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[twillight]

BG2 + ToB Solo Barbarian Guide

Why this guide?
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I recently took the "ultimate challenge" of Baldur's Gate: soloing the whole series with a single character from Baldur's Gate to Tales of the Sword Coast, then Shadows of Amn, with finaly Throne of Bhaal. I went with a thief/mage multiclass character, and I felt satisfaction with it, even though I could not win the first battle agains Melissan (but the game offers there a brief window to make Fake Talk working).
Anyway, after ending up with a chaotic-evil-good-god-of-death, I thought with all the traps, devas and spells maybe this character had a little bit of adventage compared to other possibilities - so I figured I need a fighter to compare. And a guide for barbarin only existed for Shadows of Amn.

My game, my rules...
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Of course anyone would want to do BG1 even only for the statboosts. But when I thought through my possibilities and all the previous playthroughs I made, I wanted this time a Half-orc Barbarian.
Maybe you're aware that when importing between the games the kit-choice can be modified form vanilla to something. But this is not the case with races. So I decided something what is technically cheating, but otherwise just not accepting a handicap. So I cheated in some equipment from BG1, mostly the statboosting books - yes, to use all of them I needed another cheat, called "anyone can have a familiar", but if that's the way, then that's the way to get things working.
Along this I also "imported" some other items found in BG1, namely 2 ring of protection from fire (there are surprisingly little amount of good rings in the series), helm and cloak of Balduran, gold pantaloon - but only so much what can fit into my inventory, involving only identifying (and thus using) the staboosting books when some priest can help me out of my low lore (aka. carry all the books through Irenicus' dungeon).
I also gave myself a one-time large amount of gold, but that doesn't realy make a difference.
On the self-restriction side: I never "recharged" any limited charged items (selling shops and buying them back recharges those items to maximum charges)

Why barbarian?
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First: I wanted a warrior. Check the possibilities with me. Monk I already played, and although one-time fun, I saw some problems. Pure fighter is both boring, both lacking. Dual and multiclass doesn't play this time. Blade and swashbuckler I prefer to see in a group. Kensai and Wizardslayer have too big disadventages for my liking. Pure Kensai is especially bad for solo, because at one point you HAVE TO do ranged kills (and the Wand of Wonders anything but trustable). So I though Berserker or Barbarian? Ugh, berserker becomes winded...

Barbarian for sure?
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Ok, it looks the best choice, but does it seem good enough to even start, I asked myself. Well, Rage makes me immun to the nastiest things, and especially traps. (You still shouldn't mess with chests too much.) And gives damage and whatnot. And in the end you'll have so many charges you won't be able to spend 'em, so it is good. Immunity to backstab comes next. Well, some times enemy just LIKES to backstab you (remember thief-class characters drinking all those potions of invisibility?). So it is good too, and frees up an equipment-slot. Faster running: with a Boots of Haste you'll be at the enemy mages as fast as some mage's magic missiles, so it is also awesome! The extra HP is also handy, but the cherry on the top of the cream is the physical resistances. If you even scammed through the equipment list, you had to notice Defender of Eastheaven. While it is in itself not such a great boost (but still almost as good as a shield), and even for a normal fighter with Hardiness HLA means only 60% damage resistance (I don't see that much difference between 40% and 60%), for the barbarian you will end up with 80(!)% resistance to all physical attacks! That is certainly a lot! Things like an Adamantite Golem or Chromatic Demon has that much!
About the disadvantages: the loss of prophyciencies doesn't mean much in BG2, really (just check the official statistics). The loss of armor is again almost nothing. Most plate/fullplate armor comes with no abilities, so the rest of choices come close second at the beggining and at the end too. During the middle you'll be able to wear any drow equipment, so who cares that (there is most probably a definition-error, so barbarians can wear drow plate).

Equipment:
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With a solo-run it is better to know where to get what in what order, even before starting to roll out the protagonist, so take a look on these.
What we'll need? 1) offensive power 2) defensive capabilities.
1) This means weapons and ability to deal out damage fast. So go for two weapon style (3 point is allowed). As you'll have prophiciencies for that you also might consider going for the Silver Sword for a time because of its vorpal effect. We'll choose a lot of Greater Whirlwinds too, but along it don't forget Improved Haste. It provided me 7 APR, or even 10 when shapeshifted to the Slayer (equalls with GWW!). So go for equipment with Improved Haste charges (namely Ring of Gaxx and the bracers from the Kuo Toa Prince - Improved Cloack of Protection +2 sadly not works with the armors).
Also good offensive weapons are the Flaill of Ages (for troll killing, even fire variants), Foebane (if only against the Fallen Solar at the very end), and upgraded Axe of Unyielding. Blackrazor if it works for you is also be mentioned here (for me it never uses its ablities, but I got it this time for rleplaying reasons).
Some diversion would also be good, so get any "1 charge per day" items you can lay hands on. This means you'll have to side Bodhi (for ring of Djinn Summoning), and kill the efreets in Trademeet (as you can not pickpocket. Leave the chieftain for the last, else the rest of the efreets just vanish). Oh, and above all do not forget the Helm of Vhailor (although you'll rarely need it if at all - just like the rest of these items).
Limited charged items can also come in handy, warriors can only use a few.
Don't forget to have something you can do ranged attack with - another reson to learn handling axes.
2) Most things go on the defensive of course. First cover traps: physical damage means little, just visit a temple if needed, and find something what provides regeneration. Heck, you might have a go against Kangaxx and the other liches early, as prot. from undead scrolls are so rarely a must, only if the Unseeing Eye quest wouldn't be in the way...
Anyway, onto posion. Both monsters and traps do that, so carry some Elixir of Health until you find that amulet of posion immunity, and finaly Kangaxx's ring.
There is the problem of leveldrain too. This is also done by traps (only when opening chests) and monsters (vampires and shadows mostly). The earliest solution is to have the Mace of Disruption - comes very early if you side Bodhi. Even if you don't have points in maces, just like me, it solves all problems until you finaly get Angurvadal upgraded.
The remaining problem is all the insta-death conditions, especially maze/imprisonment, against what you're allowed no savethrows, nor immunity-equipment, and against imprisonment Barbarian Rage does not save. So we'll have to gather magic resistances. Magic Resistance determines wether a certain spell will effect you or not, it does not weakens the consequences if the spell hits! For that there is the Belt of Inertal Barrier - what we'll use, as there are no good belts in the games, and we won't need strenghtboosting equipment (so don't even think on using Crom Faeyr!). More on Magic Resistance later.
What shall be the second ring beside Kangaxx? Well, if you play nice, and won't start Lawful Good for the pickpocketing familiar, you'll need something else then a second Kangaxx. That'll be Ring of Earth Controll for its charming, for its AC, and for its hidden boost on saving throws. If you don't like that you may consider cheating in Claw of Kazgaroth, but I'm against that (being cursed, and all).
What did I not mention yet? Ah, the armor! Well, first armor worth mentioning comes from the Adventurer's Mart - Aeger Hide. It is basically a slightly lesser version of Corthala's Family Armor - which will be your next target in armors. Yes, we'll kill Valygar for it. Yes, we'll be able to use it (it has certain requirements in stats, apart the "must be able to use leather armor" requirement what we already fulfill). When reaching Underdark any of the drow armors will do nicely, and after that the Crimson Chain is a good choice for AC. In ToB for AC the White Dragon Scales equalls with the best FullPlates. But mostly we'll use the Human Flesh Armor (I hope you belive in equality and has no prejudice against Evil alignment, heh). And to be honest the Big Metal Unit is better then any other armor on the field of AC (being -20 and all).

Equipment you should not use
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It is a common misconception the Cloak of Sewers gives regeneration when shapeshifting to troll. It does not. Any shapeshifting hinders you, except the Slayer, but as Slayer you won't have a transformed statue in Trademeet, sry (it'll give the statue in your normal form. The proces how those statues made is interresting: the game makes a clone of you there, then cast flesh to stone on it - hm, maybe if the statue is created when you step out the door...).

Magic Resitance
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Do we need it? Well, just think on the situation when some lich (requires magical weapon to hit) uses protection from magical weapons (thus becomes immun to every weapon), and in chains casts 3 times maze on you. I think I put my point.
So, we have Cloak of Balduran (what occasionally can be swapped with Cloak of Mirroring, as I noticed Hive Mothers and other such beholder's rays are not effected by the Shield of Balduran) = 25%. Add Ring of Gaxx = 35%. Also Human Flesh Armor = 55%. Again 2 weapons with 10% magic resistance each = 75%. Amulet of Seldarine (before that there is the 5% magic protection, then 10% from the amulet bought from the drow city) = 85%. 5% more from the Mad Machine in Watcher's Keep = 90%. If you sacrifice 1 DEX before Irenicus (it pains, but worthy), you end up 100% immunity! If you'll still hold the Deender of Eastheaven and activate Hardiness, while wearing the Belt of Inertial Barrier, you'll have 80% resistance to physical damage, 90% resistance to magic, and 50% resistance to magic damage! Doesn't that sounds attractive?
Oh, and if you think this concept is kinda limiting, just check the alternatives for all slots - there are surprisingly little amount of equipments when you give it a head.

Rolling Stats
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What stats will we need? Well, 19 STR and CON to feel the good side of the Half Orc. 19 STR, and being Evil also means that with the statboost book imported from BG1 (+1), the Mad Machine from Watcher's Keep (+1), the Star card from the Deck of Many Things (+1), and the Tear of Sharevok (+3!) you'll permanently have 25 strenght without any equipment or ability! And no joke on Tear of Sharevok: the Door gives you +2, but if you really yell on Sharevok he too gives +1 STR, what during most playthroughs goes unnoticed as you wear STR-determining equipments, what hides this.
From DEX you should also go for maximum, while Charisma cares noone - use the Ring of Human Influence when making conversations (it can even be swapped during combat). Wisdom you better have 18 at least constantly for the save throw bonuses, but for Intelligence you can settle with so many you won't die from one hit of the illithids (they drain 5-6, so go for 7 at least, the more the better, with 13 you will survive 2 hits, but I never suffered that much).

Playing through the game
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Irenicus' Dungeon should mean no threat to you. But good to know that ANY character can notice EVERY hidden door, so you don't need a thief on that. Also you don't have to keep Wands of Magic Missile, they don't worth the effort. Neither worth keeping Wand of Frost what a) you can't use b) the Limited Wish Adventure is out of your reach - what also means you should at a point go and whack the adventurers part of that quest, they are arrogant enough to start a brawl.
Coming out of the dungeons you are allowed to have as much gold you don't feel ashamed without risking to start Chapter 3, in case you're wondering. Too bad only thieves can "legally" have unlimited money right here. You should visit the nearest temple for reputation, the Adventurer's Mart for equipment, and finish the Circus quest, and maybe even Mencar Peeblecrusher in the local inn. But do NOT have 15K+ gold when you leave the Promenade first time!
After Chapter 2 started you should gather just enough stability to be able to do the first two (timed) quests in Chapter 3. Then you can stop worrying about things, and start to do as many quest you can for exp and equipment. Start with local quests with little or no fights, and only go outside Amn when you have the immunity / resistance you'll need at where you'll go (like confusion in De'Arnise Keep). In battles always try to eliminate mages first to avoid stun / hold / charm / maze and so on. Use your Rage when possible (be aware when it runs out). You won't need Breach or Dispel or other such things once you'll access (Greater) Whirlwind, and even until that weapons with elemental damage (like Flail of Ages, what is also good for its slowing) can provide that little you might lacking.
After a time all your throws will be in the negative at -5, so even the most brutal spells with +4 penalty will mean nothing to you - but maze and imprisonment will alway be a threat, so gather magic resistance and cast Rage until that. Sadly from Prot. from Magic scrolls only 2 exists in the entire game.
Very effective combo is this: Hardiness -> Rage -> Greater Whirlwind. Remember, that Hardiness lasts longer when you level up.
Do not forget that you can go to Watcher's Keep! A note for that: any key or wardstone (appart from the big one gained at the very start) becomes useless when you reach the next level. Also you don't have to do Watcher's Keep all at once. For me the first go was from Level 1 to Level 3, then I came back to Level 4, then went elsewhere again, and finally came back for Level 5. And even though it IS possible to finish the quest of Watcher's Keep, you won't gain with that any item, and I reached the exp-limit (8 million exp) before even opening any of the three part of the final seal still in Chapter 2 or 3!

Hard battles
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Lilarcor: You don't need this sword. You don't even need the exp of the quest. But you might consider keeping the Staff of Strawberries (or what, from the kobolds) for its healing ability instead - as long as you don't aquire something with regeneration ability.
Chromatic Demon: I used some summons as distraction (Black Spider Figurine, Iron Horn of Valhalla) to gain time, while whirlwinding it to death hand to hand with a Simularcum from Vhailor's Helm. I also needed one time Hardiness when even my Simularcum died from the hits. It is a very hard battle.
Monsters with regeneration: you deal out damage fast enough not to worry. This is true even at Irenicus' Slayer Form.
Undeads: With a decent armor (something with AC5) you'll barely suffer a scratch. Undeads are simply not a threat in this game (and when they are, just whirlwind / hardiness). Liches are surprisingly less annoyance then expected if you can survive their symbol of whatevers - or just use a scroll of prot. from undead. There are 16 of those scrolls in the game (plus 2 at your Stronghold if you accept the priest), and only half a dozen liches in the entire game, so who cares for undead, seriously?
Mages: Whirlwind them to death. Yes, they many times go Mislead, but those have no protection, so die fast. Yes, they go invisible, but at the next casting they become targetable with weapon - so I certainly need not any dispel magic (although the Fireshields are annoying, even those aren't real threat). To avoid Time Stop just run away (catsing timestop takes time, so you'll notice if they do, and are fast enough to get out of visible range). Always do Rage though to prevent Maze (cast it before the fight).
Watcher's Keep, Level 5, Final Guardians: Divide and conquer. Before opening the seal summon things up (no matter what), then lure the Marilith (or whatever you prefer) with you to one of the siderooms, where you should close the door to prevent more things to follow. 2-3 monsters a time can be handled (especially with the Super Healing Potions you gathered).
If you have problems with these, or any battle in SoA before Bhaal's Plane with Irenicus, you can try to use the Mind Control Colars from the Illithid city. Just telling.
Demogorgon: Do not fight it. There is no reason to.
Siding Bodhi: You're glad you can't be backstabbed, don't you?
The Unseeing Eye: There is the demon during this quest what requires "love" instead of "hate". You're chance here is the Gauntlets of Healing.
Freeing the imprisoned Mage in the Underdark: you can't do this quest.
Dragons: Hardiness, Rage, then Whirlwind them to oblivion. They have no chance, you don't even need special equipment for them.
Irenicus at Spellhold: For your conveniance the mad ones remove his protections. Always.
Usth Natha: Simply avoid most of the quests. Good to know you don't need to fight the Balor if you're Evil. You don't have to participate in tavern duels. No reason to go to the Beholder City. No reason the fight the spawns of Demogorgon. Use the Tainted Tadpools at the Kuo Toas.
Illithid City: Take out the mindflyers first. Do not waste the Colars, instead turn to Slayer. With the Staff of Domination I could 100% dominate the Elder Brain.
Out of Underdark: Along the way, and in the elf camp do not stop at drow vs. elves battles, as elves randomly turn hostile, and that's not good to your health (the elf leader can get mad, and instakills you).
Suldanesselar: use the stairs to limit the golems' numbers.
Irenicus in Hell: Kill the demons first.
Throne of Bhaal mobs: I assume you chose the immunity to +1 weapons or less reward. When a mass attacks you, pay attention which ones are able to affect you, and kill those with priority. The rest just takes time.
Gromnir: Kill the mages first. And be sure you have a save before this fight, as there is a bug what can freeze the game here (or just give you 54million quest exp, like it did at me last time).
Halls of Yaga Shura: take adventage of the sorroundings. Hide, or try to make the giants stucked. And always eliminate the Elite ones first.
Yaga Sura: He shows up with delay, so be patient. Only attack HIM. The first time he runs away, that is the moment you should go back to the middle of the bridge for better position. Next time you should again only attack him, as with his death the battle ends, all the others disappear from the game.
When you must make the choice between Abizgail or Sendai, I suggest choose the one with more cool itemparts. The BMU lies at Abizgail's Lair, and works wonders in Sheindai's chambers!
Abizgail's lair: Here are dragons - AND? The dragon outside can summon things unlimited times.
Sendai's lair: use the BMU whenever you can, pay attention to your health and targets.
Sendai: The extra drows has fixed numbers and are not repleaced. Still, your biggest adventage is your Pocket Plane ability between her forms.
Pocket Plane Challenges: Most are a joke with this character, only the Ravager will be nasty. Be aware, and you'll win.
Melissan: Here comes play all the HLA-choices. GWW is nice, but Hardiness will prove essential - 1 for each serious battle here. That means 1 Hardiness for all forms of Melissan, AND one more at the final seal with the Deva. That last seal is hard, but if you know what you're doing (like casting improved haste for rised APR), then you have serious chance. Oh, and any monster Melissan summons, die with the actual forms of Melissan. Still, good to have that Human Skin Armor.

THE END

[The Fifth Horseman]

Is not a review. Is game guide -> belongs in Gaming Zone.

[Tomekk]

Just play the game with NPCs, less frustrating and way more engaging

[twillight]

Originally Posted by Tomekk

Just play the game with NPCs, less frustrating and way more engaging

I've found the game more appealing playing solo actually.

Btw, anyone saw yoga?

[twillight]

Playing Trilogy-Weidu (no BG2 fixpack):

Sex: Choose male for getting layed by a drow in the Underdark, otherwise noeffect

Race: Half Orc for stat benefits

Stats:
Str: max
Dex: max
Con: max
Int: 7 is bare minimum for Mind Flayers, 10 is to get no loss of Lore (like you'd ever have enough lore to identify magic items by yourself), 13 is safety against Mind Flayers (bare 2 hits). 9 is minimum to use wands. Keep in mind you'll find a tome for this, so settle either 6 or 8-9 or 12.
Wands to use: Wand of Magic Missile, Wand of Sleep, Wand of Wonders, Wand of Cursing
Wis: 10 eliminates penalty on Lore. Magic Defense does not exist in the game, and you find 3 tomes during your adventures. But remember you will loose a statpoint (int/con/dex/wis) at the Final Dream (where you fight "Sharevok"), soadd 1 more either here or for intelligence. Safer to substract from here, so minimum should be 10 or 8. With 10 you avoid ever having penalty on Wisdom, and at the beginning you might be able to identify thus some minor stuff by yourself and spare some gold.
Cha: while w/o Bg1 it can be neglected entirely, WITH BG1 you better go for a minimum of 8 if you think the manual is correct, or 10 if you think outside sources (eg. BG-wiki) is correct.
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How many statpoints are these? Well, to have a character worth starting, have so many points if you distribute it evenly all stats would be 13. If you want a good character, have stats evenly distributed making 14 each. To have a REALLY GOOD character have even more.
My "minimum perfect" character looks like this at the start:
19/18/19/12/10/10, which is 14 evened score + 4.

Proficiencies:
Start BG1 with Bastard Swords and Longbows. Bows rule BG1 and can be started with from Candelkeep (the return-to-hand throwing axe comes late), and while there are +1 for all weapons it rarely goes beyond that.
Lategame proficiencies are suggested: 2 bastard swords (against BG1's shapeshifters and BG2's Fallen Deva), 2 longbows, 1-2 mace (for Mace of Disruption), 3 two weapon style. Optional but good choices in addition: 2 axes, 2 longsword (Angurvadal). This still leaves 2-3 more points to spend on whatever.
But keep in mind that in BG1 there is a level cap, which'll limit you for that part with 6 points and we already spent 4. I suggest starting to develop Two Weapon Style right in BG1 even though you should use shields during it.

Alignment: any of the three evil. Keep in mind that the first two baalspawn-abilities are better with evil reputation. The bad side is you won't get the +1 dagger at the start, the good you'll have big use of the Human Skin Armour in BG2.

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Detailed playthrough (parts which you won't find in the walkthroughs):

Candlekeep: it is safe to bash locks if noone can see you. Grab the extra money. You start with a quarterstaff which you should hold (unless youfind a club) until you find enchanted weapons as it being wooden won't break. When buying equipment the absolute must is a composite bow with arrows. Lots of arrows. Than depending on your money left (initial gold being random and all) you can choose an armor, shield, helmet and bastard sword. As leather armor is very cheap and others are very expensive I'd go with sword, helm, shield, and spend what remains on the armor (I could afford studded leather).

Area E of Candlekeep: Imoen force-joins you so rob her blind.

S of Friendly Arm Inn: go and kill the ogre for Belt of Piercing - best belt in BG1 - after finding the Ring of Protection +1.

Friendly Arm Inn: HEAL before you face the ambush, and kill the local hobgoblins but do NOT give the flamdance ring to Joya before gaining your first ability! The only reason to go for Minor Heal instead of Larchor's Drain is a quest in BG 2, and that only needs 1, which can even be cast from item, and LD means awesome for being offensive in a place where noone (neither you nor the enemy) has many HP. Another factor to consider is the lack of healing spells and regeneration-items in BG1 for the favour of minor heal, while the chance to interrupt mages' casting with Larchor's. I'd still get Larchor as first ability for the sole purpose of avoiding the need lowering reputation.
You also should have enough money to buy a Splint Mail. Normally I wouldn't waste money on such trivia, but lowlvl in AD&D means grab your chances.

Beregost: here we learn childs can't call the authority. In the house leftmost in the quarter with the Jovial Juggler (best inn, buys everything except books) on the first floor one of the chest is trapped (so go there with good health).
To dispose Silke you can do it at lvl 3, healed up, and the potion of invisibility from the Manor House gives the extra niche you just need.
Sell your Ring of Wizardry here (identify in the Temple if you did not do so before), and buy bastard sword +1. Now you can stop worrying about breaking equipment or magic immun monsters,

Nashkel: the local assassin has a Helmet of Infravision. Better than plain helmet sure.

Carnival: buy the Necklace of Missiles

Nashkel Mines: from the local boss get the Boots of Grounding. Unfortunately soloing you won't be able to bring out all loot,but you still should have plenty of coins anyway.

Nashkel: as now we have plenty of money after selling the equipment of the assassination-party (they're no problem if you're berserkering) buy a large shield +1. Oh, keep the Boots of Missile defense!
Also hop to the Carnival to buy the Amulet of Shield (useful against Magic Missiles).

Bandit Camp: Wear Boots of Missile Protection here. The mercs outside will likely harm you a lot,but fortunately some Potion of Firebreath can be found here -one single dose can clear out the main tent: aim it at the mage, and run to kill the hobgoblin archer.

Cloakwood Forest 1: Before you start consider you'll have to fight a boss-mage, traps, and spiders. So bring quit a lot of potions (eg. Potion of Invisibility,Freedom, Firebreath, Antidot,Absorption). Concentrate on the main quest and come back when it is done if you need to. Remember: being solo you don't need every bit of exp. Kill Aldeth for Bastard Sword +1, +3 vs Shapeshifters in this section, also the Cloak of Nondetection from the taslois.

Cloakwood Forest 2: Drink your Potion of Freedom after speaking with the child (free exp is good exp). Run to the Queen Spider's Lair, wait until all the minions are in one group, than use your second Firebreath Potion (found where the first) during your adventure. Hopefully this'll kill the majority of 'em. When all is silent get the Spider's Bane and run out of the area. Do NOT fight the spiders outside as they are strong and constantly respawn. Stop to pass down the body.

Cloakwood Mine Exterior: I swear this game has some kind of boots-fetish. The assassination-attempt (have good HP, also drink a Potion of Speed before starting) which happens when you step through the gate of the mine provides you the continuously useful Boots of Speed.
99% of chance you'll run out of HP here, so store your backpack-stuff in a stash, grab some loot-to-sell, run back to the Friendly Arm, patch up (again annoying you can't buy fullheals) and come back. It is quite a distance in ingame hours, so don't forget to sleep. Oh, and don't forget to buy possible ALL potion of Healing from the local church (why isn't it a secular hospital?).
Lastly: with the Potion of X Giant Strength brought by the assassins you can bash open the chest in the barrack which has a Potion of Magic Blocking. As the potion lasts for a long time suggested to do this when you arrive back helaed.

Cloakwood Mine lvl2: There'll be fighting a horde. First: if you're lucky the lightning trap along the way will hurt some of them. Second: they tend to bunch up along the corridor. If you have a Potion of Fireball (or wassissname) from the Bandit Camp that can ease your life a lot.

Cloakwood Mine lvl3: Another big fight happens. Just do a rage and you 1HKO the people. Focus on the archers, than get use of the nearby thin passage. There is a ~temple (of evil) along this corridor which has 2 healing potions, so visit it.

Cloakwood Mine lvl4: Now this is a though level. First, kill the initial guard WITH BOW. You can't afford to loose HP against him. Second you loot until you find a Potion of Cold Resistance. Third drink all these potions, in this order: cold resistance, heroism, invulnerability. Now you are ready to face the two battle horrors ONE BY ONE. If both comes after you - reload. Watch out to not loose too many HP against them - although you'll miss quite a lot anyway. They are immun tp piercing damage, so don't waste arrows. They also cause randomly either fire or cold damage (hence the resist potion),and they have very good stats anyway. I was lvl 7 when facing them.
The local sub-boss isn't THAT hard if you know what you'r doing. First drink a potion of Magick Blocking. This both saves you from any negative effect, AND reduces damage from that Fireball spell he'll throw at you. Throw a Potion of Explosion on him which main function is to cripple his Mirror Image spell and cast his second. Focus on HIM, and between swinging your sword cast Magic Missiles from wand to get rid of his Mirror Images. When he's down start to run around, away from any summoned creature (which can be disposed by arrows).

[twillight]

So, we COULD go into BG, but it'll provide us tons of exp anyway before passing through, not to mention better gain some equipment we skipped until now as things will become harder.

First goal is the Tome of Constitution, start it with High Hedge. Buy there Scroll of prot. from magic, prot. form undead, wand of sleep (can use!), Horn of Kazgaroth, Claw of Kazgaroth (this might be unnecessary as you'll loose the regeneration from 20 CON), and all three doses of Potion of Mirrored Eyes in case you come across some basilisk, lastly all Potion of magic blocking.
Lighthouse: here reside some sirens who try to dire-charm you. While they posed no threat in pure BG1 for charmed protagonist wasn't equal with dead protagonist according to the engine, under BG2 engine I wouldn't risk it, and drink a Potion of Clear Thoughts than dispose both group of creatures standing in the way to the cave (dunno when did I find such potion, but it was maybe the very first potion, which points towards Candlekeep). Go in - go out then.

Now hop to the Gnoll Fortress for the Tome of Charisma. Along the way you can grab the Boots of the North if you want to (does not work with 10 charisma).
Hop back the Nashkel to ease your backpack, Then go SW for 1 point of reputation and the Girdle of Bluntness. Unfortunately the girl&the cat quest does not give the magic scroll and the rep 1.
Go east an area and get the Bracers of Archery. Go east of Nashkel's Mine and get the Ring of Fire Resistance, Hafiz's scroll, and finally carry Samuel to the Friendly Arm Inn.
At this point your reputation can be 20, so time to sleep after the many walking. If you want. Oh, and I noticed that while 19 CON still does not regenerates you, 20 seems to do the trick!

Noteworthy minor treasures and their areas:
- E of Beregost's Temple provides hugh amount of exp, and also the Golden Girdle (good for the very final fight)
- N of Friendly Arm Inn provides you hunting Ankeghs, which aside the fighting exp means money when selling their shells. The ankeghs infinitely respawn.
- in Peldvale if you manage to defeat the mages you can be proud owner of a Ring of Energy.
- W of High Hedge: you can get a full free heal if you feel like it and you don't have yet 20 Constitution.
- Firewine Bridge: Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise
- Gullykin: various minor treasures (a scroll or potion here and there), but above all a Chainmail +2. That in itself equals Splint Mail + Ring of Protection +1 in AC potentially freeing up an equipment-slot for you.

Baldur's Gate East: get hired by the thieves to gain access to the Tome of Dexterity. Also, you can buy potions, scrolls and arrows from the magic shop. I suggest investing into the antimagic stuff (and the prot. from undead scroll), and if you don't find it elsewhere 5 potions of speed.
South East: there is a basilisk roaming around. Just tellin'. You can also find a Rogue Stone in the area.
South: here be the basilisk you were told 'bout. Better get rid of it for safety measures. Ok, it is inside a house, but still. Do NOT go to the Iron Throne Tower! The reason for this would be a+1 Splint Mail at the maior, but even with 24 STR I couldn't break the lock, so you may go in anyway.
South West: There is a tavern into you (being evil alignment) should never enter, the Seven Suns HQ you have to massacre, and a mage's house I mention for his ring of wizardry, which used to earn 9,000 gold (so when arriving to BG2 you can immediately buy stuff in the Adventurer's Mart I assume).
Central: Nadine can give you a necklace of missiles, and do the thieves' bidding.
West: earn the large shield +1, +4 vs missiles, and the nymph hair (in the east section's magic shop you get a nymph cloak for it) - but wait with the nymph hair if you want the ring of protection +2!
North West: the Helm of Balduran
North: if you didn't do the nymph hair quest the mage with the ring of prot. +2 appear and can be killed. Either way here be Tome of Intelligence.
North East: the ogre assassin in the inn is better killed both for exp and gold, but he's a real brute capable of killing you. I needed a Potion of Speed against him.
And finally some cross-area quests: you need to do Lothander's Gease to get the (a) Tome of Wisdom. Unfortunately I never got the option to say "give me the scroll first", so I had to force-attack her (no loss of reputation). The other is the Cloak of Balduran, which needs you start the Helm of Balduran quest properly. For this the battle horrors and such are too much, but running in and out in boots of speed solves that problem.
Sewers: when you go to kill the ogre mage bring a Potion of Freedom 'cause the worms.

At this point this version of combining the games allowed me to be lvl 9, letting you know.

The Iron Throne: barbarians can not cast fireballs as spells, but they still can use potions. From the East section's magic shop you can bring some. For me 1 dose of Potion of Firebreath and 1 scroll of prot. from fire was enough to win (they like to cast from Wand of Heaven). Get the Ring of Free Action and leave the city (there are also some protection scrolls to have, one a prot. from petrification, other prot. from undead).
BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE CITY buy, for all sake the three Potion of 24 strength!

Candlekeep:
- sleep in the inn BEFORE entering the Inner Keep!
- if you were on lvl 5 you'll be arrested when you leave it making lvl 6 abundant. Well, not so much if you wear Boots of Speed which allows you to outrun the guard and get a ring of prot. +1 from a chest. If you need money. And if you can keep it in your inventory long enough to reach a shop. Collecting spells don't worth it as you can't sell 'em anywhere in the compound.
Catacombs:
lvl1: get the two Tomes (and the second ring of fire protection). This is why you had to buy the strength-potion: they are heavily locked away! Also turned out the Amulet of Shield does squat against magic missiles
lvl2: somehow the Elminster-group walked on a trap of fireball while I followed from far. Certainly eased my job.
lvl 3: rest until regenerated before entering. Or just reload? Seems reloading somehow patched me full health. Involuntary, but...Either way dispose the mercs however you want, grab their throwing axe +2, drink their potion of invisibilty (unless you have protection from petrification by either potion or scroll), and leave the area.

[twillight]

Now you have to decide wether to go the TotSC areas or not.

Seems Weidu (the program combining BG1&2) substituted BG2's tutorial with BG1, and thus have the same exp-limit as BG2,so I'd restrict myself in field of OTHER side-quests.

TotSC areas offer for this character:
- the mage's labirinth: nothing but danger. But I could not find a way to avoid this quest, so bring a scroll of prot. from magic.
- Werewolf Island: IF you can suffer this insania, you can aquire the Chainmail +3 which is the best armor for a barbarian in BG1, and is (legally) transferable to BG2. Going there isn't a problem, and running away from the lycantropes solves most of the problems, but you can't run inside the ship, and the ToB-engine allows enemy to follow you through doors, so it'll be a though battle. I hope you brought the standard Potion of Speed and Heroism... Oh, and collect the free healing potions in the village and the ship's lvl 1.
NOTE: this Sword of Balduran is a bastard sword. All the better.
- Durlag's Tower: Bala's Axe (lvl 4, legally transferable), Staff of Striking (lvl 5, good against anyone from the end-enemies in melee), Large Shield +2 (lvl5). The problem with the two lvl 5 stuff is, not just that they are very deep down, but that you have to play the chess-game which is just not looking out for a solo party. So the only thing is the questionable Bala'sAxe, and even that mostly as trophy. Oh, almost forgot: there's a Tome of Wisdom too - cast raging to prevent the charm spell - BG2 engine DO consider you dead if the protagonist is charmed.
I find the most annoying thing about the tower is the complete lack of healing. The Healing Potions are way insufficient and rare to be really helpful, so you either need to sleep a lot, or reload and hope the fullheal-bug kicks in. Also the lack of knowledge how - if at all -the wardstones and other key items ("door openers") work is frustrating as they tend to fill your inventory. By the example of the Teleporting Stone (which activates lvl 3's teleporter-runes on the ground on two half of the room) the runes once fulfilled their purpose can be thrown away.
Underground lvl2: again cast Rage to prevent the Love-Dwarf charming you. Otherwise if you wear2 ring of prot. from fire you should be good.
At the very end of lvl 3 I became lvl 10. Oh,and although no (other) walkthrough tells you, from the room east of the throne room you can open ANY sealed doors if you click around the panel.
lvl 4 we only need to run in the garden. Have Rage continuously active as long as Greater Ghouls or what are around to prevent their Hold Person. SAVE,because there is a very nasty trap that will shoot arrows at you until you get out of reach if youactivate it (took me some reload to figure this out).

Returning to Baldur's Gate:
Here is my final stats and equipment for BG1:
20/19/20/13/13/11
helm: balduran's helmet
cloak: balduran's cloak
ring 1-2: prot. from fire
belt: golden girdle
boots: of speed
armor: chainmail+3
amulet: of missiles
weapons: bastard sword +1, bastard sword +1 +3 vs shapeshifters, bala's axe, dagger +2 longtooth
potions (quickslot): 10 potion of healing (this pack can be found in Durlag's Tower, 5 potion of speed, 5 potion of heroism
backpack: golden pantaloons, bow of marksmanship (this got lost twice during transition, had to manually replace. No clue), nymph cloak, bracelets of archery, diamond, scroll of prot from magic (3), scroll of prot from undead (3), Potion of Firebreath (2), Potion of Fireball(3), violet potion, potion of magic protection (5)
arrows: 120 piercing arrow
Endgame: speak with Tamoko, buy arrows of piercing, rescue the Duke from the Flaming Fist HQ, roam the Iron Throne, get under the Blushing Mermaid to kill the couple-assassins (squaff a potion of speed and potion of 24 strength), get healed in the local temple (right next to the Palace), enter the Palace. Cast Draw Upon Holy Might if you have that ability. The duke has good enough health, but the duchess is very fragile, so focus on keeping her away from danger. As the room is full of friendly NPCs you can't cast any fire-potions, only whack with your weapon. With the above setup you are like onehit the doppelgangers. If any of the duke/duchess dies, you have to reload, so have a quicksave!
Killing any further lackeys are straightforward, and Sharevok shall be disposed by piercing arrows (less than 80 did the trick). After that in Weidu you have to go to the Palace (beware of traps and monsters when going out through the dungeon = SAVE!). Than a new transition-scene is made where you just arrive to Amn via teleport and the Shadow Thieves mug you. Seems here this version of going from BG1 to BG to solved the import of your character/party more efficiently than the original BG2 and keeping the BG1 equipment by dropping all to the floor is impossible. Not that I'd mind it that much, although the many anti-magic equipment definitely looked promising, and not have to look for a bloody random diamond would have been comfortable. The rings and belt would merely be comforting just like the scrolls, potions and all. What I counted on was the 50K gold I ended up with, and the Cloak of Balduran. Hm...

**Double-checked and yes, the "Minsc can have it too" cheat is eliminated. Bugger.
Here is my favourite screenshot from BG1 though:

[yoga]

Originally Posted by twillight

Now you have to decide wether to go the TotSC areas or not.

Seems Weidu (the program combining BG1&2) substituted BG2's tutorial with BG1, and thus have the same exp-limit as BG2,so I'd restrict myself in field of OTHER side-quests.

TotSC areas offer for this character:
- the mage's labirinth: nothing but danger. But I could not find a way to avoid this quest, so bring a scroll of prot. from magic.
- Werewolf Island: IF you can suffer this insania, you can aquire the Chainmail +3 which is the best armor for a barbarian in BG1, and is (legally) transferable to BG2. Going there isn't a problem, and running away from the lycantropes solves most of the problems, but you can't run inside the ship, and the ToB-engine allows enemy to follow you through doors, so it'll be a though battle. I hope you brought the standard Potion of Speed and Heroism... Oh, and collect the free healing potions in the village and the ship's lvl 1.
NOTE: this Sword of Balduran is a bastard sword. All the better.
- Durlag's Tower: Bala's Axe (lvl 4, legally transferable), Staff of Striking (lvl 5, good against anyone from the end-enemies in melee), Large Shield +2 (lvl5). The problem with the two lvl 5 stuff is, not just that they are very deep down, but that you have to play the chess-game which is just not looking out for a solo party. So the only thing is the questionable Bala'sAxe, and even that mostly as trophy. Oh, almost forgot: there's a Tome of Wisdom too - cast raging to prevent the charm spell - BG2 engine DO consider you dead if the protagonist is charmed.
I find the most annoying thing about the tower is the complete lack of healing. The Healing Potions are way insufficient and rare to be really helpful, so you either need to sleep a lot, or reload and hope the fullheal-bug kicks in. Also the lack of knowledge how - if at all -the wardstones and other key items ("door openers") work is frustrating as they tend to fill your inventory. By the example of the Teleporting Stone (which activates lvl 3's teleporter-runes on the ground on two half of the room) the runes once fulfilled their purpose can be thrown away.
Underground lvl2: again cast Rage to prevent the Love-Dwarf charming you. Otherwise if you wear2 ring of prot. from fire you should be good.
At the very end of lvl 3 I became lvl 10. Oh,and although no (other) walkthrough tells you, from the room east of the throne room you can open ANY sealed doors if you click around the panel.
lvl 4 we only need to run in the garden. Have Rage continuously active as long as Greater Ghouls or what are around to prevent their Hold Person. SAVE,because there is a very nasty trap that will shoot arrows at you until you get out of reach if youactivate it (took me some reload to figure this out).

Returning to Baldur's Gate:
Here is my final stats and equipment for BG1:
20/19/20/13/13/11
helm: balduran's helmet
cloak: balduran's cloak
ring 1-2: prot. from fire
belt: golden girdle
boots: of speed
armor: chainmail+3
amulet: of missiles
weapons: bastard sword +1, bastard sword +1 +3 vs shapeshifters, bala's axe, dagger +2 longtooth
potions (quickslot): 10 potion of healing (this pack can be found in Durlag's Tower, 5 potion of speed, 5 potion of heroism
backpack: golden pantaloons, bow of marksmanship (this got lost twice during transition, had to manually replace. No clue), nymph cloak, bracelets of archery, diamond, scroll of prot from magic (3), scroll of prot from undead (3), Potion of Firebreath (2), Potion of Fireball(3), violet potion, potion of magic protection (5)
arrows: 120 piercing arrow
Endgame: speak with Tamoko, buy arrows of piercing, rescue the Duke from the Flaming Fist HQ, roam the Iron Throne, get under the Blushing Mermaid to kill the couple-assassins (squaff a potion of speed and potion of 24 strength), get healed in the local temple (right next to the Palace), enter the Palace. Cast Draw Upon Holy Might if you have that ability. The duke has good enough health, but the duchess is very fragile, so focus on keeping her away from danger. As the room is full of friendly NPCs you can't cast any fire-potions, only whack with your weapon. With the above setup you are like onehit the doppelgangers. If any of the duke/duchess dies, you have to reload, so have a quicksave!
Killing any further lackeys are straightforward, and Sharevok shall be disposed by piercing arrows (less than 80 did the trick). After that in Weidu you have to go to the Palace (beware of traps and monsters when going out through the dungeon = SAVE!). Than a new transition-scene is made where you just arrive to Amn via teleport and the Shadow Thieves mug you. Seems here this version of going from BG1 to BG to solved the import of your character/party more efficiently than the original BG2 and keeping the BG1 equipment by dropping all to the floor is impossible. Not that I'd mind it that much, although the many anti-magic equipment definitely looked promising, and not have to look for a bloody random diamond would have been comfortable. The rings and belt would merely be comforting just like the scrolls, potions and all. What I counted on was the 50K gold I ended up with, and the Cloak of Balduran. Hm...

**Double-checked and yes, the "Minsc can have it too" cheat is eliminated. Bugger.
Here is my favourite screenshot from BG1 though:

Ha ha ha,

what may say one poor gamer

against Master as You,

dear twillight.

[twillight]

HOWDY YOGA!!

---------------

Ok, so all item is lost. And the gold. Let's deal with it.
Actually, I think I'll transport the Cloak of Balduran anyway. It is nothing else than a +1 cloak with a % after all. But let's w8 with this until I figure out wether the legally transitional items arrived or not.

-----------

Starting in Irenicus' Dungeon... Well, they don't have any bastard sword at hand, so try the Dagger +1. There's a splint mail and a buckler too as well as a helmet. The pantaloon is at place.
Btw, have you ever seen this portal?



The djinn's ogre mage finally has a bastard sword. The goblins have composite longbow. The Sewage Golem's room has a medium shield. Get the quarterstaff +1. The otygh's room has a helm of infravision. Irenicus' dungeon had for me the Helm of Balduran (did not have on me items of the other options, so this' good).
Go back and kill one of the lesser clay golems to have an easier way (force attack) when entering Irenicus' bedchamber.
The durgar party is where it was, BUT if you transitioned an item (namely for us the chainmail +3), it won't be on Ilyich's body, but instead on a table in the room! Don't panic, it IS there! One of the boxes also gives a second bastard sword (so you can drop the shield).
The cambion has a +1 bastard sword - isn't it convenient?

AAAND the djinn. All went well until the djinn. It is also supposed to give an item based on what you had in BG1, but even though I had Bala's Axe (what I wished for) and Longtooth (+2 dagger) too, I still got the Sword of Chaos. Why? No idea. Maybe the transitioned item should have been in the active slot. Maybe only one possible transitioned item should I have. I simply have no idea. I say it is a bug, and manually give myself the stupid axe, and if I do it, I'll do Cloak of Balduran too! Ok, just the cloak. I deserve an item, and if I have to correct what the programmers ruined, I might as well get a reward for it!
Actually Bala's Axe sounds like way more powerful than the cloak. It can prevent casting, and while it has a special ability, it is still considered an unenchanted weapon, making it perfect off-hand weapon against mages who tend to cast prot. from magic weapon and such. Whatever.

The next lvl has Girdle of Bluntness, and considering the amount of golems in BG2 you better get hold of it. Leave the dungeon.

[twillight]

First thing to do is the Circus Tent for nothing else but the Ring of Human Influence. While BG2 won't mess with ur quest rewards, it still helps in the shops. But before you enter, buy a scroll case, and a gem bag!

Second: get enough stuff - in case you don't have the gold - to be able to spend 1540 gold (let it be 1600 to be safe). You know my problem with Gaelen Bay's seller was, I could never re-enter Gaelen Bay's house again, but the Glasses of Identification worth their price in pure gold, especially for a non-mage!
Heck, bring here all your stuff, and you will be able to sell stuff if you have to buy stuff from the Copper Coronet.

Third: watch out how much gold you have in cash! It is very-very important to NOT have 15K gold until you are ready to start Chapter 3!
This'll likely mean you buy Aeger's Hide (slightly worse AC than chainmail +3, but gives immunity to confusion which will come handy in Nalia's Keep), maybe Sword of Flame (for hunting trolls until you assemble Flail of Ages in case you don't want to rely on limited arrow-supply / buy this from the Copper Coronet which sells it on half price than the Adventurers' Mart, at least after Hendak takes over), and if you can stash enough unsold magic items Defender of Eartheaven, Staff of Rhyn (it kills adamantium/iron golems and Kangaxx), Vhailor's Helm (simularcum is the strongest summon), shield of Balduran (against beholders).
Quests to watch out for:
- stronghold quest(s)
- the second special random encounter traveling between areas
- Renald Bloodscalp's quest (no longer possible if/when siding Bodhi)
- the 15K gold limit

This being partly a playthrough I'll mention the quests I've done in titles:
fight two moron outside Copper Coronet / duel inside Copper Coronet / Mysterie of the Copper Coronet + Free the Slaves (you get better prices and incrised stock, also don't forget to check how much you'll need at Joluv, and after the second quest you get bastard sword +1, +3 vs shapeshifters) - bought Aeger's Hide (ca. 8K gold) / killed Mencar Peblecrusher's gang for equipment. Sold (almost) everything and bought Defender of Eartheaven (ca. 23K gold - within building, so still in Act 2) / I was practically waiting here for the special random encounters, and both came when I visited the City Gate area trying to leave for the stronghold. / Renald Bloodscalp's quest - bought Nymph Cloak (+2 CHA = lower prices) and Rogue Stone before finishing off Maevar's guild (I had too much money on me, these stones are rare, and potentially needed). / Nalia's Keep (aka. gaining stronghold): buy Staff of Rynn before going (should be able to afford), also pack a potion of invisibility if you have, bow, fire arrows, healing potion and a (magical) short sword (you should have 2 to choose from). Inside the keep assemble the Flail of Ages and get the Ring of Earth Control. There is also the Elven Court Bow which is a good longbow for you.
Problem with the De'Arnise Keep is, that you won't be able to carryout ALL the loot, because of stash problems. But magic arrows and bolts shouldn't hurt you too much, and all real equipment CAN be looted.
Also, although I counted Nalia paying the hefty10650 gold, she gave only 650. The internet says this is correct if Nalia is not in the party. Bugger. Oh well, I'll just sell all the useless Carsomyrs and stuff...

Act 3:
-------
While duing Bodhi's errands dig out the Burried Alive (provides Silver Pantaloons and Boots of Arrows at the cost of 2 Reputation), as well as speak with Welyn. If you go to assassinate for the second quest (I recommend, as entering twice to the Shadow Thieves compound is boring, not to mention you don't loose reputation anyway) you'll likely want to help out Viconia and Jan. Also start working on the Sir Sarles quest (requires 22 strength to get the true illithium which you probably want for upgrading the Mace of Disruption), and maybe even kill Anomen (if you were proudly evil in the Copper Coronet, and enter Anomen's home, the whole household will attack you. No item, but funny in a way).
Remember that you do NOT need magic-licence lacking any magic! Don't waste your evergrowing supply of useless money!
Still in the Graveyard is the Mourning Paladin and the Orphan Girl, and when entering the Bridge District the Human Hide Armor/Skinwalker Tanner quest starts.
Take a hike to get the spider figurine and the Horn of Valhalla (to get it don't forget to cast Rage before opening the chest!). Summons are important for a (solo) fighter.

Outside Athkatla Locations and their offers (aside exp and occasional loot):
- Windspear Hills: Ring of Fire Protection
- The Planar Sphere: Ring of the Ram (it's more valuable than you'd think), Staff of Fire (summons)
- Planar Prison: Boots of Speed, Gauntlets of Weapon Skill, Staff of Air (summons)
- Umar Hills: Ilbratha (mirror image once per day, worth a trip), Beljuril (to upp Horns of Valhalla), Human Flesh Armor quest, Shadow Dragon Scales and part of Crom Fayer (but who needs these?), rogue stone (but this character does NOT profit from using it, aside extra exp)
- Trademeet: you can buy the Belt of Inertial Barrier (best belt) and Ras (invulnerable summoned sword) and get Bottle of Efreeti, as well as an amulet against poison (makes you immun)

Athkatla sections:
- Kangaxx ring
- Hunt Anarg: Gloves of Healing (can be used for a quest, especially if you don't have the special ability to do the same)
- The Unseeing Eye: gives a 5% magic resistance amulet. Now you have an amulet. Whoa!
- Windspear Key: Wand of Wonders (like anyone ever used it)

And of course there's Watcher's Keep:
- potion bag
- Golem Manual
- lots of best healing potions
- Foebane
- extra statpoints
- lots of onetime items you end up never using
- Gauntlets of Extraordinary Specialisation, which you end up not being able to use because they thought seriously only fighter-fighters are allowed to use it, and not at all barbarians.
No, you likely won't be able to mess with Demogorgon, and because a oneman party gains exp so fast you rly shouldn't bother after lvl 4.


One-Man Party is still not simple: