I have none of the baldurs gate series, but it looks like something I want to get into. My question is weather I should start with the first and work my way back or just start at 2. Is the original still good for today or is it too buggy--is getting the second going to be too big a leap in the story? help!

thanks in advance for any help

Well I've played Bg1&the TOTSC first about a year ago And loved it. So BG2 was a big treat for me. If I was in your shoes I would play BG1 first and buy totsc with it. This will allow the exp. cap to be at 161000 so you can get higher level charcters. As far as the charcter plot you do not need to play BG1 first you will be brought up to speed with BG2 plot. Besides if you are cheap like me BG1&totsc are alot cheaper to buy at this time and BG2 is a little more money. Then when you are done with the first one the second will be cheaper lol. I did not gave any bug problems with the first one. If you like RPG you will like the BG series I think they are grand.

Many thanks for your reply!
secondary question: should I get both at once and play or should I get the expansion after I finish? Im not quite clear on how the expansion changes the game play

The expansion basically just opens up new, stand-alone areas for you to explore (notably, the Ulgoth's Beard town), so you can just pop in there whenever you feel like it. A note of caution though, the monsters encountered in these new areas are much harder to tackle (they seem to be targeted more for those pple who've completed the game already), so 'advance with care'.

PS The magic shop in the town is definitely worth a trip, provided you have enough dough!

I started playing BG1 just over a month ago (I'm a refugee from EverQuest) and I'm loving it. My hubby got me TotSC for Xmas, and I loaded it up even though I've not completed BG1 yet (I'm in Chapter 5). I've finished Ice Island, Balduran's Island, and the top four floors of Durlag's Tower. Tonight I go into the Catacombs (gulp!) - yes these new areas are challenging - my party ranges from level 7 to level 9 - so that may give you some idea about when you might want to load up TotSC for yourself.

Good luck! It's a great game

I have played BG1 twice, once without ToSC and once (not quite finished) with it. I found that with ToSC even at low levels there was much more magic to be found, Gibberlings with sleep scrolls and the like. I would load ToSC as soon as you get it, no sense waiting.
Sherpa Doug

You definetly need to get baldurs gate! Ive been a PC and playstation gamer for years and have always hoped for a game just like this! It is by far the best game in rpg history! I dont have 2 becouse i dont have a pentiumII ( I have a 1997 packard bell) so I will wait till I upgrade. I've been playing BG for about a 8 months and am wondering how I could inject it in my vains!(just kidding).Anyway, BYE IT NOW!!! As for TOTSC, it is much harder but get it now too, it makes no differance to the rest of the game, just adds to it.

In my opinion the Baldurs Gate series of games are the finest, most enjoyable games ever. But you do need to start at the beginning. Get TOTSC at the same time as the override improvements make the game a lot smoother.
Cheers

Yorick