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In which Mr. Adequate’s bitter old man credentials are called into question

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Dear readers I have the most dreadful of confessions to make.

I’m playing Baldur’s Gate.

Why is this so horrendous?

Because this is pretty much the first time I’ve played BG. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve had the games for years. I just… well, I sucked tremendously at them. I was hopelessly bad. Something about them just did not work in my brain and I was lucky to reach Khalid and Jahiera. I think I got to Nashkel once. Worse yet? I played actual tabletop D&D as a kid. I still remember my first adventure. I know all about hit dice and saves vs. breath and THAC0 and AC and all that stuff. But it just… it didn’t translate for me into the vidya, I guess. I am abominably small-time for not sticking with it but, thanks to this rather spiffy LP Vorgen is running over at Something Awful, I’ve finally managed to get myself into the right mindset for it. I’m actually making progress! I’ve got characters who are higher than level 1! I don’t die to individual Gibberlings who happen to stumble across my camp!

It’s pretty amazing, of course; there’s a reason the games are renowned so very thoroughly. I’m still barely anywhere in it and I’m completely engrossed. I just wish I’d managed to get my brain to understand how they were supposed to be played years ago.

Are there classics you should have played that just didn’t work out for you? Did that ever change when you tried them again? Do LPs and such help other people get into certain games like this?

This is how I react every morning when I realize I can play more BGT
Written by: Mister Adequate on October 26, 2011.

4 thoughts on “In which Mr. Adequate’s bitter old man credentials are called into question”

  1. Baldurs gate WAS quite difficult at the start.
    Being level 1 and getting 1 shot by something as weedy as a gibberling was a fact of life.
    Rolling a cloth character was a very brave move!
    One thing you can try is playing the game in multiplayer mode – That way you can start with up to 6 of your own players. (or 1 of you and 5 for pike) ;)

    I too have just reinstalled Baldurs gate after many years of not playing it. My fave character was the triple class fighter/mage/thief and fighter/mage/cleric. Tricky and complex to play.

    Word of advice if you are playing the original baldurs gate: Get the mods that merge baldurs gate 1 & 2 into 1 big game. This also enables the use of the more advanced BG2 engine in BG1, and can install a widescreen mod ontop.
    I use a monster 27″ widescreen monitor, and while 1920×1200 is just too large, 1440×900 makes for a very enjoyable widescreen high-rez experience.

    http://www.gog.com/en/forum/baldur_s_gate/baldurs_gate_2_essential_mods/page1

    I prefer BGT over tutu. Just looks much more polished with the BG2 engine.

    Happy Hacking&Slashing!

    1. Ahaha, I’m ahead of you my friend, I’ve got Big World Project installed already and BGT is doing wonderful things.

      I had originally rolled as a mage and didn’t really enjoy it, because I had to rely on my other party members 90% of the time what with me being squishy and not having many spells slots. Now I’m a Cleric (Priest of Mystra specifically) and it’s quite a bit better because I can actually do stuff.

  3. One of these days I’ll play Baldur’s Gate. And Mario. And any Star Wars game that isn’t Shadows of the Empire. And…

    Yeah, I am bad at gamer.

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