howdy all, this is my first time here and I'm pretty new to the whole AD&D theme, I've had BGII for about two weeks and although I've read most of the rules (most went over my head) there are some things I just don't get... My character is a half elf cleric (summoner dude) and his constitution level is 13 and lit up red. I lost a few points due to the deaths of my familiars, which I kept resummoning (at that time I didn't know I would lose points when he died). Anyway my questions are... is this bad (the fact that it is in red scares me), what does it mean, and can I change it or should I just restart the game? Oh and another thing, I kept getting pestered by people to do jobs, I am trying to help people but I just keep getting more offers and I lose the plot completely, and some of the tasks are just too full on for my weakling characters, what are the best ways to beef up, and are there any easy quests I should try first? I hope some one has the time to help me out, thanks in advance.

Well, finish Nalia's quest for a start (about 10,000+ gold) , and then buy a magical item that increases strength: it should help a little.

The fact that the stat is in red usually just means that it's being modified by something (an item, spell, potion, etc). Could be a bug, but it's not going to kill you. Directly, anyway.

If you want to keep track of all your outstanding quests, check your journal. Also, the Copper Coronet quest yields good XP early. Talk to Lehtinan in the Copper Coronet to get it started.

The fact that the stat is red is probably because your Con has dropped from all your familiars dying did you know you can talk to them and put them in your pack?

Persevere because it really is a kickass game! Everyone here has the time to help you out, that's what the board is for. You'll understand it a bit more as you get more into the game, then you will know what all the ability scores are for.

Yeah, I'd reccomend playing it through before starting again. If you start again every time you screw something up you'll still be playing when you're 70.

Hey Virg.
Advanced D&D rules can be pretty perplexing to the newcomer. They are basically designed to make combat variables as realistic as possible, for a game. Some of the Terms (such as THACO and ARMOR CLASS) are defined pretty well in the manual but there are other rules that are not. In general, without actually going out and getting a rule book or studying them all, the most sensible route would be to first use the tutorial that comes with the game. Its pretty basic but it will give you a good running start at understanding of the games engine. Second, start off with a fighter character. The wizards are in a class (or several) all by themselves and I could spend a week talking to you about the differences in spells weaponry and all that. The fighter's toughest choices are who to kill first and what weapons to use. That alone can take some time to figure out with all the bonus and minus modifiers that some of them have. (+2THACO, +2 COLD, +3 BOOGER PICKING TIME
ONe thing you will want to know if you dont already ifs how the combat die work. That is outlined in the book for the game as well.
As far as those problematic people who are always trying to get you to perform some lame little thing for them, they are people who will earn you experience points and help you level up. Most of them if not all are not very time constrained, though the characters almost always tell you to "HURRY IT MUST BE DONE YESTERDAY OR I WILL DIE AND THE WORLD WILL END AND YOU WILL NOT GET ANYWHERE!!!" The first time through the game, I basically did whatever I hapened to run into while i was playing the game and if I didnt find this item or that, screw it. They are all in your journal if you want to go back to them later but you dont have to feel like they all have to be done now. The game was designed to be played more than once. So if they are stressing you, just ignore them and finish the game. Next time you play you will be more adept in the combat workings and you can also work on your use of mages and clerics as well. The red number means it was modified, (usually for the worse) like in this case when you lose a familiar, you lose some of your constitution. You can either reload or go on from there. Hope this helps.