It seems, in the Forgotten Realms world, that anyone over level 20 is a rare sight and one of the most powerful people in the world, yet, it is possible to become much more powerful in BGII. I've even seen references of 'powerful' characters as being level 16. What do you folks think? What's with all the ultra-high level characters?

Well, you are a child of Bhaal...

I dont really know. The people just dont bother leveling up, so to speak. Ribald himself is only 16, IIRC.

Well, IIRC, even in the monty-haul Forgotten Realms, 12+ Level characters are 1 in 10,000 or more. Now, that wisdom is not supported by the literature. Waterdeep has (last time I checked) a population that swells above 200K in summer. This means you'd have 20 or so people that powerful in Waterdeep. Well, you can quickly name that many if you just buy a few Waterdeep Mods (don't forget UnderMountain is part of Waterdeep, too).

In *my* game, they are extremely rare, and the highest level characters ever got in a years-long campaign was 13-14th level.

But, BGII looks to address the very powerful persons in the world - namely, Bhaalspawn and their foes. I still think it's a bit overpopulated by folks of 10+ level, but hey, it's a *representation* of the actual world. Surely the slums have more people in them than the few you talk with - imagine it as a representation where all of the "useless" sorts mingling about the streets are simply set aside for ease of gameplay.

And, I like the high levels in SoA/ToB. It's nice to, for once, get a character up to those levels. And, with the story, it makes some sense. It's not like you can't start at first level.

Don't forget how much faster you levelup when you don't have to train all the time and make wisdom rolls (as per the rules).

But, it's also gotten more overpowered over time. The first Hall of Heroes books listed Elminster as a 36th level or so mage. The latest stats I saw on him were 40 level mage / 40th level cleric. I was like WTF.

I'd have to say I like the low level gameplay of Baldur's Gate A LOT more than the clash of Gods that BG2 really is [img]smile.gif[/img] That's also why I prefer the very early stages of BG2, rather than the late game + ToB.

ditto rataxes ditto playing at a very high level gets a little borin you know!

Come on, in less than a year, one can go from level one to level forty. I thought that, in PnP, it took years upon years to achieve that.

Don't get me started on how I hate reaching high levels and getting uber items. Read my OT post to get an idea.

another point... your character is a ballspawn, but the rest of your party probably aren't, yet they level as fast and as high as you do

Ahh, that is a very good point, but think of it, a Bhall Spawn who is, let's say lv.17, walking around with level 3 or 4 party members. Now, that wont fit his style, would it?

WHAT THE HELL IS IIRC???