A BG2 Remake?

Black Elk

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So my guess is that they'd want to somehow bring the campaign in line with the current 2024 5.5E but it's just so different from AD&D 2E. Just the other day I was playing my Imoen honour run in BG3 as the dark urge and was immediately confronted with some issues there. I went for the Shadows of Amn style visualization. I ended up playing her as a Wizard initially (Illusion school), because of BG2, which made that feel somehow more her archetype now. Then I tried Arcane trickster but that felt insufficiently powerful. The multiclass Thief/Mage was also sorta tough to realize under the new framework. Amusingly via itemization I was able to achieve her BG2 stat block since the circlet of intellect raises INT to 17 and the Gloves of Dex gave her 18 there, I was able to juice her CON and CHA to 16 with the point left over for a 9 in STR hehe. For that one I used a Withers Zombie. She looked pretty cool with the Mantle. In the end I went with a Rogue 1/Illusionist 11 to try and keep pace with the power curve under the level cap in BG3, but anyhow it was sort of all over the place.

Still I'd be lying if I didn't say I got a little excited at the prospect of seeing her come back for another round lol

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Antimatter

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Hey, we have a bit of discussion about this here: https://tavernrpg.com/threads/industry-news-upcoming-games.101/page-25

IMHO, too early to tell. What VO actors will they use? What type of gameplay will the game have (RtwP)? What DnD Edition will it use? How will they handle the camera? Will it be moddable? How will they handle the balance (classes, multiclasses, etc etc) and the combat? Who is the developer?
 

OrlonKronsteen

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Thoughts?
Me: "I wish they'd move on from BG already. Can't they create ANYTHING new?"

Also me: "Just take my money already, (insert developer's name here)."

I do wish they'd do something new - preferably in a different setting than the FR - but I'm still interested in seeing what they come up with. If they pull it off, we'll have an aesthetically pleasing and modern D&D game. If they fuck it up, it's only a game. There will have been greater tragedies in history.
 

Cahir

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O_Bruce

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Nah, you're not, not according to my definition at the very least. You were not introduced to Baldur's Gate via third installment and I assume you don't think it's a good idea to demand changes to older games not made for you.

Because that's what tourist would do. Join a thing, know nothing about said thing, demand the thing to change for them.

My above post was due it not being even 24 hours since the rumors, and already Larian fans are demanding the changes for them. That or dismissing the remakes altogether because "it's not Larian".
 

Antimatter

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I think at the end of the day, it's the rights holder who will decide on stuff like 5.5E vs 2E, turn-based vs RtwP, etc, for a remake like this, not the developer. And they might back up any claim by bringing up BG3 sales and reviews (vs any possible "hardcore"/"niche"/"ancient dinosaurs" public) from a corporate standpoint, ignoring the main point that made BG3 a success - Larian and their developer experience. However, I think just using that comparison (BG3 sold well, so we need to use TB and 5.5E here as well) might not be correct for a remake of a cult game, the success of which relied on so, so many things only valid for BG2 itself, be it VO, the myriad of spells and class combinations, the old sprites, etc etc. So we'll see how this one goes.
 

Black Elk

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Right though! Same and same

Haha sorry should have checked the other thread first, when I got back home the other day saw that headline and it hit like a brick. I figured well this sounds like a case for the Tavern! Can merge it up if that makes sense. If we get any more details I'm sure we'll all have many thoughts!

I just keep thinking like how would this work, if it could even work, and then what would I want out of such a thing? If it's a reboot it would need to be the Reboots of Speed to still catch fire from the last installment, if that's where they're headed. I think for a remake maybe if they remastered the music and kept the same sounds but updated it so the camera could spin around? I imagine it would have to be a truncated form of BG1 with reimagined areas but the same flavor in terms of encounters if trying to squeeze both things into one game. Just seems like a can of wyrms though.

That said I think the idea of trying to figure out what the characters from BG1 and BG2 would look like like now is interesting. Like I tried to pull off a Kivan and an Aerie in BG3 and that was all I could come up with cause the hireling system there is all locked into the bizarro zombie options with fixed background/races there to pointlessly gatekeep my choices. There weren't enough slots to do a whole crew. Not enough humans there or enough spaces to get the job done in BG3 for a full party of six. I was going to just make Edwin Returns out of Gale but other than him there was no one in the standard roster that fit the bills really. I could make a Monty but not a Xzar, and so it all seemed futile. Then I started messing around in Solasta II with the same idea, but again it's like not everyone could be created to my satisfaction under the new schemes. Trying to translate the old characters into the new thing esp for the muticlass or characters that went dual like Imoen left much to be desired. On the other hands, because it was D&D and we got these legacy Heroes like Jaheira, there's probably some sort of rubric they might follow. I remember scratching my head at a few of the redrafts in the EEs regarding weapons proficiencies and fighting styles and such, but a redo now would be a much taller order. Somehow it seems unlikely that they would dive back into 2nd or 3rd edition, and so some Qs would need to get an answer.

I think for any of the Multiclass characters from the older games, they'd need to choose which Class is dominant and make that the primary at lvl 1. So for Imoen specifically I think Wizard just makes more sense than Rogue now. Basically with a feat or something similar to give her the Thief flavor.

Urchin Background would give her the necessary sleight of hands and stealth so at least those proficiencies can scale with Char lvl. As a human she can choose one skill for that, so that's another option, or maybe choosing perception or whatever to find the traps. She'd lose out on the Rogue expertise, but it sorta fits with her classing out after she got her points in find traps and pick locks, then using invisibility for whatever stealth stuff from her mage repertoire. Depends when they bring her into it I guess, but say they start at lvl 8 for a BG2, a lvl 3 rogue, lvl 5 wizard just gets clowned on by a lvl 8 wizard with an extra feat to make her seem roguish. A feat in Skilled or extra Weapons maybe but anyway, similar to Jaheira becoming a pureclass Druid now, I think most characters would need to be sorta redrafted into a single class archetype. I'd prefer it though, if doing some redo, that they start at the start, ie Lvl 1, that way we can choose their subclasses and such.

As for the gameplay, I enjoyed the turn based approach of BG3, but it feels pretty slow compared to the high octaine runs in BG1/2. I think mainly because the campaign went with a party of 4 rather than 6, and the encounters are all puzzly. There just weren't enough monsters or dungeons to give it the full BG flavor. I also found the itemization to be a mixed bag, like they had a lot of colorful items with unique properties, but when every merchant sells half a dozen enchanted items it makes everything feel somehow less special. Getting amped up for just a regular old +1 to whatever, now everything has to have some wild conditional ability. I'd rather something that fit the pace of BG1 over BG2, but I guess BG3 is more like BG1 than BG2 in terms of the story/terrain, so maybe they just want to take it somewhere else in Faerun. I think they should have mentioned Imoen more prominantly though, I mean she was there for the long haul in 1 and 2 but forgotten in 3. I think she maybe gets one throw away line from Minsc, and an oblique reference in a random book, but otherwise it's like she never existed. I'd like to see Viconia again, obviously I was not satisfied, she should have been a recruitable companion to balance against Jaheira, but anyhow, different games.
 
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OrlonKronsteen

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I think she maybe gets one throw away line from Minsc, and an oblique reference in a random book, but otherwise it's like she never existed. I'd like to see Viconia again, obviously I was not satisfied, she should have been a recruitable companion to balance against Jaheira, but anyhow, different games.
I think Larian did a terrible job with the original characters (especially Viconia). They should never have been there in the first place, imo. This is one thing the remake devs will have to be VERY careful about, not just the game mechanics.
 

Black Elk

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Yeah, I felt like Sarevok and Viconia were poorly executed. It felt similar to the way Faldorn was used in BG2 to me, as just another villain that had to be taken out. Jaheira I liked, but again, her recruitment being all delayed till the end of the second Act is pretty frustrating there. Also, there are so many ways for her to get killed before recruitment, or to just bail, and the same thing with Minsc. This felt similar to the way that a character like Yeslick, Eldoth, Quayle, Skie, Tiax or Alora was less likely to get used in BG1 because they didn't show up until much later, or sometimes they would party break or just kill someone without much warning. For the returning BG characters in BG3, only Jaheira and Minsc really had to be accounted for in terms of the new systems for Class, Abilities and such, since the other pair weren't recruitable/playable. For Minsc, I liked that they turned Boo into an actual animal companion that could be used, but it was hard to spec Minsc out from his base stats with sufficient STR for his character archetype while still being an effective Ranger. Like he's totally reliant on potions Giant Strength juice. Jaheira didn't feel like she got enough special whatevers to capture the Fighter part of her Fighter/Druid archetype. She has some special equipment, Belm, Staff of the Ram, and Khalid's Amulet, but not really a lot in the fighter direction there. To me it would have made sense to give them each a bonus "Hero of the Realms" Feat, to make them seem more seasoned and desirable to have tagging along. +2 Bonus ASI would have made them seem more legendary and that would probably have been enough to get something going.

Imoen I think would be particularly tough though, because under the new scheme she'd probably be better off as a Bard or a Bard multiclassed into Wizard, than as a Rogue/Wizard. Under a level cap with spellslots granted the way that they are, taking a couple levels in Bard is just way better mechanically than lvls in Rogue (Thief), if pairing with Wizard, since Bards are now full casters.

To me this also fits with Imoen's whole vibe a little better. For example as a lvl 1 Bard with the Urchin background she gets a bonus to Stealth and Sleight of hands for the thieving, but she'd also get some cantrips like Friends and Vicious Mockery which seems thematic for her. Like she's always trying to make friends, and then viciously mocking them in BG1 lol.

Dissanent Whispers also seems thematic for a BG2 style Imoen, together with spells like Longstrider, Healing Word, and Bardic Inspiration (which are all extremely useful for a support character) she's immediately a lot harder to just ditch. Later she can get Magical secrets even, or switch into Wizard or Sorcerer and you'd end up with a character that's more in line with the Thief/Mage of 2E for the power curve.

Just taking some potential Muliclass options and comparing them A lvl 1 Rogue, lvl 4 Wizard, you wouldn't gain a spellslot for that lvl in Rogue under 5e, so thats capping at lvl 2 spellslots.

A lvl 1 Bard, lvl 4 Wizard, you end up with a lvl 3 spellslot (since both classes are full casters) which is just a much stronger character overall in combat. For utility outside combat the +1d6 bonus to companion rolls from bardic inspiration and persuasion face type stuff just makes her seem immediately worth hanging around.

This shows the difference between the 2 combos under quick Bg3 translation. With Bard she's already Hasty and has like a Lightning bolt or a Fireball plus all that other stuff lol. Dipping Rogue instead, sure expertise makes stealing gold a little easier but the sneak attack compared to the firebire or being hasted while doing whatever, along with the longstride and just seems like a better choice mechanically for her.

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A lvl 1 Bard, lvl 4 Sorcerer is probably even better since you don't have to work a second attribute as hard to get some more powerful arcane spells in the repetoire.

Or she could just be a Sorcerer with Sleight of Hands and such coming from the background. Since she had such a high Charisma in BG1/2 it fits the archetype there, sorta, also in BG2 we don't see her as a spellslinger until after Irenicus has been all experimenting on her.

Irenicus is all talking about "the untapped potential" and is a Sorcerer himself, so I could see a situation where Imoen is reimagined as a more sorcerous Mage with the powers coming from Bhaal or whatever. If Imoen read any of the Ability tomes in BG1 it would justify a bonus to ASI or some flavor feats to make a multiclass build more robust and seem sufficiently powerful. In 2E a Dual Class Thief 7/Mage 8 was just a much more powerful lvl 8+ character, than anything I could pull off in 5E at the same level.

If they make her a Rogue (Arcane Trickster) then I guess she can have her signature Magic Missile, like the wand she's given at the outset in BG1. This is probably the most straightforward I guess, but as quarter caster she's never going to be doing the sort of big magic she achieved in BG2 or Throne of Bhaal that way.

I think if she remains a Rogue/Wizard to match her Thief/Mage of BG2, then maybe they need to make it so she comes into the party already overlevelled by at least 1 lvl. So for example when she says "Heya it's me Imoen" if Charname is still at lvl 1, maybe she comes in at lvl 2 from the getgo one step ahead?

Or if Charname is lvl 3, she could be lvl 4, because then she's not lagging behind as hard as a multiclass Char, and just let her cap out slightly sooner? I don't know it's a tricky situation to navigate at the Friendly Arm Inn. I think a bonus feat would make sense for her, because feats are fun and they allow for creativity. The way they are awarded by default every 4 class levels is a pretty big nerf for Multi Class type, outside of certain Class combos that seem to already synergize well. Most of the old Multiclasses have already been spun off into their own unique class or subclass now, so it's just a lot to try and puzzle through. I think some other tricky multi Characters for BG1/2 would be Montaron, Coran, Tiax, Nalia, Jan Jansen for same reasons as Imoen.

A character like Branwen or Kivan or Ajantis would be a lot easier to translate, same deal for Heir Dalis, Keldorn and Valygar and such in BG2 since there are a lot of subclasses to cover their types. Aerie would be probably have to be Wizard mutlicassed into Cleric, since the reverse would offer a lot of weapons/armor options that don't really capture her vibe to me, but at least her spellslot progression would be on pace. Under the new scheme it just doesn't make a whole lot sense to me to pair a Full caster class, with a class that doesn't gain spellslots. Sneak Attack and the expertise bonus doesn't seem like enough when compared to a spellslot at the highest of the high end, especially if it costs a feat somewhere along the way.

I think it would be fascinating to see what they do, but I suspect they'll take a lot of liberties, which will likely give us cause to grumble lol
 
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OrlonKronsteen

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Jaheira I liked, but again, her recruitment being all delayed till the end of the second Act is pretty frustrating there. Also, there are so many ways for her to get killed before recruitment, or to just bail, and the same thing with Minsc.
I think Jaheira's execution was definitely the best. They really captured her character. I guess my problem is I never cared for her to begin with, lol.

They really missed with Viconia, though.
It's like the writer assigned to her had never played the originals. She was a philosophically curious and redeemable character in the those games, but they just made her unambiguously and one-dimensionally evil in BG3.

As for Sarevok,
I just could't believe they'd rehash the Bhaalspawn business AGAIN. I mean, the main story has nothing to do with that, and there was no reason to bring it in.
The plot is already convoluted enough, lol. I guess that's kind of indicative of the writing as a whole, isn't it? Excellent on the micro-level, but dreadful at the macro-level. In any case,
I just wanted Sarevok in the rearview mirror as quickly as possible. The mental gymnastics required to accept yet another Sarevok resurrection are too much.

As for the NPCs in the remakes, it really does put into perspective how different the rule systems are, doesn't it? The whole MAD business of 5e makes a lot of those multi-classes incongruous, as you say. One way they could help that is just giving everyone better stats. The point buy system in BG3 is brutal. I mean, look at it this way - TAV goes into the game with a meagre 74 points. Even Garrick in BG1 had 81. Imoen had 87 (as for Imoen, I liked your idea of her in your last post - a pure wizard with the urchin background, or another background/reason for her to have slight of hand skills). That said, not everyone needs 17 in their primary stats, either.
 

Black Elk

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Yeah I tried it for like an hour and then just went back to a regular Wizard with some rogue flare added on top lol. Bladesinger as alright since she could have the signature shortsword, then through itemization I used the gloves of archery for the shortbow of awareness to initiative or gloves of power for stealing, and Cat's Grace robes for advantage on Dex +2 for and 18. With the Witches hair she hit 20 for Int after the first feat. After 5 lvls in Wizard, taking a lvl in Rogue felt more doable, so I put her in the Pink Shredder hood and said "heya!" but it had to be in one of the british acccents she must have picked up along the way lol. Also she is not very charismatic hehe. Just sorta goes to show, like ok is this what she'd be? Then the issue was that I had done the Dark Urge for the slayer callback, which meant I the locked haunted background, I had to use the drakes dye to make it black. Just using the reg materials available there lol. It's all a bit of an absurdity

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My hope would be that they just keep the same music and voices somehow, because that's the whole appeal. Like I want to hear the BG1/2 lvl up sound play as the very first thing or else why bother right? hehe
 
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OrlonKronsteen

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Also she is not very charismatic hehe.
You know what? I think you should just cheat the stats. Why not? It's a single player game. I started doing that in my last game for RP. Nothing absurd, but I boosted my paladin's intelligence to 10 because I didn't want her to be as dumb as a bag of rocks, you know? It wasn't who my character was. I'd not feel guilty for raising the stats higher, either. I mean, strength of 10, dex 16 and con 14 is not superhuman. Go to any gym and you'll see a room full of people with stats like that. The 74 spread they give you really forces a min-max mentality that can leave you deficient in other areas. You mentioned Minsc needing strength potions, lol. Halsin is another one. He's built like a brick shit house but he's weak as a kitten on paper. 😂
 
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