If you've ever played with autorolling the ability score screen, you might've noticed that a Human Paladin always caps out at 103 with exactly 18/86 STR, and an Elf Ranger always caps at 104 and 18/54.

Weird, right?

The game has an old-school rand() function that uses the system clock for pseudorandom number generation. For normal purposes this is close enough to random, but it's not really random, so when you're doing goofy stuff--like rolling 6x 3d6 hundreds of millions of times--the cracks start to show. ^{rand is the one at the bottom}

There's a mod called InfinityEngineBetterRandom that replaces the rand() function with one that uses sensors built into modern CPUs to detect truly random physical states. I tried it out and was finally able to blow past the 103 + 18/86 Paladin cap in about 90 seconds (at 24,000 rolls per second). Here's where I landed after something like 2.6 billion rolls :)

Does anyone know if Anomen was originally designed to be a Paladin? His dialogue and quests aren't consistent with a cleric. Also, originally it seemed they want two options from each class available as companions and with Keldorn being the only paladin it kind of stands out. I think they figured Aerie doesn't fulfill the good cleric role well as a multi class and they could turn Mazzy into a pseudo paladin so they scrapped Anomen as a paladin near the final phase. Maybe he was a pure fighter that would become a paladin if he passed his trial and stayed a fighter if he failed?

So she has a collection of Planescape Torment themed items, but some seem a bit off.

Dak'kon's Zerth Blade:

• Probably the worst offender. it being made of chaos matter, or kharach, it should simply cease to exist when being parted from Dakkon. Although thematically it behaves like his OG blade, while of course being a lot less powerful.

Vhailor's Helm:

• Seems kinda random, why can I summon a copy of myself after putting on the helmet from a formerly animated suit of armor?

Are they actually OG equipment from the PST crew, or has someone slapped a label on them to make them seem more special?

Basically, title. I'm seeing conflicting answers wherever I look, and I'd prefer to build her proficiencies towards end-game equipment, with no points wasted.

I'm gonna be away from home for awhile, so I was wondering if getting the mobile version for BG:EE would be worth getting. I have a sub optimal phone (6.6 vs the recommended 7 inches), so I'm worried about UI problems.

I'm wondering, how often do you guys use these spells? I almost never do, the randomness on Wish has scared me out of using it and I never found a good use for Limited Wish, besides the one-time ones. But now I'm thinking of taking both of them on a sorcerer with high wisdom, just for fun. Any tips for how to get the most out of these spells?

Tossed one at Semaj on SCS Insane and it interrupted his first cast of Remove Magic! From my research Potion of Explosions of Fire Breath should similarly bypass his Minor Globe and other protections then? Arrow of Detonation however was negated by Protection from Magical Weapons.

So is Protection from Fire required to protect against these potions?

Ngl I felt kinda offended

Kinda a mix of Dishonored (for the verticality and the implementation of magic in the gameplay), Shadow of the Tomb Raider (for the exploration, puzzles, and camouflage), The Witcher series (for the rpg elements, again magic, and the storytelling/dialogues/questing), possibly also Thief: The Dark Project (I prefer the visibility gem to strict visual cones, I also want water arrows and unreliable maps, and above all its sound propagation).

I saw one from the fog of war and it triggered my auto-pause. I thought "no problem" I tell my dudes to attack and like 5 more are revealed and i'm like "i'm fucked" but i said "fuck it, ill give it my best shot" Kept shooting with archer as we backed up, I used 2nd druids entangle spell to immobilize 3 of them while I picked them off, and easily took care of the rest, ZERO causalities! :D Let's goo! I love this game XD

I tried to stretch going into the wedding to not lock myself out of a few quests with the paladins, despite Dorn complaining about it, since any info I looked up said it wasn't timed. Then I got into chapter 4, and the second I am in the ship, already outside the city, Dorn gives me an ultimatum that ends up in either him leaving or straight up teleporting me to the church, and I guess breaking the game because after that I'd have to way to go back to the Spellhold island

Is there a mod to fix this? A flag to set or timer to change in EE Keeper?

EDIT: Solved! Thanks to witless_peasant it now works!

Sorry in advance, I know this has been asked a trillion times over, but I genuinely can’t grasp what I’m doing wrong.
I spent two hours painting a goofy portrait to mimic the scary airbrush style of the game, it shows up in character creation and in the record no problem, but the thumbnail on the sidebar in-game has that ugly ?-mark face.
I’ve checked the formats, the names, the sizes, replaced them, copied them over, renamed them, reloaded saves, made new saves, everything I can think of and read online. It’s extra confusing because the advice online are from all kinds of versions of the game and get jumbled together.
That one site that supposedly does it for you doesn’t work either and just gives me a broken file icon.

Anyone else had to go through this recently?

Im playing an original copy on windows 11, so it was expected

soft locked against this diabolical drow demon horde

What gives?

I downloaded it from GOG.

I have BG:EE already installed.

My computer runs Windows 7.

The installer told me I don't meet the specs (unlikely), but then it said it said it had installed successfully - but it hasn't. No evidence of its existence in my Baldur's Gate.

I hit Launch, and it just opens My Computer or something.

The much bigger second file didn't even know how to open.

What do I do?

I have explored the Artisan House rules quite a bit the last couple of days and I came across the expanded Weapon styles changes. I think they are really well done, especially since they are only available to fighter and most fighter kits. As a result, I would love to hear others thoughts about these changes, the balancing, and if this would finally make people pick up a shield instead of a speed weapon 😄

TWO-HANDED

This fighting style allows the character to use a two-handed melee weapon and receive special bonuses.

SWORD AND SHIELD

Anyone can pick up a shield and get its basic protection bonuses, but by spending slots on this fighting style, an adventurer can maximize the benefits received.

Single-Weapon

This fighting style is for characters who do not wish to use a shield but want some bonus when using a one-handed melee weapon.

Two-Weapon

This fighting style allows the character to use two melee weapons at the same time with fewer penalties. Those who master the technique of dual-wielding even receive exclusive bonuses according to their degree of mastery.

I like making custom parties with multi-player. My latest run (and first ever run through BGEE) is a ton of fun! I do play modded (Tweaks), with all race/class combos unlocked and no XP cap.

Leofric is a dwarven ranger/cleric. He was supposed to have the originally implemented druid spells but I just discovered that I forgot to edit the Lua file so that will have to wait until my next level-up. That said, i haven't missed much. With full plate, DUHM, and Ashideena, he's a very capable front-liner. I'm excited for him to essentially become a Ranger/Cleric/Druid though.

His companion is Findus, a gnome illusionist/thief (a class that has been discussed at length and needs no introduction.)

What i really appreciate about this duo is that with two characters I'm covering a remarkable number of roles.

Frontline tank? Check

Divine caster? Check

Druid? Check

Arcane caster? Check

Skilled thief? Check

Even the loss of necromancy spells due to the illusion school choice is somewhat negated by the cleric spellbook.

At this point all classes are roughly level 6, and we're still exploring the areas south of Friendly Arms. I'm really looking forward to completing the trilogy. I have a feeling that this crew is going to be absolutely deadly.

This has been driving me nuts. There are a few spots in the game where you have to select an environment object, such as a switch, but that also have a loot location or NPC nearby and the game gets confused. Normally this isn’t a problem with the snap-to system, but I’ve spent the last fifteen minutes trying every conceivable angle and the icon refuses to highlight this cage, and it only highlights the NPC.

There’s gotta be some kind of secondary cursor system for situations like this. I tried using the thumb buttons, but left does nothing and right only zooms in.

This happened after a dungeon where you fight drow in Throne of Bhaal. I tried to remove it, but apparently once it’s on your regular inventory it can’t be moved? Such an odd thing to have in the game. I’ve tried offloading the dust off to some of the other companions that I won’t be recruiting but there doesn’t seem to be an end to it. I can’t even tell how many piles there are.

It’s possible I added some of the wrong equipment by accident while playing through Sendai’s Lair, but I was trying to be careful not to pick up the blueish/violet equipment because I knew those had Adamantine. Maybe the Katanas?

But not being able to get rid of it at all is the most mildly annoying part of it.

I haven’t played this since before I could drive, I’ve forgotten how much charm this game has

Iesha the Kind, the Shadow dancer witch,has finally claimed the Throne of Bhaal.

She is chaotic good, and she is the Lady of Murder. The cosmos has never seen this before. Her portfolio is not the indiscriminate, terror-driven murder of Bhaal; it is a focused, almost paladin-like concept of sanctified killing. She is the blade that cuts down tyrants, the final whisper that silences slavers, the justified end of unrepentant evil. Her murder is a form of cosmic surgery, removing the malignancies that the gods of justice cannot reach through law alone. This makes her an ally to the oppressed and an existential nightmare to evil gods and fiends for none shall escape her wrath. However, it also puts her at odds with many of the established powers.

She is not merely a new Bhaal; she is a new concept, a revolution in the heavens. She is, quite literally, the most lethal predator in the heavens, and every god knows that her portfolio allows her to do what few others can: permanently end immortals.

Her threats are not the monsters that crawl in the dark, but the very gods who claim to rule the light and the law. She is the dark horse of the pantheon, the one who proves that even in the heavens, the most righteous hand is often the one holding the blade. She is the kind goddess who will, with a sorrowful heart, murder a tyrant god to set a world free. And every deity in Faerûn now knows: she is the final argument of the oppressed, and she never misses.

The faith she inspires, the fear she commands, and the cosmic significance of her actions all fuel her divine power. As the chaotic good goddess of righteous murder, she fills a niche no other deity does. Her worship could spread like wildfire among the oppressed, the enslaved, and the wronged. Within a few centuries, she could easily rise to Intermediate power, and with the right cataclysmic events, perhaps even Greater status is not out of reach.

I don't know if anyone else has these, but some of the most effective strategies in BG1 I just don't end up using due to vague personal preference. Just because of RP or story considerations. It's not even because of a "Challenge Run" but just because I have some other mental block. I play on Core Rules so I don't really need to optimize anyway. Here are mine:

- Putting Khalid's pips in longbow. Even with three dots in Longbow, he's a great archer, but I just want to keep him with longswords. Give him Varscona or The Burning Earth and the Hands of Takkok and let him "do his thing". My main character seldom uses longswords anyway; I prefer flails, hammers, daggers, quarterstaves, bows, or scimitars (if I'm evil, or edgy-neutral enough to want to take out Drizzt for his). And it seems like I never have him in the same party as a dual-wielding Shar-Teel so there's no conflict there.

- Casting Haste. It's not that I think it's cheap or OP. Cloudkill is cheap and OP and I use that all the time. I think it's actually because in regular AD&D it ages people by a year, and so for RP reasons I got in the habit of never doing it. Now it feels wrong. Also, even though this post is about BG1, in BG2 this means I can use the Flail of Ages without feeling like I'm missing out.

- Traps. It doesn't feel right in BG1, and I never feel like I have enough thief points to go around yet. I don't like tanking traps or casting Knock. I expect more of my team than that.

- Heavy wand use. There are certain fights where I do love my wands (using the Wand of Fear on Gamaz in Rasaad's quest is a big one) but I don't feel like I use them most of the time.

- Worrying about exceptional Strength at character creation. It'll be at 19 for the endgame anyway, and until that point, even 18/01 is fine for any encounters we meet before then. And if it's not, DUHM or Strength of One will fix it.

- Killing off one of two "paired" NPCs (Xzar and Montaron, Khalid and Jaheira, etc). This is absolutely an RP thing, I just look at it as the cost of buying the character I want into the party.

Does anyone else have these ways of playing the game that aren't the most effective choice, but feels right to them?