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Very true, and no doubt the main reason for its appeal A Deathwatch Guard Send a noteboard - 18/07/2012 01:18:42 AM
Hm, I was in much the same position at the time... I did spend a while during my first playthrough to read through all the books you come across, but honestly, only a small handful (including, unsurprisingly, the ones called "History of Amn";) are at all relevant to the game at hand.

You don't really need to know that much of the lore to understand the plot of the game, though, considering that Irenicus blindsides most other factions in the game as well, and they're almost as much in the dark as you are - answers about him and his plans will only really come near the end of the game (not counting the expansion). And as far as backstory from BG1 goes, that is really very simple: Bhaal is an evil god who was taken out but survived in a way by spreading his essence over a number of mortals, of which you are one, and in BG1 you went and had to save the world from another one of those "Bhaalspawn" called Sarevok, whom you eventually managed to kill with the help of a number of characters (a good number of the NPCs in BG2 were available in BG too), including your foster sister Imoen. After which you are kidnapped and find yourself in that dungeon at the start of BG2. If you make it as far as the expansion, you'll get a chance to resurrect Sarevok and get him on your side, at which point some of that backstory will be fleshed out.


The Sarevok bits I've managed to piece together through the character's conversations, particularly with Imoen in the starting dungeon. It's mainly just the world and its factions and people that remain mysterious to me. Maybe modern games are more insidious than I suspected, with their in game encyclopedias and the like.

Harpers are essentially a secret society that supposedly tries to maintain the balance of power between good and evil, but generally ends up fighting evil, and Jaheira's a member. There's some quests that will give you more insight into that too (try going to the Docks in Athkatla for those).


Okay, that makes sense. I knew Jaheira was one of them, so I was already inclined to support them. And I have dropped by the docks recently, because I met a poisoned man on the road. Who incidentally turned out to be a Harper, thus prompting my curiosity about them. I think overall in games though, I dislike starting out in or near a huge hub city such as Athkatla. Oblivion was like that too, with the game starting in the Imperial City which easily dwarfed all the rest. It causes you to be inundated with characters, locations and quests right at the beginning, sort of like you got thrown into the deep end of the pool.

Heh, yes, Dragon Age seems like it'd be pretty cool as a more advanced version of NWN, when I finally get around to buying a more advanced computer I'll be sure to get it. :P


It's strange, actually, because now that I'm playing BG2 I'm seeing all the elements Dragon Age borrowed from it that I never recognized or paid attention to in the past. It really is a spiritual sequel to it. Just with much nicer graphics, the ability to move the camera around, etc. The magic is much more simplified, but the core concept is the same, so it should definitely prove enjoyable. And hey, just another 2 or 3 years left until you play it yourself! :P
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Giving old games a try years after their initial release? - 17/07/2012 02:32:57 AM 2016 Views
Psychonauts was worth it. The art direction helped it to age pretty gracefully, too. *NM* - 17/07/2012 03:07:54 PM 400 Views
Psychonauts is only 7 years old, so it's not that old yet - 17/07/2012 11:02:09 PM 676 Views
I played Final Fantasy and Castlevania recently. - 17/07/2012 05:24:00 PM 720 Views
Don't know much about Castlevania, but which FF did you play? - 17/07/2012 10:58:23 PM 711 Views
Yes, sorry. I meant Final Fantasy 1 - 18/07/2012 01:12:59 AM 723 Views
Ah... In that case, I don't know a thing about either - 18/07/2012 01:23:26 AM 768 Views
Yeah, FF1 was pretty annoying. - 18/07/2012 06:03:52 PM 648 Views
On one hand that realism sounds awesome - 18/07/2012 08:07:18 PM 663 Views
Re: On one hand that realism sounds awesome - 18/07/2012 10:18:08 PM 640 Views
Re: On one hand that realism sounds awesome - 19/07/2012 05:32:54 AM 710 Views
Re: On one hand that realism sounds awesome - 19/07/2012 06:40:34 PM 682 Views
Since my computer is about six years out of date, I do nothing else, basically. - 17/07/2012 08:39:40 PM 707 Views
There's an xkcd for just this situation - 17/07/2012 10:48:53 PM 823 Views
There's an xkcd for most situations geeks are likely to encounter in their lives, honestly. - 17/07/2012 11:15:21 PM 735 Views
Very true, and no doubt the main reason for its appeal - 18/07/2012 01:18:42 AM 750 Views
Re: Very true, and no doubt the main reason for its appeal - 18/07/2012 09:46:48 PM 878 Views
Re: Very true, and no doubt the main reason for its appeal - 18/07/2012 10:30:25 PM 697 Views
Can't say I've gotten very far with the romance subplots yet. - 18/07/2012 11:03:39 PM 684 Views
Yeah, I haven't gotten any. - 18/07/2012 11:38:04 PM 697 Views
Re: Very true, and no doubt the main reason for its appeal - 19/07/2012 06:03:21 AM 732 Views
I used to have sooo much fun with Heroes of Might and Magic 3 years after its release - 18/07/2012 10:19:59 AM 752 Views
I play Heroes on my laptop with Windows 7 - 27/07/2012 04:08:31 PM 683 Views
I play the odd bit of Age of Empires II - 18/07/2012 10:50:21 AM 628 Views
Normal or Conquerors? - 18/07/2012 11:08:11 AM 666 Views
Re: Normal or Conquerors? - 18/07/2012 12:08:06 PM 734 Views
Awesome. - 18/07/2012 12:53:21 PM 703 Views
I'd say Morrowind could probably be one of those games... - 19/07/2012 12:44:25 AM 664 Views
I tried that recently. Spent more time creating my character than I did playing before quitting. *NM* - 19/07/2012 12:55:08 AM 578 Views
Then you are doing it wrong. - 19/07/2012 09:17:00 AM 757 Views
Or it's not his type of game. *shrug* I found Morrowind to be unbearably tedious. *NM* - 19/07/2012 04:12:04 PM 363 Views
Stop being reasonable. - 19/07/2012 05:02:08 PM 666 Views
Drats! You win this time, jh! *NM* - 19/07/2012 10:15:35 PM 361 Views
Reminds me of - 22/07/2012 01:15:49 PM 806 Views
Morrowind is still by far my favorite Elder Scrolls game - 19/07/2012 05:10:07 AM 685 Views

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