are you playing?

And don't worry, the game seems designed to be more enjoyable if you don't min/max just  like the table top version actually  :)

Playing a human wizard with evocation because I want to blow stuff up from a distance :D

Evocation is certainly quite powerful, especially once you get into the higher-level damage spells.

Quote from: HVC on August 20, 2023, 08:38:59 PM

Quote from: crazy canuck on August 20, 2023, 08:23:39 PMWhat are you playing?

And don't worry, the game seems designed to be more enjoyable if you don't min/max just  like the table top version actually  :)

Playing a human wizard with evocation because I want to blow stuff up from a distance :D

You will have fun for sure. 

You can have Gale in your party from the beginning after you leave the ship.  As you probably already discovered.

So you might want to select him as your PC from the start so you can see his story.

Yup I found him. Went to the ruins with two wizards, a cleric, and a rouge. Probably would have been easier if I found laezal first :lol:

Quote from: HVC on August 21, 2023, 08:13:54 AMYup I found him. Went to the ruins with two wizards, a cleric, and a rouge. Probably would have been easier if I found laezal first :lol:

My PC is a sorcerer, and I have Gale, the rogue and cleric.  I like that mix.  Two spell casters add a lot of firepower. 

The thing for you to think about is who will best do your dialogue for the persuasion checks. 

If you want to stay with two casters in the party, think of going with the Sorcerer or Wyll the Warlock (or roll your own Warlock).

No need to have a dedicated front line melee character if you don't want one.

All the BG3 classes seem pretty solid and the recommended stat blocs should work fine for most purposes. The min/maxing seems to involve exploiting the ridiculous multiclassing system but you can just ignore it.  Some of the feats are unbalanced compared to others but you have to play to level 4 before getting access to them.

Bit miffed, painted myself into a corner with an optional but pretty important quest, which I only realised after fighting through all its mobs and bosses. I think getting stuck here makes sense from a plot perspective, it also makes sense that I am not told explicitly that I have left myself no way to complete it, but still frustrating that I had to Google it. Gonna' go back about an hour worth of play to remedy it.

What I can say is that normal difficulty does NOT need min-maxing. If you don't min-max you can have very nice combats right at the difficulty I like - you must use basic tactics, for harder fights utilise terrain even, definitely scrolls and potions and such, but if you put the effort you'll win, if you half-ass it you will still survive, except big fights / bosses. Which is exactly how I like my RPGs.

As I mentioned I am running the basic party I learned from my AD&D days - a fighter, a rogue, a wizard, and a cleric. At level 12 I am finding my fighter (a Champion) (the lizard-y lady) an absolute beast, kitted out in heavy armour and shield but otherwise specced for damage, she is the bulwark of the party. The wizard (my PC) is a DPS machine as it should be and shares minimal crowd-control spells with the cleric, who is the healing machine. The rogue I have turned into a pretty good archer, but his main role is to deal with traps and doors, if that wasn't needed I'd have a second fighter or mage. I am fairly sure I could do much better with the rogue if I micro-managed its sneaking around and stuff.

EDIT: it does NOT need minmaxing :P

Quote from: crazy canuck on August 21, 2023, 08:31:04 AM

Quote from: HVC on August 21, 2023, 08:13:54 AMYup I found him. Went to the ruins with two wizards, a cleric, and a rouge. Probably would have been easier if I found laezal first :lol:

My PC is a sorcerer, and I have Gale, the rogue and cleric.  I like that mix.  Two spell casters add a lot of firepower. 

The thing for you to think about is who will best do your dialogue for the persuasion checks. 

If you want to stay with two casters in the party, think of going with the Sorcerer or Wyll the Warlock (or roll your own Warlock).

No need to have a dedicated front line melee character if you don't want one.

Right now going with asterian, laezal, and shadow heart. I let Asturias lie for me a lot . Mainly because I like his dialogue :D At higher levels I might sub gale in once I can differentiate the two wizards more.

I'd like to read/see a Barb play-through.

I somehow lack creativity to utilize all the cool ways you can succeed in fights and other challenges in this game. It's amazing how alive the environment is and how diverse the items and skills are.

Currently playing as a fairly vanilla Paladin with Shadowheart, Astarion and Gale. But that standard party is fun nevertheless. But I guess I will replay the game eventually, maybe as an evil character or playing with Dark Urge.

I just read through  list of cut content and it breaks my heart how much didn't make it in-game. It also blows my mind with how much *did* still make it in. I restarted (for like the 7th time XD )and I'm currently playing as a High Elf Cleric with a re-specced Shadowheart (now a rogue), Karlach, and Wyll in my party with me. I really, really wish you could have just one more companion as I'd love to add Gale for additional firepower and to unite all of the, more or less, "good" characters in a party.

I wish you could have 6 in your group. It just kills you can't.

Definitely. I'd love to be able to have more in the party. It just feels like you *have* to have certain classes. Which is... annoying. Like, I'd love to play a paladin, but I also don't see what class I could move Karlach to that would make sense from an rp standpoint (I know, personal problem  :lol: ). I switched Shadowheart to rogue as I could mentally justify it in terms of her character, Shar being all about darkness and shadows and her having that weird artifact.

I've made it throught he initial old ruins and have entered the Grove.

Not been playing much, because with the heat atm it feels a bit intricate to focus on. Instead I've been playing Dorfromantik while watching a terrible (and terribly entertaining) skeptic podcast about weird phenomena most of the weekend. :blush:

I will say I'm quite impressed by the character animations. Coming from BG2 where you have pre-rendered cutscenes with characters seem to move way too much (which was probably just the artists at the time showing off and impressing players) I notice small changes in facial expressions, gestures and movements. It's a bit like what first struck me about Mass Effect 1 & 2's animations during cutscenes (and which made it hard for me to get into the more dated looking Dragon Age Origins which came out around the same time as ME2 and seemed technically quite dated by comparison - something that I softened on when I played it properly years later).

Going by CC suggestion I made a warlock. He's fun. Urchin so can pick locks and sneak. He's a mix of rouge, warrior, and wizard (of sorts). Just hit level three at the end of my day. Trying to decide between having a pet or magical weapon.

If you want a bigger party, then this mod works pretty well: https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/327

You don't need to use the exe tweak if you don't play multiplayer, just put the mod into the installation Mods folder.

I've been doing what I often do with these games, which is start a bunch of different characters and run through the first few hours trying to figure what to go with.  Monk and storm sorcerer have been faves so far, but I think I've settled on running with my College of Lore Bard.  Takes care of pretty much all the skill checks singlehandedly plus full casting plus a ton of useful support abilities.  Currently with Laezel, Wyll, Shadowheart.  Not sure if optimal but Shadowheart seems essential (cleric kit too good to go without) and the repartee between Wyll and Laezel is hilarious. 

Quote from: Solmyr on August 22, 2023, 03:19:48 AMIf you want a bigger party, then this mod works pretty well: https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/327

You don't need to use the exe tweak if you don't play multiplayer, just put the mod into the installation Mods folder.

I'll think about it. The problem with such a brute force solution is I am pretty sure the game is balanced and designed for four characters.

When they reduced the character count from 8 in the old AD&D video games to 6 in Baldur's Gate it was annoying, I gotten used to 8 being the number (granted it was 6 PCs plus two NPCs you would recruit). But it was workable, you could still cover your base needs and had a few spots to experiment a bit with different combinations. But 4?

Maybe this is just a matter of different editions of D&D. In the early days I think it was assumed you would have a large number of players at the table.

The original Ravenloft module called for 6-8 players + DM:

(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/oJ4AAOSwMdddOnax/s-l1600.jpg)

While Curse of Strahd, in 5th Edition, is for 4-6 Players.

So maybe back in first edition the ideal party was 8, but now it is 4 and that is why the PCs are all super heroes now.

The focus of old school 1e was treasure hunting and resource management.  Battling monsters, while unavoidable, was not the point; wandering monsters in particular were an evil to be avoided if possible. Dungeons had to be explored in multiple trips to refit, replenish rations and supplies, replace dead hirelings.  Tenser's floating disk, a spell rarely if ever implemented in a Crpg, was an essential utility, because you needed some way to haul out the masses of cheap copper and silver coins that made up the bulk of found treasure, coins you needed to hire and replace the hirelings and henchmen you needed to keep your fragile low-to-mid level crew alive.

That model doesn't translate that cleanly to a cprg nor does it attract a mass gaming audience as easily as heroic epic fantasy.  For the latter, the squishiness and weakness of 1-3 level AD&D characters is a bug not feature.  Knowing that a stray orc arrow could take out any 1st level PC at any time encourages a certain style of play not conducive to what CRPG designers are trying to do.  That's what the roguelike category is for.

I like what I've seen of the 5e rules, I think it captures much of the essential "soul" of AD&D.  But if we are being honest, there is a lot of 4e in substance that has been nicely dressed up.  Each class core has a series of things it can do constantly, such as cantrips or extra attacks; things it can do X time per short rest, and abilities that require long rest, mirroring the at will, encounter, and daily division of 4e powers; there is also a discernible distinction of  utility and combat abilities.  5e does a much better job of packaging the schema in a more immersive way, but the substance at its core is easy to see.

Sure and that works better for a CRPG I guess. I just don't like that for my TTRPG games. I want my characters squishy and players terrified. I like 2nd Edition much better.

One thing more CRPG centric I have noticed is that in many ways BG3 is a step back to 2000s. We have a silent protagonist, we have more generic conversation animations. It isn't really cinematic outside of a few cutscenes. And you know what? Nobody really gives a shit. I hope other RPG studios take notice that the sacrifices to gameplay that were made to have a fully voiced protagonist and cinematic everything were wasted resources.

Players want more options, more gameplay, you can save that money for the fully voiced protagonist and the cinematic conversations.

Quote from: Valmy on August 22, 2023, 10:40:12 AMSure and that works better for a CRPG I guess. I just don't like that for my TTRPG games. I want my characters squishy and players terrified.

You'll probably want Warhammer or Call of Cthulhu then. :P Even in AD&D 2e, once the characters got over those first few levels, they'd become virtually unstoppable (in 2e, spellcasters more than anyone else).

Quote from: Valmy on August 22, 2023, 10:40:12 AMSure and that works better for a CRPG I guess. I just don't like that for my TTRPG games. I want my characters squishy and players terrified. I like 2nd Edition much better.

One thing more CRPG centric I have noticed is that in many ways BG3 is a step back to 2000s. We have a silent protagonist, we have more generic conversation animations. It isn't really cinematic outside of a few cutscenes. And you know what? Nobody really gives a shit. I hope other RPG studios take notice that the sacrifices to gameplay that were made to have a fully voiced protagonist and cinematic everything were wasted resources.

Players want more options, more gameplay, you can save that money for the fully voiced protagonist and the cinematic conversations.

I agree, and why I liked the Rolemaster combat system. 

Everything was potentially dangerous and so role playing was essential

Just hit chapter 3. I've got Jaheira in the party, has anyone found a certain ranger and his beloved rodent in Baldur's Gate?. ^_^

Quote from: Legbiter on August 23, 2023, 12:51:47 PMJust hit chapter 3. I've got Jaheira in the party, has anyone found a certain ranger and his beloved rodent in Baldur's Gate?. ^_^

He's there, you have to do some questing first though.

On Steam the game sits at 250,000+ user reviews after 1 month, 95% of which positive. :o

Still making (very) slow progress. Still haven't left the Grove. :lol:

Quote from: crazy canuck on August 22, 2023, 09:23:55 PM

Quote from: Valmy on August 22, 2023, 10:40:12 AMSure and that works better for a CRPG I guess. I just don't like that for my TTRPG games. I want my characters squishy and players terrified. I like 2nd Edition much better.

One thing more CRPG centric I have noticed is that in many ways BG3 is a step back to 2000s. We have a silent protagonist, we have more generic conversation animations. It isn't really cinematic outside of a few cutscenes. And you know what? Nobody really gives a shit. I hope other RPG studios take notice that the sacrifices to gameplay that were made to have a fully voiced protagonist and cinematic everything were wasted resources.

Players want more options, more gameplay, you can save that money for the fully voiced protagonist and the cinematic conversations.

I agree, and why I liked the Rolemaster combat system. 

Everything was potentially dangerous and so role playing was essential

Chartmaster?

Yes, people who did not like a more detailed combat system did not like it.

Let's be real though: the true draw of the system was reading the crit results.

Quote from: The Minsky Moment on September 05, 2023, 12:15:31 PMLet's be real though: the true draw of the system was reading the crit results.

 :yes:

Describing what happened was the best part of being a DM

But I also liked the phases within a round - the players could be a lot more tactical in their play. 

Finally finished it. Pretty comfy experience overall. Hope they tone down the horniness a notch or 3 toward the MC (Jesus, Gale is a thirsty mofo). Gonna try a Dark Urge background next. Soundtrack, voice acting and general feel all excellent. Karlach dying at the end even hit me in the feels a little.

EDIT:  whited out spoiler text - Jacob

Spoiler ass

That was her fate according to my dialogue choices. I did everything possible to help out with her condition as far as can be done on the Material Plane. Apparently she'll live if you play a little more attentively/romance her. Also game's been out for almost 6 weeks...

Her story conclusion in my playthrough really resonated with me because it neatly fulfilled her fate/storyarc while hitting me square in the feels wrt to a friend of mine being diagnosed with a rapidly terminal condition in his early 20's.   

EDIT: whited out spoilers - Jacob

Quote from: Legbiter on September 08, 2023, 01:35:12 PMThat was her fate according to my dialogue choices. I did everything possible to help out with her condition as far as can be done on the Material Plane. Apparently she'll live if you play a little more attentively/romance her. Also game's been out for almost 6 weeks...

Her story conclusion in my playthrough really resonated with me because it neatly fulfilled her fate/storyarc while hitting me square in the feels wrt to a friend of mine being diagnosed with a rapidly terminal condition in his early 20's.   
[/quote]

Some of us don't play video games very often.  It will be months before I get out of Chapter 1 never mind the end of the game.

EDIT: whited out spoiler text - Jacob

Quote from: crazy canuck on September 08, 2023, 01:37:00 PMSome of us don't play video games very often.  It will be months before I get out of Chapter 1 never mind the end of the game.

:lol:


Play faster.

;)

Apparently if you bring up relocating, at least temporarily, to Avernus while you scrounge up a cure, Karlach will live.

EDIT: whited out spoiler text - Jacob

Quote from: Legbiter on September 08, 2023, 01:35:12 PMAlso game's been out for almost 6 weeks...

Some of us don't play games until 2 years after release.
Some of us don't spend all day long in front of the computer playing games either. ;)

Quote from: viper37 on September 08, 2023, 03:04:55 PMSome of us don't play games until 2 years after release.
Some of us don't spend all day long in front of the computer playing games either. ;)

Well...if cc isn't going to finish the game except at the very end of our natural lifespans (how do you play the game anyway, do you log in, advance 10 yards, loot a carrot on the way, decide that's enough excitement for the day, log off) then maybe not ever visit this thread except once you're sure via obituaries/implied silence that all the rest of us are dead and cannot spoil one tiny piece of the whole tapestry?  :huh:

So rather than just apologizing for the spoiler and removing it you triple down.

Quote from: Legbiter on September 08, 2023, 03:25:56 PMWell...if cc isn't going to finish the game except at the very end of our natural lifespans (how do you play the game anyway, do you log in, advance 10 yards, loot a carrot on the way, decide that's enough excitement for the day, log off) then maybe not ever visit this thread except once you're sure via obituaries/implied silence that all the rest of us are dead and cannot spoil one tiny piece of the whole tapestry?  :huh:

I assume he plays like most normal people play BG games.

Start a character, get halfway through Act 1, think to yourself how it would be interesting to play class X, get that character halfway through, rinse and repeat a dozen times. 

Quote from: The Minsky Moment on September 08, 2023, 04:05:12 PMStart a character, get halfway through Act 1, think to yourself how it would be interesting to play class X, get that character halfway through, rinse and repeat a dozen times. 

That's what Withers is literally for. Shadowheart respeccing into a Light Cleric makes perfect sense given the story progression and I turned Astarion into a lockpicking Ranger because the stealth mechanics for a rogue was turning my hair gray.

You can't change race or appearance, and you can't undo certain in game choices.  And you can't know what it's like to play an origin without playing that origin.

I haven't even gotten the game yet.  I need a new PC.  I have started Solasta which is kinda the same thing.  I also have started playing Table Top at my local game store.

I just cannot seem to get out of Act 1. Every time I am like "ok I am about ready to go, I just want to check that one corner of the map" and then 8 hours later after some amazing adventure "that was cool...wait what was I doing again?"

Quote from: Legbiter on September 08, 2023, 01:51:36 PMApparently if you bring up relocating, at least temporarily, to Avernus while you scrounge up a cure, Karlach will live.

In my game I didn't want to force Avernus on her, so I didn't really bring it up much if at all, but she lived because Wyll suggested going there with her.

Quote from: Razgovory on September 08, 2023, 05:52:11 PMI haven't even gotten the game yet.  I need a new PC.  I have started Solasta which is kinda the same thing. I also have started playing Table Top at my local game store.

:cool:

I should really do something like that, but the store in my local city is in the only scuzzy part of town.

Please don't spoiler new games. Not everyone plays a game immediately on release. Not everyone plays at the same pace.

Quote from: The Minsky Moment on September 08, 2023, 04:05:12 PMStart a character, get halfway through Act 1, think to yourself how it would be interesting to play class X, get that character halfway through, rinse and repeat a dozen times. 

Guilty as charged.  :XD:

Quote from: Solmyr on August 22, 2023, 03:19:48 AMIf you want a bigger party, then this mod works pretty well: https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/327

You don't need to use the exe tweak if you don't play multiplayer, just put the mod into the installation Mods folder.

Ok I finally got tired of being limited to four people and used this and now roll with six like Gary Gygax intended and wow it makes me so happy. I don't even care that I now have to ungroup people and move them around to stop them from getting stranded on cliffs or blown up by traps and now I have too many people for the fights.

It is just wrong to have four people adventuring parties. It should be six. And I am so glad the game UI supports this.

Quote from: Jacob on September 09, 2023, 01:50:49 PMPlease don't spoiler new games. Not everyone plays a game immediately on release. Not everyone plays at the same pace.

This.  Not all of us are losers who just play video games all day, people.  I like, have a very demanding job and travel for it. :sleep:

Not really making much progress in this. I love the game and its interactivity, but I also feel weirdly stressed by the game's constant choices and (more importantly) the lack of a proper pause button? (I know I can activate turn based mode as a workaround.) Not a fan of wanting to check my equipment or read stats and ability texts in an area with roving NPCs/enemies that might trigger an encounter. I feel I always have to be "switched on", something I normally associate with Soulslikes. :D

(I know that I'm kinda weird :P )

That's not "kind of weird", that's a legit gameplay preference (that I share).

Finally reached Act 2. I guess I found most stuff in Act 1, but probably not everything. But I fund myself wondering how it would play with a different class and different companions...

I have my main character (female Lolth-sworn Drow warlock) but I recently started a secondary campaign wherein I created Conan the Barbarian... I did a pretty good job making him look like Ahnold but I wish I could have a voice set that sounds like him.  I made him the Dark Urge which has resulted in him making some... interesting choices so far.

Finally making progress. :)

Without going into spoilers, I've visited Auntie Ethel (lovely old dear), took care of the temple and (finally) met Karlach (I forgot that she can be a companion, so put her off for a long time ... the Grove situation is resolved, so not sure if I might have broken something now :D ).

I just started the third Act. I love how you are back to exploring an area, meeting random people etc.

Yuuge patch dropped today. Lots of fixes.


(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F98ARrlbQAElw8l?format=jpg&name=900x900)

 :lol:

Slowly making my progress. Currently in the Underdark (which was incidentally my least favorite part of BG2) and it's a bit of a slog :D

Quote from: Syt on December 12, 2023, 01:38:22 AMSlowly making my progress. Currently in the Underdark (which was incidentally my least favorite part of BG2) and it's a bit of a slog :D

The Baldur's Gate 3 experience: Ok let me just check out this little corner of the map

*4 hours later*

Wait...what was I doing again?

My Gale playthrough is currently in Baldur's Gate. On a break for the Holidays though. I will get back into it in January.

One of he best games I have played in years. I love the shit out of this game.

Quote from: Legbiter on November 03, 2023, 10:43:50 AMYuuge patch dropped today. Lots of fixes.


(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F98ARrlbQAElw8l?format=jpg&name=900x900)

 :lol:

Does resurrecting somebody have them grow their head back?  :hmm:

You know what the scariest thing is about this game? When you're just moving around and your whole party gives a "Perception Failed" message.  :ph34r:  :ph34r:  :ph34r:

Most of the traps are not that bad though.

Took me a while, but I finally finished the game. Played a bard Dark Urge with my main crew being Karlach, Wyll and Shadowheart. Party composition might already tell you that I played a good aligned game. But for most or all the companions there seem to be options for good or evil character development, which is interesting for a second playthrough.

I guess you miss a bit of content with an evil party, but not too much as most quests seem to have a good and an evil way to solve them. My impression was that the story arcs of Wyll and Shadowheart were very good and complete, Karlach was less content - maybe something they cut?

You can only recruit some of the companions late in Acts 2 and 3, which I did not like. Somehow that makes it harder for me to see them as my party. That said, there could be more variety. Some classes are not available at all and while you can respec the companions, the dialogue then will not fit anymore in many cases. Also there are no dwarfs, halflings, half orcs etc.
Some of the early Druid Grove NPCs would work as companions I feel, e.g. Aradin, Zevlor, Kagha, Alfira, Rolan. Maybe a few other options in Act 1 too.

Also lots of possibilities to sneak or talk instead of fight - but then you miss all that dropped loot and collecting all the items is part of the fun.

I played on the balanced level and once I had understood all the mechanics that was almost too easy, especially the last fights in Act 3. I had so many unused potions and spells after the last battle. :blush:

I guess I will wait if they bring a definitive edition or so like with their other games and then play it again. Probably with an evil party then.

The game says I have 90 hours on it, but my playthrough is on 75 hours (I did spend some time in character creator and played two or so other characters through the Nautiloid opening), and I just got the achievement for finishing Act 1. (according to achievement stats about 48% made it this far which seems a lot for a game like this; I'd expect much earlier drop offs)  :blush: I spent a lot of time in the Underdark (with some encounters left for later), and this weekend I did the "other route" with the party (which was admittedly a lot quicker and interesting than mucking about in the Underdark tbh :P ) I also did a fair bit of backtracking to tie up some loose ends; I am a compulsive explorer - and the multiple routes through dungeons and areas give me strong vibes of some of Dark Souls' better level designs (in a good way). "Oh, that connects to here? Neat!"

I also had my first real gutpunch WTF??? reaction to something (very minor spoiler?):

An enemy dropped camp supplies (food) loot: giant miniature space hamster on a stick. :o  :cry:  :ultra: That fuck deserved to die a lot more miserably than they did. :mad:

...but were they drinking Giant Miniature Space Hamster, too?

BB_MiniatureGiantSpaceHamster-1_1800x1800.jpg

(It's a beer that my great local Brewery, Bullfinch Brewpub, makes. Almost all of their beers are D&D related for their names.)

The Underdark is one of my favourite areas in the game. It looks fantastic and has interesting story content.

PS: Boo is fine.

In Pool of Radiance I'd get hirlings and then let them get killed and use the animate dead spell to raise them so I'd not have to pay them.

Quote from: Sophie Scholl on January 09, 2024, 11:24:03 AM...but were they drinking Giant Miniature Space Hamster, too?

:lol:

@Zanza: didn't think the grilled hamster was Boo, just the implication was bad enough.

Also, I realized I never picked up Gale as a companion. Oh well, next playthrough. :P (I also picked up Karlach quite late, after the situation with "her people" in the Druid enclave was already resolved :D )

If you play with Karlach, one of the most fun things for me was to use Enlarge (spell, elixir, weapon capability) and one of the soul coins on her. She hits really hard then.

I use her rarely. My main team is me (Paladin), Lae'zel, Shadowheart and Wyll. I do sometimes switch her in for Wyll if I need some extra oomph.

Wyll with the right items/skills can do massive damage with the Eldritch Blast.

I would like to have 5 in a group so I can have Wyll Karlach (love thier dialogue), Shadowheart and Lae'zel (love how their dialogue progresses.  Also Shadowheart and Lae'zel have the most interesting character development archs. 

I was thinking of dropping my bard and choosing probably Wyll as my main so I can have this group.

I use that mod that eliminates the party limit so I always have six  :ph34r:

A four person D&D party is ridiculous. I ranted about this earlier in the thread.

I love this game so much. My favorite game since...um...the last BG games.

I feel having 6 party members would be a bit overpowered. :P

Quote from: Valmy on January 10, 2024, 06:51:12 PMI use that mod that eliminates the party limit so I always have six  :ph34r:

A four person D&D party is ridiculous. I ranted about this earlier in the thread.

I love this game so much. My favorite game since...um...the last BG games.

Thanks, I am definitely going to use that.

Quote from: Syt on January 11, 2024, 02:00:31 AMI feel having 6 party members would be a bit overpowered. :P

I like playing the game for the story and the dialogue between the characters. I love the fact that I can add more characters so I can experience more of the dialogue without having to do a replay with different characters.

Quote from: Syt on January 11, 2024, 02:00:31 AMI feel having 6 party members would be a bit overpowered. :P

That was my concern.

Having played extensively with both 4 and 6 I didn't find this to be the case. What was easy for four was also easy for six and what was hard before continued to be hard. But now I have honor mode to make it more balanced as well. And frankly having more characters makes it more challenging since there are rather few fights in this game compared to most D&D games but plenty of places for your characters to blow up the party with traps or fall to their deaths and now you have more to babysit.

But the whole idea of a four person limit to a D&D party, especially in a version of the game with 10 classes, was just too offensive and outrageous to my sensibilities and seemed to go against the whole spirit of D&D. I just decided removing that annoying element to the game was worth maybe having slightly bit less of a challenge.

Finally switching party members had to be done through dialog which was really clunky and annoying.

Quote from: crazy canuck on January 11, 2024, 10:12:05 AM

Quote from: Valmy on January 10, 2024, 06:51:12 PMI use that mod that eliminates the party limit so I always have six  :ph34r:

A four person D&D party is ridiculous. I ranted about this earlier in the thread.

I love this game so much. My favorite game since...um...the last BG games.

Thanks, I am definitely going to use that.

Quote from: Syt on January 11, 2024, 02:00:31 AMI feel having 6 party members would be a bit overpowered. :P

I like playing the game for the story and the dialogue between the characters. I love the fact that I can add more characters so I can experience more of the dialogue without having to do a replay with different characters.

Totally fair. I played BG1 and 2 earlier this year in story mode for that reason. :D BG3 is one of the few story driven games where I'm not defaulting to the lowest difficulty, actually.

@Valmy: makes sense. Maybe I'll do that at a later point. :)

I guess I eventually understood the game mechanics and then most fights became fairly easy playing in the balanced mode. I think I did most or all of the boss fights in Act 3 in the first attempt.

One of the big differences is summoned creatures. Having a few more actions per round is very relevant. So having six party members would change all the fights to be trivial I guess, which takes some if the enjoyment away for me.

I'm kind of glad Act 2 so far seems to be a lot more "focused" than Act 1. I loved the openness of Act 1, but in trying to explore every nook and cranny my story progression ground to a halt in some areas (including interactions with companions, unfortunately). Things have considerably picked up since (trying to keep it spoiler free) entering the Mountain Pass and "Underdark Pt. II". There's still plenty of diversions, but overall those two areas plus Act 2 feel a lot more focused on the main plot.

Still, I love the amount of content they manage to sprinkle across the world. (And Act 2 is all kinds of creepy - the sound design and music help a lot with that.) There was one story event that I massively botched in Act 2, though the game catered for that (with a fairly depressive turn tbh). I did end up reloading, but I do want to go down that route some time just to see how bad it turns out. :lol:

It's kind of a counter example to Dragon Age: Origins which I liked, but which was weighed down by every map being filled start to finish with hordes of enemies. BG3 is much more judicious by having fewer but overall more interesting encounters (though there's one or two slugfests, but that might have been on me not being very subtle -_- ).

Oh, I have one complaint: the camera can get really wonky at times and really hard to control in cramped environments (esp. if multiple floors).

Also funny: I was looking at negative Steam reviews, and I see quite a few people complaining about autosave not saving often enough, because they end up losing a lot of progress when they die.

Meanwhile, I think I'm about to crack Quicksave 900-something in my game. :lol:

Quote from: Syt on January 15, 2024, 09:20:30 AMStill, I love the amount of content they manage to sprinkle across the world. (And Act 2 is all kinds of creepy - the sound design and music help a lot with that.) There was one story event that I massively botched in Act 2, though the game catered for that (with a fairly depressive turn tbh). I did end up reloading, but I do want to go down that route some time just to see how bad it turns out. :lol:

LOL yeah that is quite the "story event"

I especially like that there was no warning and I kind of stumbled into that area kind of worn out and decided to go do that before I rested. Woops.

Quote from: Syt on January 15, 2024, 09:36:23 AMOh, I have one complaint: the camera can get really wonky at times and really hard to control in cramped environments (esp. if multiple floors).

Multiple floor buildings are just a nightmare. Definitely the weakest point for the interface.

Raphael's voice sounded very familiar to me. I looked it up - he was "the voice" in Victor Vran, i.e. a disembodied snarky devilish voice in your mind. One of the few memorable things in a very unmemorable game (the other was that the main character was voiced by Doug Cockle, i.e. Geralt from the Witcher games).

That, and it being part of the trifecta of grimdark action RPGs that feature guys with hats and obscured eyes on the cover. :P

(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/345180/capsule_616x353.jpg)

(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/215530/capsule_616x353.jpg)

(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/219990/capsule_616x353.jpg)

Finished Act 2. The climax was a bit distressing (not mentioning spoilers, but the most emotionally affecting for me were the children's letters in the "chop shop" :cry: ). And then there's the "epilogue" afterwards that ... let's just say it throws a ton of stuff at you to digest before entering Act 3 proper. 120 hours on this save so far. :lol:

Still eager to replay already, because I see a whole bunch of things that could have gone different (and I failed/didn't complete several side quests in Act 2 which had ... consequences for persons involved -_- ).

Ah yes, the "stealthy" bright red armor. :lol:

(https://i.imgur.com/IYm8dh4.png)

So glad they added two big changes for Quality of Life recently. If you have a full party and want someone else from your camp to join, you don't have to dismiss another person first - you can ask someone to join and then pick via dialogue who to dismiss. And in trade menus you now see everyone's inventory, so no need to switch between characters anymore to sell bits and pieces from everyone's backpack. Oh, and a minor change - in camp, when you open the inventory screen of the people not currently in your party, it also includes your camp's storage chest. No more having to shuffle to the chest to see if there was anything useful you forgot about in there. :P

The voice actor for Karlach is coming to the local Game Con in October. I'm so excited!  :wub:

Quote from: Sophie Scholl on February 27, 2024, 04:20:08 PMThe voice actor for Karlach is coming to the local Game Con in October. I'm so excited!  :wub:

Ask her to explain how her character can be a Barbarian with shamanistic animal powers despite having grown up entirely in a civilized urban environment  :mad:

Ok that may not be the voice actors' decision  :lol:

Some of the voice actors seem to be into the game, though. The voice actress for Shadowheart, Jennifer English was doing couch co-op streams with her girlfriend (who's also the game's voice director IIRC), and there was a bit of a WTF from English when her gf was pondering whether to romance Lae'zel instead of Shadowheart. :D

Edit: story link - https://www.gamesradar.com/baldurs-gate-3-shadowheart-actor-suffers-the-ultimate-act-of-betrayal-after-her-partner-declares-love-for-archnemesis-laezel/

QuoteShadowheart's actor has suffered the ultimate betrayal recently during a stream of Baldur's Gate 3.

Over the last weekend, Shadowheart actor Jennifer English was streaming Baldur's Gate 3 on her Twitch channel, accompanied by her partner and Baldur's Gate 3 performance director Aliona Baranova. What could possibly ruin that lovely setup? Baranova declaring her love for Shadowheart's archnemesis, that's what.

As the clip below chronicles, Baranova was just chilling, watching the playthrough of Baldur's Gate 3, when suddenly, she declared her love for Lae'zel. The Githyanki warrior and Shadowheart famously don't get along too well, especially through the game's early hours, but this comment didn't shake English.

It's what came next that did. "Do I love her more than I love Shadowheart?" Baranova pondered aloud, to which English pulled a pained face of utter betrayal. "Did you just say that?!" the actor queried, with the atmosphere permeated by the sounds of heartbreak.

the infamous moment in question https://t.co/Qq964KmWJ7 pic.twitter.com/jRFmYQ2cAW

"My heart just broke," English continues, while Baranova tries to rapidly do some damage control. I'm sure it's fine - the whole thing could've been a lot worse had Baranova declared that her love for Shadowheart's nemesis outweighs her love of Shadowheart herself.

The entire scene went viral among fans just after the livestream, thanks partly to the fantastic bit of art below. The digital illustrator must have worked incredibly quickly to get this piece up shortly after the live stream, and hats off to them - they've done a brilliant job of catching English's betrayal.

@alionabaranova1 you two are a national treasure pic.twitter.com/Sr1Jh0JiVp

I might have to start watching English and Baranova's livestreams of Baldur's Gate 3 after this. Let's hope that the Shadowheart actor doesn't take her revenge on Lae'zel in her playthrough. Things could get ugly very quickly.

And:

https://www.gamesradar.com/respectfully-looking-respectfully-looking-baldurs-gate-3-shadowheart-actor-loses-it-as-her-real-life-partner-sleeps-with-her-rpg-nemesis/

QuoteThe voice actor behind Baldur's Gate 3's Shadowheart is currently playing through the D&D RPG with her real-life partner. It's mostly been a wholesome affair, apart from when the shadow of Shadowheart's in-game nemesis Lae'zel looms – in those moments, it's dang hilarious.

To catch you up, an earlier highlight of one stream saw Shadowheart actor Jennifer English recoil in horror after her partner and Baldur's Gate 3 performance director Aliona Baranova floated the idea that she, just maybe, prefers Lae'zel to god's problematic fave. In fairness to Baranova, she has since called Lae'zel a "schoolgirl crush" she does not love more than Shadowheart.

Now, though, things have turned up a few notches. The duo's latest stream sees Baranova trigger Lae'zel's romance scene, leading to a night of Baldur's Gate 3 shenanigans and the narrator setting the mood for the day by saying, "You awake in pain," if you want to know how that went.

Much like before, the highlight is the pair's reaction to the unfolding tomfoolery.

"This is so weird, we've seen [Lae'zel voice actor] Dev[ora Wilde] today. I feel uncomfortable," a giddy Baranova says, before adding "respectfully looking, respectfully looking" as things kick off.

"She's not a cuddler, is she?" an equally giddy English concludes after her partner's character, seemingly battered and bruised, picks themselves up for another day of adventuring.

If you'd like to see the moment yourself, it all kicks off around 35 minutes into the stream above. Just, uh, take note of who's around before you do, you know?

Thanks to a cocktail of D&D buffs, "5-ton Mega-Karlach" towers over Baldur's Gate 3 in a new peak for tall RPG women.

Coming up on 200 hours on this now. This is a seriously big game. I thought that things would go fast once you're in the titular city, but every time I step anywhere it seems to go down a rabbit hole for an hour or five.

I had heard a lot about Act 3 being uneven, and I think there's something to it. However, I also feel it might have been good to get to it 5-6 months after game release so they had some time to polish it up. :P

I'm mostly amazed that I've managed to stay spoiler free on this game for all this time. :lol: *knocks on wood*

Hey Valmy, how do I install mods for this game - like the more than 4 party member mod. 

It looks like I have to go to some third party site and install stuff outside of Steam? 

Slowly making my way through Act 3 (couple hours on the weekend). If nothing else, it's remarkable that even though I'm still on my first playthrough I keep coming back to move onwards (as opposed to dropping the game for a year and starting over, as I usually do with "big story games"). :P

Had a big ROFL moment last weekend, when a boss battle goes all in on the soundtrack, giving it the full Disney villain song treatment. Unexpected but oh so appropriate. :lol: :lol: :lol: