Baldur's Gate 3 by Larian Games

Droigan

Trakanon Raider
2,495
1,163
Save scumming

I look forward to finishing the game with a billion inspiration points saved and having failed many dice rolls.

Hehe, well that's an option, but I meant that you can only have 3-4 saved up at a time. If you get an inspiration while capped, they don't do anything except give you the exp. Can't stack above the max. At least they didn't use to.
 

TJT

Mr. Poopybutthole
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BG2 is probably the only game I have ever played that does timestop well.

High level wizard spell but when used against you in the game it has juuuuust the right feel to it. Screen goes gray and all you hear is his spell chanting and you just know you're fucked.
 
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Kirun

Buzzfeed Editor
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Been playing bards on and off since they were invented, they are the ultimate support class.
Jake Gyllenhaal Love GIF
 
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Dashel

Blackwing Lair Raider
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I know Fighter seems basic but I'm still leaning that way. Battle Master Fighter with Sentinel and Polearm Master feat, then dip into maybe Wizard or Cleric.
 
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Burns

Golden Baronet of the Realm
6,083
12,263
Found this on the Fextralife wiki and it could be useful to get an idea of trying to cover skills:

Skill# of skill checksMinMax
Acrobatics​
21012
Animal Handling​
37520
Arcana​
57020
Athletics​
81020
Deception​
147020
History​
41520
Insight​
53019
Intimidation​
209020
Investigation​
25520
Medicine​
20515
Nature​
38015
Perception​
27515
Performance​
44520
Persuasion​
293525
Religion​
18515
Sleight Of Hand​
19520
Stealth​
6510
Survival​
5515
Edit: found it on NeoSeeker, with even more details on what Min/max mean: https://www.neoseeker.com/baldurs-gate-3/guides/Skill_Checks
 
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Tuco

I got Tuco'd!
<Gold Donor>
45,415
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Found this on the Fextralife wiki and it could be useful to get an idea of trying to cover skills:

Skill# of skill checksMinMax
Acrobatics​
21012
Animal Handling​
37520
Arcana​
57020
Athletics​
81020
Deception​
147020
History​
41520
Insight​
53019
Intimidation​
209020
Investigation​
25520
Medicine​
20515
Nature​
38015
Perception​
27515
Performance​
44520
Persuasion​
293525
Religion​
18515
Sleight Of Hand​
19520
Stealth​
6510
Survival​
5515
Edit: found it on NeoSeeker, with even more details on what Min/max mean: https://www.neoseeker.com/baldurs-gate-3/guides/Skill_Checks
How do they know? Isn't EA only part of the game? Or is this leak shit?
 

Burns

Golden Baronet of the Realm
6,083
12,263
How do they know? Isn't EA only part of the game? Or is this leak shit?
Act 1 is probably 80%+ complete in the EA and you can play it all. The EA ends when you reach the various different transition ways into chapter 2.

So those are just the skill checks in act 1, which was supposed to be about 1/3 of the game, but that figure was from the start of EA. I think the game has had some feature creep in the years since EA was started, so no idea how much of the game chapter 1 accounts for.
 

Loser Araysar

Chief Russia Correspondent / Stock Pals CEO
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75,297
148,102
I played BG1 like 15 years ago and Planescape Torment. I didn't get far, quit both after 20 hours in each game.

I didn't like either and don't understand what the big deal was about these games

Can someone explain?
 
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Kajiimagi

<Gold Donor>
1,325
1,699
I didn't get into PS:T when I first played it. Didn't understand what they were trying to do and quit. I think weeks/months later I read an article/tutorial in a game magazine about how to play it and specifically how to get the box/tool guy (don't remember the guys name) and was like wow holy shit that sounds cool.

BG is a different story, I loved D&D and had recently moved away from the friends I used to play with so this was like being there again w/o having do deal with all the beer & cigarette smoke.

I recently replayed both BG games and they really still hold up.
 

Sludig

Silver Baronet of the Realm
9,000
9,304
You go big dick wild magic and take the punches. Wild mage berserker sounds like a ton of fun and I am seriously considering it.

Save scumming every single "negative" interaction you have in the game just totally kills the vibe for me. Can't do it. But autists save scum on every single locked door they fail at and everything that doesn't go exactly the way they want.

Not the way to roll amigos.
That's why I all too often essentially hamstring myself maxing out everything tech/door etc related in games as I can't stand the what did I miss behind a door element.
 

Burns

Golden Baronet of the Realm
6,083
12,263
I played BG1 like 15 years ago and Planescape Torment. I didn't get far, quit both after 20 hours in each game.

I didn't like either and don't understand what the big deal was about these games

Can someone explain?
A huge part of the draw of western RPGs is choice and consequence with good to decent fantasy stories.

So if modern games have conditioned you to skip dialog, especially if its not voiced, then you are not going to have a good time with the older games, for the most part. Some of the modern games, like the Pathfinder games have a good strategic combat side, that it more fleshed out and works better for computer games, than the older games.

I also think BG2 is a better game and if you were trying to play one of the old ones, I would start there, then go back to BG1 if you like BG2. You don't need the first game to understand the second one. Same can be said for Fallout 2; it's a better game than Fallout 1.

I think if you look at PS:T as an interactive book, it would go better (since combat is meh), but not every game, even popular ones have to be for you. If you don't like western iso RPGs, then you don't like them. I don't know if you can force yourself to like them.
 
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j00t

Silver Baronet of the Realm
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7,471
Kensei are in 5e but they are a monk subclass and but so much related to the old kensei. I played a kensei for a tomb of annihilation campaign a couple years ago and really liked it but since it's a monk subclass you have to like monks. I was a tabaxi which basically meant I was faster than the flash. Monks have kind of a weird growth rate in that the first couple levels they do a ton of damage with the extra attacks they do, then they sort of plateau for a bit, then when they get some more of their higher level abilities and ki powers they go back to being great pretty quick. Also it's weird but kensei monks are probably better ranged monks because they start adding their unarmed attack damage to ranged attacks.

Also, bards are super gay but they are also one of the strongest classes in all of 5e. Damage wise they are on the lower end depending on subclass but their versatility is second to none. I don't like playing bards but I'm always happy to have one in the party. College of lore bards literally have access to every spell in the game, college of valor gets great combat uses of their inspiration (raising AC for anyone who's getting attacked, for example) and college of swords can use his own inspiration to do flourishes in combat to push creatures around. With how vertical bg3 is, you could cause A LOT of mayhem that way. I don't think college of swords is in though? But I'm sure there will be mods that add any subclasses that don't make it in

Also, for me, what makes DND, besides the setting, is just the freedom of options. Last night in my weekly game, we got to a long dead dragon's hoard and the piles of gold came alive. There was this sticky residue that was all over the map but was getting more concentrated the closer we got to the treasure. Turns out it was a sort of slime that enveloped the gold. So I cast wall of water and surrounded basically the whole room in a 10foot tall circle of water. My dm was like... Uh. Hm. This is something I didn't consider and then made up an effect on the spot, basically gave him a variation of being slowed; lowered AC, either an action of bonus action, not both, and reduced the amount of multi attacks the creature got.

That is my jam. When something happens and you find a creative way to alter the encounter that the dm didn't expect

Obviously that kind of playstyle isn't generally possible with most CRPGs but when you do something weird in a game and it responds accordingly, I always appreciate the thought that the designers put into it. And with the 18000 permutations of the ending, I think larian deserves some respect on that front. I mean, I suppose unless it's just 18000 differently colored beams of light in the sky
 
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TJT

Mr. Poopybutthole
<Gold Donor>
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I played BG1 like 15 years ago and Planescape Torment. I didn't get far, quit both after 20 hours in each game.

I didn't like either and don't understand what the big deal was about these games

Can someone explain?
You gotta enjoy it for what it is. They are traditional tabletop campaigns turned into a video game. The fun is class building, finding items, playing through a compelling story and exploring the world. Planescape shines because its probably the best overall story in a game to date. Certain party members have very fascinating quests as well in addition to being in a really unique world. BG2 is just immense. Stumble into a room and go on a sidequest that has you in another plane fighting monsters when all you were doing was looking to sell some items.

While they are linear stories yes there are many ways to just go off and do your own thing.
 
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