Going to BG2, advice please

[Jafin]

I'm going to be getting BG2 soon here and I wanted to know if I should take one of my BG1 characters into BG2 or if I should just make a totally new one. I have a couple of characters I might be interested in taking, a mage/thief, or my paladin, or possibly a fighter I have that I might dual to a mage. Could you give a kit to a character from BG1? Would I just be better off making a Sorceror or Assassin or some other BG2 class?

Sorry for all of the questions, but I really don't know what I'm going to do!

-Jafin

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Proud Citizen of the United States of America
The Original Arch-Mage of the HADB
Destroyer of the evil Bunnies
Proprietor of the Boogre Bar
The not-so-secret admirer of Lioness
Mage of the Court of Lady Lioness

[Xanthul]

Id start a new character, tomed characters might be too powerful, and new classes are interesting... but anyway you´ll have fun both ways, so dont worry !

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"Captive, captive... captive in heaven" -Ertai, Captive of the Blinding Angel

[JR Jansen]

And you can choose a kit if you import a character from BG1.

JR

Damned i lost cousin Jan's techno gloves

I much prefer using a character from BG I - its like you've done the whole story properly. I often play a fighter up until level 10, then dual to a cleric, that is so awesome. Mage/thieves are also fun, as well as sorcerers.

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Formidable Flirty Fishy Sorcerer of the HADB

[SixOfSpades]

If you're considering a Dual-Classed character, the best way to go is to not Dual until you're in BG2. This allows you to choose a kit, and once the kit's in place, THEN Dual. (I don't know if the kit's disadventages will affect you while you're building your 2nd class--probably not.) Speaking of Dual-classing, just about any combination of Fighter->Something kicks butt. Thief/Mages also rule, whether they're Dual or Multi, and going from a Thief to a Fighter is also good, as it allows you to choose the Assassin kit.

With that said, I too have some questions about BG2.....
1) I know you find Imoen again, and she's already Dualed. At what level did she Dual, and what Thieving skills does she have? I always set my Imoen up to be able to cast spells from 100% Stealth (with the Boots), and still have 100% in either Traps or Pockets. I'd hate to lose that arrangement. Also, did she dual to a Conjurer, Illusionist, etc., or just a regular Mage?
2) I've been told that when you start BG2, all your items are stripped from you. Weapons, armor, inventory, the works, except for the Golden Pantaloons. I've heard that you can find your lost property again not long into the game, but it's well hidden. I've also heard that only SOME of it is recoverable. Don't spoil me with a location or anything, please just let me know what IS irrevocably lost, and what is NOT. Thanks!

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Boots of Stealth: 1125 gp
Shadow Armor: 7875 gp
Slipping an Oil of Firey Burning down the back of Sarevok's armor: Priceless

[Lioness]

1. I believe Imoen as dualed at lvl 5, she's an ok theif, but not great.


2. Don't know.

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Lil' Angel
Sword Saint and Enchantress of the HADB Clan
The Lady Lioness of Castle Kerhelm
Waitress at Cloudy's Cafe and the Promised Land
Official Restrainer of Table Dancers
PeaceKeeping Force, Intelligence Division

[Darkman]

Just a small correction, Imoen duals to a Mage at level 7.

Possible spoiler below regarded Imoen's thief skills...
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She does not have great stealth abilities in BG2. 30% Move Silently, 25% Hide in Shadows. Even with some item boosters like stealth boots she will still not be good at stealth. But she can pick a mean lock and detect just about any trap, but so can most other thieves..

[SixOfSpades]

Phooey. Casting spells from Steath was such a cool ability, I can't believe they didn't want to keep it. Yeah, all the Thieves seem to Auto-specialize in Locks and Traps. BO-RING! If you want a good Pickpocket, you gotta build him youself....they should have thought about that more.

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Boots of Stealth: 1125 gp
Shadow Armor: 7875 gp
Slipping an Oil of Firey Burning down the back of Sarevok's armor: Priceless

Personally, I think you should import your character. Tomes don't make you too powerful, certain other things do that. It's a lot more fun to continue developing your old character, especially if you don't chose a kit at all.

If you want to become as powerful as possible, however, don't import a character (especially not magi, as they lose almost all of their spells from BG1 ), chose a character and a kit that work well with your fighting style and simply start playing with the new character.

What I did was use my BG1 ranger to play through BG2, which was a lot of fun. I couldn't resist the temptation of making him an Archer, however, but I had a blast. After that I started experimenting with other classes and kits.

In my opinion, BG1 and 2 do have some nasty drawbacks. Due to the storyline, the replay value goes down a lot. Unless you're a real 'Gatie', you'll only play through the entire game for about two or three times, after which it becomes less interesting. So, I would advise you to play it at first with your own character, then with a sorceror or assassin (maybe with a party almost entirely created by yourself) and then try out some powerplaying too. After that, who knows?

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The last arrow of Legolas kindled in the air as it flew,
and plunged burning into the heart of a great wolf-chieftain.
All the others fled. -J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Create a new one. In Bladur's Gate 2 there are more classes for your character to be.

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Where there are monsters and barbarians there will be Byronas fighting against them.