GameBanshee Forums

I haven't had the benefit of playing BG1. My ex introduced me to his copy of BG2 and I was instantly hooked. I had asked him for my own copy for my birthday a couple of times, but he never did get around to doing it for me. But I got an awesome deal on the collector's edition a few months ago at Best Buy. Once I get myself 'completely established' here in Ohio, I will get myself BG1. But I did get the jist of Minsc's previous relationship at the beginning of BG2. To be honest, I could actually picture Minsc and Aerie dating in my mind, but depending on certain aspects of play, that may actually be just my imagination running wild. I will keep you posted on what I find.

I got as far as Anomen's quest to find his sister's killer, but realized that I had missed a LOT of great stuff when I found this site and board. So as a result, I started over again. Although I am not exactly sure why (even after checking everyone's stats), at one point, Minsc gets a little over zealous and starts attacking people I am trying to talk to. Anyone have any ideas where this behavior is coming from? I have Ariona (my main character), Aerie, Anomen, Jaheira, and Nalia in my party when this happens. I hope to pick up some more hints and ideas for play as I frequent this board.

Any outcomes I encounter, I will definitely document here for all to read.
Ariona

[QUOTE=Luis Antonio]Ariona, have you played BG1? in BG, Minsc had a witch-ranger relationship with a witch. So, he wants another witch, and Aerie fits his needs. Can you see Minsc dating her? Play a bit more and tell us the outcome.

Now, if you play for adventure, you're in the right path!!! BG is an excelent way of having fun in a rainy night, or when you got nothing else to do.

Tell me, so far what is the better part of the game you've been to?[/QUOTE]

Ariona,
I have played through BG 2 several times with very similar parties to the one you describe above, and I have never seen this behaviour from Minsc. He can sometimes go a bit berserk in battle, but he should not be outrightly attacking people you talk to... unless... possibly it is a certain NPC you encounter if you do the Thieves stronghold stuff. And even then, I think he only attacks if the said individual joins your party.

I'm guessing you have some kind of bug, either because you have not downloaded the patches (I'm not sure they are still available for download though...), or perhaps it is some kind of script screwup owing to any mods you might have installed.

Others here with more tech knowledge than me should be able to help you more.

and welcome to 'Speak Your Mind' btw

For sheer sexism in BG2, no one beats Edwin. He thinks of people in general as objects to be manipulated, and women from whom he needs nothing else are meant to be conquered. Anomen is a jerk, but his attitude is redeemable (even if the change comes so quickly that it seems phoney). Edwin never grows up. There's no sense of layers in his personality: what you see is what you get. Unless, deep underneath, is another layer that even Edwin himself is unaware of.

SPOILERS FOR BG2...
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Minsc will go berserk if Aerie is killed, once he's made her "his witch." This will wear off, and of course, you can always bring her back to life.

*eyes light up* Patches? What patches? This is news to me! Like I said, I am new to this game, so I know nothing of any patches that need to be installed. I have not downloaded any mods yet. I just found out what those are.

Aeris has not died, so that can't be the reason he is not being, uh, rational.

Thank you for the info, and thanks for the welcome, DW!

[QUOTE=dragon wench]Ariona,
I have played through BG 2 several times with very similar parties to the one you describe above, and I have never seen this behaviour from Minsc. He can sometimes go a bit berserk in battle, but he should not be outrightly attacking people you talk to... unless... possibly it is a certain NPC you encounter if you do the Thieves stronghold stuff. And even then, I think he only attacks if the said individual joins your party.

I'm guessing you have some kind of bug, either because you have not downloaded the patches (I'm not sure they are still available for download though...), or perhaps it is some kind of script screwup owing to any mods you might have installed.

Others here with more tech knowledge than me should be able to help you more.

and welcome to 'Speak Your Mind' btw [/QUOTE]

Go to the Bioware site and download the SoA patch, unless you have ToB installed, too. In that case, just download the latest ToB patch. It will patch the entire game.

Then go here, and check out the bugfixes and tweaks/cheats. Download what you will.

Then go to this thread, and check out the last entries for sites you can visit to download mods. Also do a search in the SoA forum for opinions on the various mods.

I think there is one spot in the game where Minsc may go hostile on someone outside the party. Highlight to read :

There is a person who will try and egg the main character into a fight. Depedning on the dialogue options chosen, if your character walks away from the fight, Minsc may take affront to this person and deal with him personally. I've only had it happen once, and can't remember the exact location of the person in question, but I believe it's in the CC

Other than that, there are characters who simply will not get along in the same party due to thier alignment, personal histories, and such. If you've got conflicts within the party, that's the likely cause. But looking at your party, I don't think that's the case.

[QUOTE=Ariona]Thank you for the info, and thanks for the welcome, DW![/QUOTE]

You're welcome, and I hope the patches and anything else you add help out your game.

If you feel like hanging out at Speak Your Mind, also feel free to hang your hat in any of the tavern threads, they are a good way to get to know people. I have one called "The Dragon's Breath Inn," that people have been dropping in and out of

[QUOTE=Ariona]*eyes light up* Patches? What patches? This is news to me! Like I said, I am new to this game, so I know nothing of any patches that need to be installed. I have not downloaded any mods yet. I just found out what those are.[/QUOTE]
You want patches? Okay, you asked for it.

Here's what I installed the last time I put BG2:Throne of Bhaal on my computer. First I installed BG2:Shadows of Amn, then I installed Throne of Bhaal. Then I installed the Official TOB Patch. Then I installed the following unofficial mods/patches in the following order:

Baldurdash Fix Pack v1.12 and English-Language Game Text Update v1.2

Weimer's Ease-of-Use Mod Collection

Select only the following components:
- Infinite Weapon and Potion Stacking (SoA)
- Infinite Weapon and Potion Stacking (ToB)
- True Grand Mastery
- Shut Up "You Must Gather Your Party ..."
- Wear Magical Armor AND Magic Rings
- Multi-Player Kick Out Patch
- Bonus Merchants
- Imoen ToB Dialogue Fix
- Shapeshifter Rebalancing
- Female Edwina
- Romance: Bug Fixes

Sorceror's Place Cloak of Mirroring for BG2:TOB

ToB Juggernaut Golem Fix

Inoshiro's Better-Looking Robes of Vecna

Kevin Dorner's 'Safe' XP Cap Remover for Throne of Bhaal

The G3 Tweak Pack

Select only the following components:
- Shadows of Amn World Map Fixes
- Change Magically Created Weapons to Zero Weight
- Alter HP Triggers for NPC Wounded Dialogues
- Viconia Skin Color Change
- Weapon Animation Tweaks
- 100% Learn Spells
- Bottomless Bags of Holding
- Maximum HP on Level Up
- Make +x/+y Weapons Consistent

SimDing0's Miscellaneous Tweak Pack

Select only the following components:
- Enhanced Goodberries
- Corrected Summonned Demon Behaviour
- Corrected Demon Animations
- Reintroduce Dimension Door
- Tweaked Weapon Enchantments
- PnP Celestial Fury
- Ghrey's Holy Symbol Fix
- Smarter Illusionary Clones

Kensai Ryu's Restored Drow Innates

Oversight

Select only the following components:
- Alignment Correction
- Altered Spells
- Cleric Kits

Don't install Tougher Sendai unless you REALLY want a tougher battle. Not recommended for a first-time player!

Ascension

Don't install the Tougher monster components unless you REALLY want tougher battles. Not recommended for a first-time player!

The Gibberlings Three Anniversary Mod

aVENGER's Rogue Rebalancing Pack

Select only the following components:
- Dual Wield Fix and Rogue Shop
- Shadow Thief Improvements
- Elven Charm/Sleep resistance fix

G3 P&P Celestials

Unfinished Business

Select only the following components:
- The Kidnapping of Boo, by Cliffette
- The Suna Seni/Valygar Relationship Restoration
- Kalah and What He Was Promised, by Andyr
- Cat and Mouse: Bodhi Hunts You in Spellhold, by Ghreyfain
- Gorje Hilldark and the Extended Illithium Quest
- The Pai'Na/Spider's Bane Quest
- Restored Crooked Crane
- Restored Encounters
- Artemis Entreri in Bodhi's Lair
- Corrected "Xzar's Creations"
- Restored Hell Minions, by SimDing0
- Gorf the Squisher Fix, by Gebhard Blucher
- Item Restorations
- NPC Portrait Restorations
- Corrected BAMs and Scripts
- Corrected Character Names
- Restored Minor Dialogs
- Throne of Bhaal Minor Restorations

SimDing0's Quest Pack

SimDing0's Improved Oasis II

Keto NPC

Pocket Plane Group Banter Packs

It's a big list, but I've made all of them easy for you to find. If you have any questions about individual mods, consult the documentation that comes with them. You might need to become familiar with your BG2 directory in order to do that, including the OVERRIDE subdirectory.

Please be aware that some of the game's surprises will be spoiled when you read the documentation for these mods. Most people who install mods have already played the game at least once, and the purpose of the mods is to make the game a little different than the first time you played it. But if you play a heavily-modded game the first time you ever play Throne of Bhaal, you'll never know what the original game was like (when it was released in the form intended by the creators). So you might think twice about installing anything other than Baldurdash FixPack and Weimer's Ease-of-Use Mod Collection and other "tweaks" that do not add new quests to the game. Ascension dramatically alters the ending of Throne of Bhaal, but it's so much better than the original, I would never play the game again without it.

Good luck!

Nice list, VonDondu.

I recently decided to play another game, this time with mods. Here's the thread I started. It got a large number of very useful replies, including recommendations for good mods, and reasons some mods should be avoided.

[QUOTE=Ariona]Holy Hannah, VonDondu! That is one hell of a list! Thanks for helping me out...ALL OF YOU! You have been great! I look forward to more discussions with all of you! I'm gonna hold off on the mods until I can get my patches installed and play for a while. Once I get the feel for normal play, I will experiment with the mods. Thanks again!

And thanks DW...I just might poke my head in the tavern threads from time to time. [/QUOTE]
Try not to read too many threads before you've finished the game at least ones. If you do read a lot of threads (especially the BG ones ) you might spoil your gaming fun.

Spoil? Nah...not at this time. I'm still trying to understand the in's and out's of the game before I download any mods, cheats, or otherwise. I didn't know there were patches to fix any bugs on the game. Right now, I am only sticking to 2 or 3 threads that are the most important right now. I'll read the others when I have a good foot-hold on the basics of the game. Besides, I don't have much time to read the spoilers anyway...I work a lot which doesn't leave me much time for fun. Thanks, Sytze![QUOTE=Sytze]Try not to read too many threads before you've finished the game at least ones. If you do read a lot of threads (especially the BG ones ) you might spoil your gaming fun.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Ariona]OK...I tried to burn a copy of the ToB patch onto a CD, but when I go to install it onto my laptop (where the game is actually installed...not on my desktop computer), it tells me that it can't find the file of origin. Does anyone know what this means and if it has to be downloaded directly onto my laptop instead of my desktop computer?[/QUOTE]

If you ask me, it sounds as if a file was missing when you burned it to the disc. If my perceptions may be correct, then it would be best to download the patch right to your laptop.

Crap! Then that means I will have to wait a while before I can download the patch. My laptop is rather old (10 years to be exact) so my DSL won't fit in my laptop. I will have to wait until I get myself situated better before I can download the patch. Thanks, Galuf!

Anyone else have any ideas so I can install the patch sooner?

[QUOTE=Galuf the Dwarf]If you ask me, it sounds as if a file was missing when you burned it to the disc. If my perceptions may be correct, then it would be best to download the patch right to your laptop.[/QUOTE]

Got a floppy disk? The patches are not that large, and most should fit on a floppy. Beyond that - buy a new laptop.

I would highly recommend the Baldurdash patch, it fixes a lot of problems.

As to the original topic of the thread - my wife plays most RPGs (BG, BG2, Morrowind, KotOR, etc., etc.) and she will play a mix of male/female characters, depending on the type of character she wants to play. I myself will generally set up a character concept and develop a character from there, and these can be male or female. So far in Morrowind, there hasn't been much interaction based on the sex of the character, but that may change.

Cheers,
TGHO

Sorry mate! If I was you, I'd be setting up that desktop right about now... I'm sure that there is plenty of room on the floor. Or you can move something irrelevant, like the fridge.

Cheers,
TGHO